Critically Yours

Some good reads

2012-01-26T07:00:00.000Z

My dad and I had a running joke over the holidays. A few years back, I inspired him to start his own reading journal. So, after I blogged my book stats for 2011, my dad emailed me to share his stats. However, of course, neither list was complete because there were still 11 days of December left. And numerous books to be read! So each time we finished a book over the holidays (and there is much reading in the Leone household), my dad or I would joke about adding another to our list.

I don't have the energy to update my 2011 stats, but in that spirit, I would like to share a few really good books that I devoured recently.

Anna Staniszewski's My Very Un-Fairy Tale Life is about Jenny, a magical kingdom hero, who's rather sick of the hero business. It also involves talking frogs, bloodthirsty unicorns, psychotic clowns, and a sweet-addicted gnome sidekick. And yes, it really is that fun! I also loved how quirky it was, and not just plot-wise. While relatable, Jenny is also a completely unique, memorable character. When she needs to think, she practices miniature golf. As a hero, she finds herself saying the most cheesy lines imaginable. I was rolling my eyes along with Jenny, and giggling to myself the whole time. My only regret was that I didn't get to read this book when I was nine. A spunky heroine, numerous magical kingdoms, humor, action, and Prince Lamb? Not to mention the real world issues of friendship, parents, and loneliness. I would've loved it. But I feel very lucky I got to read it eventually, and I'm looking forward to the sequel, My Way Too Fairy Tale Life, next spring!*

I won a signed copy of My Beating Teenage Heart by CK Kelly Martin from author Audrey Vernick's blog (thank you so much, both of you!). I was especially thrilled to receive it (there may have been some squealing involved!) as I had just read CK Kelly Martin's The Lighter Side of Life and Death, and I knew what a masterful writer she was (see here for my review). My Beating Teenage Heart is about the lives of two teenagers who mysteriously intersect. Ashlyn has recently died, but she doesn't know what comes next, or what she's supposed to do, or even how to be. Meanwhile, Breckon's baby sister has just died, and he's struggling with some of the same issues. How is he supposed to live when his life has been torn apart? What is he supposed to do? Martin's characters are so real that I flew through the pages, anxious to see what would happen. Martin uses a brilliant device of having Ashlyn observe, alongside the reader, Breckon's pain, and both of us are watching, helpless and frightened. I initially wasn't sure about the paranormal aspects of the book, but there are a few beautiful moments where the connection between Ashlyn and Breckon comes into play. And I know it sounds like a downer, but the story as a whole is beautiful and life-affirming.

However, a nice antidote to all that serious reading was Medeia Sharif's Bestest. Ramadan. Ever. Her teenage heroine, Almira, is such a teenager, obsessed with pop culture, driving, and especially boys. The voice in this novel was flat out perfect: funny, clueless, yet totally heartfelt and true. As the title suggests, the book takes place over Ramadan, the first time Almira has ever observed the month-long fast. So even though it's a novel about a typical teenager, it's interspersed with reflections on discipline, religion, family, and what it means to be a 21st century American Muslim. I really loved this aspect of the book, as I got a whole new perspective that I don't believe I've ever seen tackled in YA fiction before. Plus, have I mentioned yet that it's laugh-out-loud funny? No one has angst like a 15 year-old who can't snack!*

Finally, we've moved well beyond my holiday break now, but I have to mention Sara Zarr's How to Save a Life, which I just finished this past weekend--and promptly started again! That's how good it is! Zarr's Story of a Girl was one of my favorite reads of 2011, so I wanted to read more from Zarr, but I have to admit I was a little anxious given the description of How to Save a Life. Like CK Kelly Martin's My Beating Teenage Heart, Zarr's book is about the intersection of two teenagers' lives. Mandy is pregnant, escaping a difficult home, determined to give her baby a better chance at life. Jill has everything Mandy dreams of: money, a loving family, and a living room with real leather couches. But Jill lost her father 10 months ago, and can't figure out how to be herself without him. Then Jill's mother decides to adopt Mandy's baby, plus invite Mandy into their home to live with them until the birth. There's nothing wrong with this set-up, but I felt like I had seen it hundreds of times before. It's The Odd Couple, except with two teenage girls. Given it was Sara Zarr, I expected it to be good, but I was completely unprepared for the total, immersive experience of this book. Everything about the story was so rich, so raw. The characters were completely real, so far from stereotypes. And while they were such different people, I was amazed at how similar their struggles became, and how they were both so desperate to find a new, better life, yet couldn't escape the mess of their pasts. There are a few snort-out-loud funny bits, a few tear-jerking bits, a handful of swoon-worthy guys, and the whole thing is so heartfelt and moving... well, of course I had to read it all over again!

Have you read anything good lately?

Note: I'm not certain if I'll be posting on the blog next week. Life has become a little hectic as I'm scrambling to finish (and perfect!) Project Demo. But I promise, if not next week, I will return shortly!

*Of course, as anyone who reads this blog regularly knows, Anna and Medeia are both long-time Critically Yours readers and friends! I can't say that didn't influence my book choices and reviews, but I CAN say I still loved both books just the same! And I'm both so happy for and proud of my friends!

Name Fail

2012-01-24T07:00:00.000Z

In August 2010, as I was nearing a finished draft of Project Sparkle, I wrote a post lamenting all of the manuscript's problematic names. See, I spend days, if not months, generating my main characters' names. But in the midst of writing, I often feel I can't afford that same time to name my more minor characters. So I just pull a name out of thin air. Frequently, if I need a neighbor, I take my neighbor's name. A principal? I take my high school principal's name. You can see how this might become problematic quite quickly.

Anyway, after I wrote that post, and in the middle of scrambling to finish Project Sparkle, complete my MA on time, and rename half my characters, I promised myself never again. At least... until the next project.

Yes. Project Demo is full of high school teacher names, friends' names, my own middle name. I've even got a character with the last name Nadal. Guess what sport I was watching when I was writing this past summer?

Total name fail.

So I spent this past week trying to generate a whole new cast of names.

I think the problem is that I want to be a Dickens, when clearly I'm not. I love his characters' names. So evocative, yet not comical (unless the comedy is intentional!). Miss Flite. Mr. Guppy. Ebeneezer Scrooge. The Artful Dodger. Oliver Twist.

So I had this "genius" idea (notice the quotes!) to name all the characters in Project Demo something to do with water. See, my main character is afraid of water, and feels most of the world is out to get her. So a whole bunch of evocative, frightening, watery names... wouldn't that be too cool?

Unfortunately, as I've said a few times in this post, names really aren't my forte. Though, honestly, let's see you come up with 10-20 evocative watery character names! It's not as easy as I thought at first, even with my determination to use Mr. Guppy for a minor character! What else? Mr. Jaws? Dr. Teeth? Miss Flounder? Greg Weiss? Bob Kahuna?

And, I hate to shame him, but it must be said, I'm married to someone who studies fossil fish and their ecosystems for a living! You think he'd be helpful! Yet he only laughed when I suggested Mr. Benthic (Google it, I'll wait).

The names I came up with were either laughably obvious and not very frightening or evocative. Or they were so specialized that the average reader wouldn't have any idea it was a watery name. Then I realized I'd have to change my main characters' surnames, too, if this whole water scheme was going to work. Finally, after getting to Ms. Bathysphere, I gave up entirely.

Could it be done? Probably. But I am not the artist to do it.

Ultimately, I relied on my old standby, US Census data. This website is incredibly useful, though it relies on data from the 1990s. You can search last names alphabetically by most common, ethnicity, by US zip codes, etc.

By Friday night, I had done a search/replace on all of my problematic names. And I did keep two watery ones, just for fun, that I couldn't quite convince myself to get rid of (I'll save that trivia tidbit for when the book has made me a bestseller, okay?).

But next time, this will not happen. Next time I will systematically figure out every name before I write. Next time I will not name anyone in my novel after anyone I know or anyone famous.

Either that, or I'll use the 2012 White Sox roster. No one would notice, right?

Please, make me feel better, and share your own character name fails. Or maybe you could suggest some watery names? Good or bad, I'm open to either!

*The picture is mine, the deep, foreboding waters of Loch Ness*

A shockingly good update on Project Demo

2012-01-19T07:00:00.000Z

Since I've returned to my blog from my holiday break, I've complained about TV and waxed poetic about angels. It's probably time to get concrete and writerly, and to give an update on my current work-in-progress, Project Demo.

You're never going to believe this, but... it's going well! I know!

I've been working on Project Demo off and on for over a year. I've completely given up on it twice. And I don't believe I've ever reported that it was going WELL.

When writing on a novel, I keep a running list of questions and notes on everything that isn't working: characters, setting, background details, plot... The list helps me from becoming overwhelmed, as I can always promise myself that eventually I will return to all those nit-picky details.

Well, since I returned from the US, I've been tackling the list in earnest. It's frighteningly long (16 pages. Yes, that's 16 pages of JUST THE LIST!), but I've crossed off over half of the items on it.

Even better, few of the items left are exceptionally daunting. I'm at that stage where I suddenly find the novel holds together in my head. The plot is consistent, the characters are fully formed. I might be missing some description here and there, but I have a sense that everything belongs and has its place. I'm rarely creating, but more often (to mix several metaphors) merely filling in blanks and stitching together loose threads.

Meanwhile, I'm waiting to get notes from my most recent beta reader, but have gotten a few (gushy) hints to assuage my fear.

When did this happen? No, seriously, does anyone know?

I would suspect novel-writing fairies broke into my computer over the holidays, but this happened with Project Sparkle, too. Suddenly my words have formed a complete, coherent story. Hard work has turned into magic.

Give me another month or so, and I might finish Project Demo.

I really need to throw a party when I do. Hold me to that.

Have you ever found yourself unable to pinpoint when your writing goes from mere words to well-crafted story? Or do you always remember every excruciating step?

Wrestling with an angel

2012-01-17T07:00:00.000Z

And Jacob was left alone; and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and Jacob's thigh was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. Then he said, "Let me go, for the day is breaking."

But Jacob said, "I will not let you go, unless you bless me."

And he said to him, "What is your name?"

And he said, "Jacob."

Then he said, "Your name shall no more be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed."

Then Jacob asked him, "Tell me, I pray, your name."

But he said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" And there he blessed him.

So Jacob called the name of the place Peni'el, saying, "For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved." The sun rose upon him as he passed Penu'el, limping because of his thigh (Genesis 32:24-31, RSV).

This story, of Jacob wrestling with the angel, has come up in a few different contexts in my life lately. You know how these things happen. You encounter a historical tidbit you never knew before, or a new vocabulary word, and suddenly everywhere you turn that "new" bit of knowledge is again revealed.

It's fascinating to read this strange biblical text. I guess I've never really thought about it much before. To be honest, it's always struck me as a rather stereotypically male story. A guy meets an angel, and instead of worshipping it, or pleading with it, or fearing it, any of the things you might expect, instead he feels the need to beat it up.

But lately I've been thinking, maybe that's the way some things work.

In December, author Jane McLoughlin was teasing me on Twitter for constantly publicly bad-mouthing Project Demo. She joked, "It's the only language these ungrateful toe-rags understand..."

But her joking got me thinking. Sure, I complain all the time on Twitter, here on my blog. But have I ever complained so much about anything I've written as I've complained about Project Demo? I don't think so. I've certainly never worked so many hours on a novel, or doubted something of mine so much. What if abusing Project Demo on Twitter is the only way I find the strength to face it another day?

It took another friend mentioning Jacob, and a sermon over the holidays, and soon I found myself mulling over this wrestling an angel story. What if it isn't so much a stereotypical guy thing, as a case of desperation? Sometimes we feel all alone, and injured, but we want something so bad (in Jacob's case a blessing), that we're willing to stay up all night fighting for it.

Not that I'm directly comparing Project Demo to an angel!, but I wonder if sometimes the creative process (or life itself), is like Jacob's fight. Sometimes things come easily to us, sometimes life almost makes sense. But other times every step can feel like a challenge. I have no sense if Project Demo will ever appeal to large numbers of readers, if it will ever be published, find fans, etc. But something inside it has a hold on me, and I can't let it go until the story is complete.

So the revision continues!

How are your works in progress coming? Do you ever feel in writing (or in life!) that you're wrestling a metaphorical angel? Perhaps the image is a good one for the beginning of a new year.

Confronting disappointment

2012-01-12T07:00:00.000Z

Welcome back! Apologies for my absence. I just returned from a long trip to the US to visit family for the holidays. Since then I've been coping with my jet-lag by eating Christmas candy and catching up on all the great British TV I missed while I was gone.

Seriously. The Brits have a tradition of showing their best programming around Christmas. Kind of like how the US has the best commercials during the Super Bowl. Or something.

So when I got home Monday evening, a bit sick, hungry, and exhausted, I got myself some lentil soup and lamb meatballs from the Middle Eastern deli down the street, and curled up on the couch to eat dinner and watch the two hour Downton Abbey Christmas special. Yay! It was everything I hoped it would be. I've been a bit disappointed in season 2, but this was nearly perfect in every way. If you haven't seen Downton Abbey (season 2 premiered in the US Sunday night, and currently the episodes from Season 1 can be seen online) you're really missing out.

Still jet-lagged and irritable Tuesday, I sat down and watched the Christmas special again.

Then that evening, feeling a bit more myself after grocery shopping and cooking dinner, I settled down to catch up with Sherlock, a modernized series about Sherlock Holmes. I quite enjoyed season 1 (I'm a huge Martin Freeman fan and can't WAIT to see him in The Hobbit), and within minutes was equally absorbed in the first episode of season 2. Until I wasn't.

Sherlock meets this mastermind female villain and it's a game of wits. Or that's what it was supposed to be. Except she's a professional dominatrix, so her only real power is sexual. Because she's not really that clever. And too emotional. And in the end (SPOILER ALERT) she needs Sherlock to rush in on his white horse and save her because apparently she's not clever enough to save herself.

It was a good episode. I watched the whole thing. I laughed a few times. I was surprised. But at the end, I had a sick feeling in my mouth. So I searched for #sherlock on Twitter. And I was so grateful to discover I wasn't alone. The Guardian published an article pointing out the episode's sexism. And there were several blog posts on the topic as well (here's one).

Except this was just the first episode of the series. Another one has already come out, and the last one will premiere Sunday. Are the other episodes as bad? Probably not. They probably don't have any females to speak of. The first season didn't. Would I enjoy them? Probably. Will I watch them?

What do you do when you find something you hate in something you love?

I thought about it all Tuesday evening. Finally I decided I didn't really love Sherlock. The acting was great, the characters and set-up are totally fun. But the plots sometimes don't hold together. I'm not emotionally entangled in the show (as I clearly am with Downton Abbey). So if I have to give it up, I could. And I think I will. Because even though I know I'm a very small voice among thousands, I don't want to support Sherlock anymore.

Of course, art is never perfect. I believe in criticism, in discussion, in subjectivity. And we all have our biases. Downton Abbey has had a few sexist, cringe-worthy moments, too (a great review from The Book Smugglers, see number 3). But it hasn't weighed down a whole episode for me. Yet.

I find myself frequently drawing these imaginary lines in the sand. When is something bad enough that I can't support it any longer? It's easy when it's something I don't care for. But what about when it's something I love? What about Apple and their poor factory conditions (This American Life recently provided a moving and thought-provoking report on this)? I want to believe Apple's PR that they're doing something about it. What about all the power and money tied up in college sports? I just hope a scandal never comes out about my team.

How do we deal with finding ugly things in what we most enjoy?

For me, at least when it comes to stories, the answer is to create better art. Sure, I have plenty of my own biases. But at least, every day, I can absorb myself in a world I believe in and think is worth sharing.

Have you ever discovered something you hate in something you love? Did you give it up?

Sorry for the downer of an opener to 2012. I promise to come back next week with more pep and excitement. But the TV, it must be talked about! In the meantime, happy New Year!

Ten best books of 2011 (& two fav writing reads!)

2011-12-22T07:00:00.000Z

It's a funny business choosing my favorite reads for a year. Much like the Oscars, I find myself skewing towards books I read in the second half of the year. January of 2011 seems like a distant memory. But perhaps that's just as well. The books I read earlier in the year have had longer to percolate, to establish themselves in my head. And the ones that keep returning to mind, which I keep mulling over, questioning, and recommending to friends? They've stood the test of time (at least, the test of months).

Anyway, without further waffling, here they are, in the order I read them, the Critically Yours Best Books of 2011:

1. Deaf Sentence by David Lodge (my thoughts here)
2. Regeneration by Pat Barker (my brief thoughts here)
3. The Story of A Girl by Sara Zarr (my brief thoughts here, again here)
4. Samurai Shortstop by Alan M. Gratz (no previous blog posts, because this book totally crept up on me and now I can't get it out of my head!)
5. The Truth about Forever by Sarah Dessen (my thoughts here)
6. Red Glove by Holly Black (my brief thoughts here)
7. The Tenth Power by Kate Constable (book 3 of the trilogy The Singer of All Songs--no thoughts because this trilogy was kind of a cumulative reading experience of awesomeness as I got deeper and deeper into it).
8. The Help by Kathryn Stockett (audiobook) (my Goodreads review)
9. For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway (my thoughts and apology to Hemingway here)
10. The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen (I'm a little embarrassed I haven't blogged about discovering Sarah Addison Allen yet, but will need to get on that...)

While compiling this list, two books kept jumping out at me. I kept scratching them off because they weren't fiction, they weren't even narratives, and their inclusion felt incongruous. However, in their own way, each of these books were an inspiration to me and my writing this year. So, in a new category for Critically Yours, here are my Two Favorite Writing Books of 2011:

The Forest for the Trees: An editor's advice to writers by Betsy Lerner (my thoughts here)
The Anatomy of Story by John Truby (reviewed here)

And because I do love my book stats, here's a few for my top ten list:

5 Adult books
5 Young Adult (though I could argue Samurai Shortstop is Middle Grade)
20% British authors (Lodge & Barker)
3 Historical fiction (Regeneration, Samurai Shortstop, The Help)
3 with fantasy elements (Red Glove, Tenth Power, and Sugar Queen, though Tenth Power is the only traditional otherworld fantasy among them)
5 Male narrators (Deaf Sentence, Regeneration, Samurai Shortstop, Red Glove, Bell Tolls)
1 1/2 Light, funny women-centric stories--who knew I liked that sort of thing?! (Sugar Queen, sort of The Help)
1 classic (For Whom the Bell Tolls)
1 bestseller (The Help)
2 movies that I know of (The Help, Bell Tolls, though Hollywood, if you're listening, I would watch a movie of Holly Black's Curse Worker's series in a SECOND!)

In February I posted about reading widely, trying to branch out in my reading habits and find new things. It turns out it's been very much a year for doing that, and I think my top ten list reflects that (50% adult books, 1 classic, 1 bestseller, 1 sports book in Shortstop Samurai). For more of 2011's reading stats, seeing Tuesday's post.

Okay, enough talk from me! What are some of your favorite reads of 2011?

Oh, and happy holidays and happy New Year to all of you. I've so appreciated your reading, commenting, support and friendship over this past year. This is the last post on Critically Yours for 2011, but I'll be back mid-January 2012!, eager to continue the conversation.

Reading stats for 2011

2011-12-20T07:00:00.000Z

For almost four years now, I've been keeping a list of every book I read. It's basic record keeping: the date I finish a book, the title, the author. If I don't finish a book, or if I'm re-reading the book, I mark it with an asterisk and a short note. Lately, I've also started keeping track of how many books I read with main characters or authors of color. And whether or not I know the author (how cool is that?!).

Last December, for the first time ever on Critically Yours, I shared my reading stats for 2010, along with random speculation about what the numbers meant. It inspired a number of my readers to keep track of their own reading (how's that going?) and was such a popular post, I've decided to make it an annual thing.

So, without further ado, I give you Critically Yours' Reading Stats for 2011!

*the crowd goes wild*

As of Sunday, December 18th:

Books completed: 92

DNF (Did Not Finish): 20 (18% of books I started)
Some of my reasons for DNFs: "Didn't believe story," "Long-winded," "Cliche & poor writing", "Not my book, confusing, arduous," "Just didn't care," "Annoying characters."

Re-read: 9

Graphic Novels / Comics: 3
Audiobooks: 4
Manuscripts (unpublished novels I was asked to critique): 3*
Adult: 30
Non-Fiction: 4
Person of Color (PoC): 11

*I suspect this number for manuscripts is wildly inaccurate. I think I've read a lot more full books, I just forgot to write them down, perhaps because reading them usually feels more like writing work than pleasure reading, no matter how good they are!

And yes, any book not specified as "Adult" or "Non-Fiction" is a children's book.

Some thoughts:

Throughout the year I felt I was reading fewer books, and the numbers do confirm that (last year I completed 105 books). However, the numbers also show I read THREE TIMES as many adult books this year as last year. And those do tend to take longer to read (it took me all of March to read Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens, though it was a very worthwhile read!). Part of this was due to a bit of impatience with angst-y teenage lovers, my monthly participation in an adult reading group, and my attempt to broaden my reading horizons a bit.

Speaking of broadening my reading horizons, I've been spending more time than in the past with different formats, specifically graphic novels and audiobooks; I've never read so many of each. I'm hoping to read a lot more. I'm disappointed, however, with the number of PoC books read. Last year I learned that only 13% of children's books published annually feature PoC, so I challenged myself to read at least 13, and ended up reading 19. So 11 is a disappointment, especially since a few of those 11 were re-reads. As the 13% stat reflects, PoC books really need to be sought out, as they often sadly fall out of the mainstream.

Last year I was surprised at how low my DNF percentage was (21%), but this year it's comparable at 18% ("See," Anne says to her husband, "I don't give up on HALF of the books I read! Only 18%!").

Thursday I'll be sharing my top ten reads AND top two writing books of 2011! Can't wait? Here's 2009's and 2010's lists.

Did you keep any reading stats this year? Any surprises? Trends?

What does revision look like? (part II)

2011-12-15T07:00:00.000Z

This week I'm sharing a snapshot of my revision process on Project Demo (see part I here). I'm talking about what precisely my revision looks like, my process, the emotional highs and lows... In short, why it's really hard to sum up revision!

So, last I blogged, I was hovering on the edge of despair. I had made a long list of everything wrong with my ending, and was convinced I would be revising Project Demo for another gazillion years.

Then...

I remembered Anne Lamott's lovely Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life. For those of you unfamiliar with her book, here's the quote to which the title refers:

"Thirty years ago my older brother, who was ten years old at the time, was trying to get a report on birds written that he'd had three months to write. It was due the next day. We were out at our family cabin in Bolinas, and he was at the kitchen table close to tears, surrounded by binder paper and pencils and unopened books on birds, immobilized by the hugeness of the task ahead. Then my father sat down beside him, put his arm around my brother's shoulder, and said, 'Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.'"

I told myself to stop hyperventilating, and just work on my ending, step by step, bird by bird, until I worked through my list of everything wrong with it. Maybe it would take a gazillion years. But maybe not. And I wanted to try.

So for the past week and a half I've been working through my list. And slowly but surely I'm beginning to cross things off.

For an in depth look at revision, here's what I did last Sunday:

Re-read chapter 32 to make sure Saturday's changes worked.
Added one sentence to chapter 34 to remind readers of a sub-plot character.
Added another sentence to clarify the main character's emotional motivation.
Reworded several paragraphs in chapter 34 so my additions flowed within the text.
Asked myself a hard question, paced while I thought about my answer.
Needed a break. Went back to the beginning of chapter 34 and added a sentence to clarify the day's date.
Other fiddly stuff: I found the appropriate accent mark for the name Jacqueline du Pré (a real life cellist mentioned in Project Demo). I did a project replace to switch all my Pre to Pré.
Discovered pressed had become Préssed. Did another project replace.
Found a place in the text where I could insert the answer to that hard question I had been pondering.
Worked a piece of information into some dialogue.
Highlighted a piece of dialogue I wasn't sure a character would actually say so I could find it and think it through later.
Journaled a few more lines of dialogue, to clarify character motivation, then typed them in.
Asked myself a few more hard questions about what my character was feeling. I wrote the questions down, also to think about later.

That was 85 minutes. I stopped, closed my computer, and made breakfast.

It was only later that I realized my friend Keren on Twitter had been right to mention the fixing stage. The changes I'm making aren't massive. I'm not rethinking whole plots and characters. I'm just adding text, clarifying motivations... I'm doing the little stuff that makes a novel polished.

Remember that list? As of today I've crossed off about 75% of it. Does it work? I'm not sure, but I imagine it's closer to working. And I've still got to write in the changes to my magic system.

But maybe I will finish revising Project Demo sometime before a gazillion years have passed. Bird by bird. Until the next crisis of confidence.

Where are you at in your writing? Does my revision process look anything like yours?

Next week I'll be closing out the year on Critically Yours by sharing my end of the year reading statistics and announcing 2011's favorite reads. Can't wait until then? Here are 2009 and 2010's posts.

What does revision look like? (part I)

2011-12-13T07:00:00.000Z

There's a lot online about the revision process: lists of common first draft errors, frequently over-used words, suggestions on techniques, tools, methods...

Just last week, writer Christina Farley blogged "My Four Stages of Revision." It was so orderly, so efficient, so smart. At the end, she asked readers to share about their own revision processes. And as I started to comment, I realized my process was all over the map.

But just like Christina, people do ask me about revision. How many drafts, how long does it take, etc.

So, since I'm in the midst of ~~slogging through~~ revising Project Demo, I'll devote this week to sharing a snapshot of my revision process. I'll talk about what precisely revision looks like for me, my process, the emotional highs and lows... In short, why it's really hard to sum up revision!

I'd like to start with last week (imagine going-back-in-time music here)...

Last week there was some serious big picture thinking going on. I had been inspired to return to Project Demo because of an idea I had to make the magic system work. So I'd been creating a list of all the magic in the book, pasting the text into my list, and working on making each passage believable and consistent. It was definitely a labor of love, as my list spawned other questions, other concerns. I had a really helpful Skype chat with Elisabeth at Fiction Forge (thank you!), and sent a chunk of text to a crit partner to read through.

By the end of the week, I finally felt like I was getting somewhere. I was beginning to believe in the magic. And I wasn't the only one. I got a gorgeous email from my crit partner:

"In every way it seems to work for me. Magic isn't usually my thing and I didn't know how you'd do it, but I really do think it's great and feels like it absolutely belongs in the story. Well done!"

Yay! But after weeks of changing one aspect of the magic, and then another, and then a third, I didn't want to move ahead until I was absolutely sure.

So I took some time off from worrying about the magic, and read the last third of the book. I hadn't touched it since this past summer, so I hardly remembered it. I hoped my last revision had left it fairly solid and that everything tied together nicely in the end.

Unfortunately, it wasn't, and it didn't.

After all my progress on the magic system, you'd think I'd have felt confident and ready to tackle anything. But instead it was like another massive problem, a blow.

I took to Twitter to whine:

"Feeling overwhelmed with all I need to do with Project Demo. I think I know what's wrong, but can I fix it? In less than a gazillion years?"

Thank God for Twitter friends and authors Keren David and Jane McLoughlin, who instantly replied.

Kerensd: yes you can!

JBMcLoughlin: You can and you will...the solution is hovering around you somewhere, waiting to be unleashed! Good luck.

We talked back and forth a bit, I whined more. Then Keren responded with this:

Kerensd: I find that fixing stage is my favourite. The relief as everything falls into place!

You're crazy, I thought. I'm not at that "fixing stage" yet. I might end up totally scrapping this ending! Nothing works! It's a mess!

Then, feeling thoroughly embarrassed by all my Twitter whining (and conscious how much time I had just spent procrastinating on Twitter), I signed off. I drafted a blog post on big picture thinking, and then realized, for all my big picture talk, I wasn't practicing what I preached. So I made a list of everything that didn't work in that last third of the book, scene by scene, chapter by chapter.

What happened next? Did I have to ditch the entire ending? Or was Keren right? Or did I get so distracted by Twitter again that I didn't do any writing at all? You'll have to tune in Thursday to find out!

In the meantime, why do you think writing is such an emotional roller coaster?

Big picture thinking

2011-12-08T07:00:00.000Z

The second half of this year has been an experiment in big picture thinking.

It started with my discovery of John Truby's The Anatomy of Story. Then I attempted to plan out Project Fun, going so far as a scene-by-scene outline. Now I'm back to work on Project Demo, and once again employing some big picture thinking.

I've worked this way before, but never systematically. You see, I'm a total writer nerd. When faced with an overwhelming life problem, I tend to journal solutions. And I approach my novels the same way. When something isn't working, I find myself thinking, "What if I just wrote it better?" So I rewrite, and rewrite, and rewrite some more. I try to revise a novel by making each line poetic and concise, streamlining description, conveying characters' motivations and personalities more strongly. But some things can't be fixed by better writing. What if a character is acting out of character? What if some plot point just can't happen the way I've described it? Better writing, though it does make my text pretty, won't save my novel. No matter how hard I try.

So lately I've made a scene by scene outline of Project Demo. I've summarized my main character's changing emotions from scene to scene. I've made a list of all the magical elements, from beginning to end. It's time consuming setting up these outlines, but I can do it while watching football. The time-saving part is then working from the outline to figure out what problems lie in the text. Much easier with a line or two than a whole chapter. Plus, I can use the outlines to check overall story arcs, transitions, plot. Only once I have clarified my text's problem, and developed a solution, do I allow myself to rewrite.

Am I saving time? I'm not sure. But the writing feels more systematic and efficient, and less like fumbling around in the dark. Returning to Project Demo, I've discovered the most complex and lengthy novel I've ever written. I do believe in it again, but I think I need to try some new tricks to pull it all together.

What revision techniques do you employ? Or do you somehow manage to hold everything in your head and just write?

Taking my show on the road

2011-12-06T07:00:00.000Z

I had a Christmas anxiety dream the other night. I know. I start with the anxiety dreams early.

My parents were taking me some place fun and wonderful for the holidays, and I had finished packing, but realized I had forgotten to save my novel to bring it with me. Of course, this being a dream, saving was taking forever, then my jump drive wouldn't work, and my computer crashed. And my mom was screaming at me that we were going to miss our flight to some place fun and wonderful.

But anyway, all this anxiety got me thinking: how does your writing travel?

I spent a day in Exeter last week (Hi lovely SW SCBWI people! Hi Candy!). It meant missing my morning writing time, but in exchange I got several hours in a train (for some reason, I always do some of my best writing in trains). But how to bring my revisions on Project Demo? The easiest would've been to haul my laptop along, except then I would've had to haul my laptop along, find places to plug it in when the battery got low, and hope to get a train seat with a table. I thought about printing out a handful of pages I needed to edit, but seeing as it's a macro-edit kind of thing, that would mean a lot of pages. Plus, what if I really got going, and accomplished a lot, but ran out of pages to work on? And I refused to print out my whole book. Again, hauling. In the end, I saved my novel as a pdf, and uploaded it to my ereader on my iPod. I couldn't type my changes directly into the document, but I could reference it and rewrite my changes by hand in my notebook. The following day it was fairly simple to go back through my notes and type everything up.

It's not like I travel every day, so I don't feel the need to run out and get a netbook or an iPad or whatever to make my on-the-go writing easier. But it got me thinking. With the holidays coming up (including a long flight back to the US, and hopefully some spare quiet moments amidst all the holiday and family stuff), I could use some ideas. So, how does your writing travel?

*The picture is mine, a steam engine from the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. Unfortunately I was NOT traveling in one of these lovelies last week!*

Listening for what they mean, not what they say

2011-12-01T07:00:00.000Z

I'm about halfway through implementing my new idea into Project Demo. There's plenty more revision to do (it's the writing project that never ends!), and I'm not yet satisfied that my new idea is working, but I'm feeling more confident about it than I have in a while. I feel like I'm finally beginning to realize my original vision for the story.

In fact, I've spent much of the past few weeks pulling text from my first draft to insert in this latest draft. These were elements in my first draft that I loved, but I took them out on the advice of others because they weren't working. My readers were 100% right, but the mistake was mine. Instead of taking out those elements, I should've figured out how to make them work.

That's the trick with critiques. Sometimes a reader has profound, surprising insights that can make a story. Other times it's a balancing act, acknowledging a reader's feelings, without directly taking their advice.

An example: One of my beta readers LOVES my villain. She thinks he's sexy and charming and vulnerable, and she doesn't understand why the main character doesn't date him. Part of me is flattered that my villain is a real three-dimensional character. But the other part of me is screaming: "No, no, no! He's the VILLAIN! She can't date him! He's BAD!" So the solution wasn't to contort my plot to make the main character and the villain date, but rather to address my reader's feelings. She thinks the villain is charming. What if I do more to show that while he's charming, he's not a good person? What if I make him stand too close, push too hard, and violently lose his temper? That way I'm using my reader's input to strengthen my story, but also keeping true to my vision.

It's a difficult balance. Sometimes, as a critiquer, I try not to make any suggestions, only give reactions and questions. But reactions and questions easily bleed into suggestions. How do you make sure you stick to the story you want to tell in the face of criticism?

Magic words

2011-11-29T07:00:00.000Z

Once a week I spend an afternoon at a local primary school working with kids who struggle with reading. My Reading Buddies are amazing for all sorts of reasons, and it's been a delight for this former teacher to get back in school and regularly working with children again. Plus, books!

As my Reading Buddies advance, we've been tackling more non-fiction books, with Tables of Contents, and glossaries, and bold-faced words. My kids often struggle with the bold-faced words because they're usually tricky, and not the sorts of words eight-year-olds regularly encounter (sonar, nocturnal, carnivores, etc). But of course there's an art to bold-faced words. A good author uses the word, immediately defines it for the reader, then uses it frequently afterwards. So even though my kids may struggle with "sonar" the first time, and the second, by the fifth time they know exactly how to pronounce it.

I don't exactly regularly encounter bold-faced words in my daily reading. I probably haven't read a text with bold-faced words since college, maybe even high school. But while working with my Reading Buddies, I've been thinking about bold-faced words and how authors use them. And not just in non-fiction ways.

For example, take Sarah Dessen's beautiful young adult novel, The Truth about Forever. No, she doesn't literally have any bold-faced words. But she treats the word "forever" very carefully within her text. The story is about how long forever is, and how decisions we make, even seemingly responsible ones, can affect us for the rest of our lives. Instead of making the forever decisions we're expected to make, we should make the forever decisions we want to make. So Sarah Dessen doesn't just throw around the word "forever." She introduces it carefully, then uses it judiciously, deliberately, adding layers of meaning to it each time, just as my kids' non-fiction books define and repeat "sonar."

Or take Stephen King's The Tommyknockers. The word Tommyknocker is used to describe the aliens. But at one point, the narrator explains that Tommyknockers is just another word for fear, for others, for outsiders. King uses Tommyknockers as a bold-faced word, introducing it first as a snatch of remembered childhood poetry, then returning to it again and again. It's a neat trick, as King doesn't have to waste time carefully using common words like "fear" and "others," but can use a single, unique word to convey meaning.

Used in this way, bold-faced words are like magic words, sprinkled judiciously, working as metaphors for ideas and emotions. They frequently become titles (as in both of my examples).

When I'm doing final revisions for a novel, I highlight my magic words, and then comb the text to make sure I've used them carefully, precisely. After all, if one of Sarah Dessen's characters in The Truth about Forever happened to say, "OMG, this car trip is lasting FOREVER," the word's effect could be totally ruined. I bet she kept a list of synonyms for "forever" close at hand while writing!

Do you make use of magic words? What's the magic word in your work in progress? Mine is "beautiful." Yes, a totally common word, like forever, but thankfully it has a lot of synonyms!

More American vs. British book covers

2011-11-24T07:00:00.000Z

Happy Thanksgiving to my American readers. Enjoy your food and football, friends and family. But since Phil and I (and our British friends!) aren't celebrating until Saturday*, I figured I could blog in the meantime. Nothing too arduous, just some pretty pictures for us to nit-pick.

Since my post on the UK vs US Harry Potter covers was of such interest, I figured I'd work the other way across the pond, and show you some American covers and their British versions which I've been reading lately.

American Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor:

British Daughter of Smoke and Bone:

I haven't seen the American version in person, but I imagine it sticks out on the shelf. The UK version may not look so distinct online, but I LOVE my British hardcover. The feathers glimmer as you tilt the book. So pretty!

American White Cat and Red Glove by Holly Black:

British White Cat and Red Glove:

I have seen all of these in person, and LOVE the UK versions (so intriguing and arty). But I was surprised when I got an American copy of White Cat how much I liked it. There's no wow factor to it, but it's modeled to look like an adult thriller, and with the raised text and stark colors, it's certainly eye-catching. And perhaps, from a marketing perspective, it does a better job of drawing in its intended readers.

American Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson:

British Wintergirls:

I'm torn on Wintergirls. The American version is the arty one, chilling and memorable. But the British cover, while looking a bit more blah, perhaps does a better job of reflecting what the story's literally about.

What do you think? What covers have you fallen for recently?

*BTW, for those of you who are curious, yes, Phil and I are carrying on our Thanksgiving in the UK tradition for the fourth year. Lots of scientists and writers, lots of traditional food from all sorts of traditions, and lots of fun. See my Thanksgiving tag for more on the party.

Writing easy

2011-11-22T07:00:00.000Z

Well, it seems to be official. I'm working on Project Demo again.

After paging through some of it on Friday, I couldn't stay away. I knew what I wanted to do. I only put in a few hours over the weekend, but I tore into the opening chapters, reworked them. It's a slight change word-wise, but I hope it's going to fix everything. Or at least, let me enjoy it again (for some of the backstory on this crazy development, see my Dear John letter to Project Demo).

Sunday night I got a phone call from a friend I haven't spoken to in a while. We were playing that catch up game, sharing what's been going on in our lives. "You seem better," my friend said. And I realized it was true. Last year was pretty rough, but I'm in a good place now.

And last night, as I fell asleep, I was thinking about Project Demo. "I love this novel," I said to myself. When did that happen?!

So I'm continuing to work on it. But easy. I refuse to be stressed, to set word count goals, or calendar deadlines. I want to enjoy this stage for a bit. If I start hating it again, I'll stop.

Because meanwhile, Project Fun is still waiting in the wings, bright and gleaming, full of possibility.

It's a good feeling.

Friday Random

2011-11-18T07:56:00.001Z

No walk this morning, even though there was a glorious sunrise. Instead, I jotted down some ideas, played with some phrases, and paged through some scenes in Project Demo. My week and a half of not writing has been good. I'm beginning to get inspired again.

I suspect tomorrow I'll dive in for real.

But unfortunately, that means not much to say on the blog front. Just a few random tidbits:

1. I'm going to try posting twice a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays, hopefully cutting down my blogging time, upping my writing time, and filling the blog idea well again.

2. For those of you who haven't seen, I'm trying out a new look with Critically Yours. If you're reading this blog somewhere else, like Google Reader, come check it out. And for those who have seen, thanks for all the good feedback. It feels like I've finally cleaned my teenage bedroom after months of dirty clothes piling up! But the new look continues to be a work in progress, so do let me know of any suggestions, ideas, typos, etc.

3. Yesterday Jo Wyton on the blog Notes from the Slushpile shared a thoughtful post on revision and "fixing" a novel based on readers' feedback. One quote really stuck out: "If you had each version of your book in front of you, which one would you want your name on?"

Love how that question cuts through all the fear of failure, and asks what we really want to be writing. That's the point I've reached with Project Demo. Now the challenge is making it work my way.

Have a good weekend!

Be still and know

2011-11-16T07:00:00.000Z

Day 7 of not writing.

I hadn't planned to take this much of a break. But every time I think about sitting down with my notebook again, outlining, writing, or breaking down scenes, stress washes over me and I decide to give myself another day or two. Clearly I needed a bit of a break.

I've been thinking about being still as opposed to being active. Sometimes for all the outlining, writing, and breaking down scenes, I can't arrive at any ideas. Other times, when I'm not thinking about anything beyond walking through the forest, or sitting in the bath, or cooking dinner, everything makes itself clear.

Last week I wasn't sure if I was going to continue with Project Fun for a while, or jump back to work on Project Demo. Then Friday I had an idea how to make Project Demo work. I wasn't actively thinking about it. A book I read recently helped, but the idea never occurred to me while I was reading. It occurred to me while I was hanging laundry. Being still (at least, not actively searching for an answer).

So I've spent the past few days letting the idea percolate. I've been poking at it, questioning it, reading some other, similar books. Yesterday I felt I had so many ideas inside me, I finally put pen to paper and made a list of all I had figured out.

Now? It's a misty, chilly morning. I think I'll take another walk, puzzle through some more. One of these mornings I'm going to wake up itching to write. Unafraid. Until then, I'm taking it slowly, and trying to be still.

What do you do when you're not actively writing? Do you have a hard time forcing yourself to be still (mentally or physically)?

*Note: The picture is mine, taken from Bath Spa University's campus. Love a campus with some sheep!*

Writing my world

2011-11-14T07:00:00.002Z

Not writing makes me twitchy. Especially in the early mornings. I've gotten so into the habit of getting up and getting straight to work, that I'm not sure what else there is to do. But this morning was a lovely, crisp fall morning, so I went for a walk and thought about writing.

I've just finished reading a few somewhat similar books, Holly Black's White Cat and its sequel, Red Glove, and Ally Carter's Heist Society. Both authors must have meticulously researched crime, crime families, and cons.

So on my walk I thought about those books, and what awesome, high-concept premises they had, and how I wished I could write something that fun. And then I thought: Well, why couldn't I?

Obviously not about crime families, Black and Carter seem to have that covered for the moment. But there's nothing to say I couldn't write a fun, high-concept book, nothing to say I couldn't research something really unique and interesting.

Because I'm almost positive Black and Carter do not come from crime families. And look at this bit from Holly Black's acknowledgements: "and [to] my husband, Theo, who not only put up with me during the writing, but also gave me lots of advice about demerits, scams, private school, and how to talk animal shelters out of things."

Isn't that fabulous? That is exactly why I always read books' acknowledgements, all those fascinating little tidbits! Not only is Holly Black probably not from a crime family, it appears she didn't even go to private school. But she knows someone who did.

I think that's the trick. Obviously, we can't only write about what we know forwards and backwards. Otherwise our books would be shallow, one-dimensional. And, just as obviously, we can't write the things we don't know. But I think there's a vast middle ground of things I don't know, but which are part of my world. The things I'm fascinated by, the things my husband knows, my family, my friends, the places I've traveled, the students I've taught. They're things I'd need to research, and I'd need to recruit people to help, but I bet I could pull them off.

And then it occurred to me, I've already done this. A few times. In Project Demo, one of my characters is into car repair. His father is a mechanic. Do I know anything about cars? No. I would be hard pressed to change a tire. But my mother was an engineer for GM until she retired. Plus I listen to Car Talk every week on my walk to get groceries. I used to teach students who studied car repair, and I could get minor jobs done on my car for free (loved that perk!). So even though all those aspects of my life don't add up to being able to change a tire, I imagined a boy who loves and works on cars. I got the sentiment right, and asked my mom (thank you, Mom!) to check the details. And upon reading Project Demo, you might even think I know something about cars. That's the illusion.

And it's those illusions that make books rich and universal.

What have you pretended to know in the course of your writing? Any fun things you'd love to write about?

*The picture is mine, from a walk in Bath*

Project Fun Update: FINISHED!

2011-11-11T07:00:00.000Z

Thanks to Faux Nano, on Wednesday I managed to finish the first draft of Project Fun.

It's not ready for primetime (not even beta readers). I haven't figured out the tense, I want to rearrange the climax scenes, and of course, the writing in places is a mess. But even after almost six weeks (37 days, to be exact) plodding through, it's still kind of fun. And sweet. In other words, the process of writing the first draft hasn't totally sucked the life out of Project Fun, which is a good thing.

Total count? 33,406 words. 40 chapters.

I managed to write a chapter almost every day (with a handful of exceptions), and some days managed two. The average chapter is 835 words, which seems to be pretty typical of a day's work for me.

Of course, I expected Faux Nano to last through November. I also expected Project Fun to be 50K. But seeing as it is a book for younger kids, and I'm sure it will gain a few thousand as it goes through revisions, I'm not too nervous about the length (or at least, I'm putting on a brave face--I've never written such a short novel!).

So what's next? Well, I'm not sure. Yesterday I spent the day at Birmingham seeing the sights (I so want to set a novel among the canals there: misty, brick tunnels, narrow boats) and getting fingerprinted for my visa. Today I'm getting together with a writing friend. I'll probably spend the weekend enjoying my new-found freedom (and reading a lot). But Monday?

I definitely need to take some time off. My brain and hands are both a little achy. But I'm already thinking about more writing. I've got some ideas for fixing Project Demo. And I'm itching to get back to Project Fun and start mending plot holes. So I'm truly not sure where the next few weeks are going to take me, except I think I should be easy about it, patient and creative, and see what happens. I've done the hard bit. At least, the first hard bit. And it feels good.

How are your projects, Nano or otherwise, coming along? And what do you do to celebrate a completed rough draft (besides wanting to jump right into the next draft because you know how bad it is?).

Oh, and happy 11/11/11!

Butt in Chair time: good for writing, not so good for butts!

2011-11-09T07:00:00.001Z

Nearly everyone says the most important part of writing is Butt In Chair time. But how do you juggle Butt In Chair time with keeping your body healthy and fit? Ever since I went from teaching (large portions of every day spent on my feet) to office work, then full-time writing, I've been struggling with maintaining that balance.

Author Helene Boudreau uses a treadmill desk. Genius, right? Walking and writing at the same time. She's got a video, and more information about it, here.

I'm itching to try the same as soon as I live some place more permanent, where the time and money spent setting up a treadmill desk will be worth it. But what to do in the meantime?

I've tried a few different options.

For a few months I sat on an exercise ball instead of my regular chair. It was great for my calf muscles, but my body couldn't adjust to it, and it was hard not having support for my back.

I've also tried being more mobile. Not only do I treat myself with email and snack breaks (essential for good writing!), I have stretch breaks. And whenever I'm stuck, I try to get up, pace my living room, and stare out the window as I puzzle things out. That's helped.

Lately, I've been thinking about doing more audiobooks. I've chanced across a few free audiobook downloads recently (Kathryn Stockett's The Help and Holly Black's White Cat, both of which I loved!) and really enjoyed being able to walk and read.

I see Audible has a monthly or yearly fee where you can download a certain number of audiobooks each month. Has anyone else gone that route?

What do you do to get Butt in Chair time without the Butt in Chair bit?

Present or past?

2011-11-07T07:00:00.003Z

Project Fun started in present tense. Then I slipped into the past. I've tried to stay in the past, except whenever my scenes get dialogue-heavy, I inadvertently switch back to present, sometimes for multiple pages. So, what will it be, present or past?

When I wrote Project Sparkle, I automatically wrote in present tense. I guess I had been reading a lot of present tense (it was becoming the hot thing in children's fiction). Later, I found it suited my character's impulsive, forthright nature, and the thriller genre. That's the magic of present tense. It's immediate, intense, and the reader doesn't know the future anymore than the main character, even whether or not the main character survives.

Check out this opening from White Cat by Holly Black (which I'm currently listening to as an audiobook and LOVING all over again):

"I wake up barefoot, standing on cold slate tiles. Looking dizzily down. I suck in a breath of icy air."

If you keep reading, you discover Cassel has sleepwalked onto his dorm's roof. But even before you know that, you can feel the tension, the height, the precariousness.

When I drafted Project Demo, I intentionally wanted to distance myself from Project Sparkle, with a quieter, more thought-provoking character and style. So I went with past tense. It suits Project Demo perfectly, as most of the novel involves the character debating whether she made the right decision. Not only is past tense more traditional, and more storyteller-like (Once upon a time...), it allows for more reflection than is usually possible in present tense. But that definitely doesn't mean boring.

Check out this opening for Ally Carter's Heist Society (one of the books on my to-read pile):

"No one knew for certain when the trouble started at the Colgan School. Some members of its alumni association blamed the decision to admit girls. Others cited newfangled liberal ideas and a general decline in the respect for elders worldwide. But whatever the theory, no on could deny that, recently, life at the Colgan School was different."

A great set-up for whatever's about to happen, no?

And that's the heart of the present / past debate. Either, done well, is practically invisible. Most writers seem to prefer one or the other. Others say the project suggests the tense. But what if I really don't know which to use?

How do you decide what tense to write in?

*By the way, I've been playing with the design of Critically Yours. Hopefully it won't look too weird or different over the next few weeks, but you've been warned.*

Project Fun is becoming a slog

2011-11-04T07:00:00.001Z

Okay, not really a slog. I still love it. But I'm beginning to notice all of its plot holes, and clunky writing, and I keep switching from present tense to past to present again because I can't make up my mind.

The good news is the end is in sight. My Faux Nano plan, commencing in early October, was to write a scene a day, and to produce a novel by the end of November. I had 57 scenes, so it mostly seemed to add up. Except some of those scenes ended up combining. And Project Fun is turning out to be much shorter than I expected. So now here I am, barely starting November, and ramping up to the climax.

If I continue writing a scene a day, I should finish the book by next Thursday.

Craziness! I'm now getting a bit paranoid about word count, thinking about adding scenes, padding out subplots...

But still, finishing early is a good thing because I'm definitely running low on steam. I don't know about the rest of you, but for me, drafting is hard work. I find it mentally, but also physically draining. Nap inducing. Is that just me?

Anyway, current word count (as of Thursday): 27,400

Scenes left: 7

How are your projects, Nano or otherwise, coming along?

The wide world of Harry Potter cover art

2011-11-02T07:00:00.000Z

This past summer I posted about re-reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows. I illustrated my post with a picture of Bloomsbury's original children's UK cover (pictured here). Many of my readers commented that they had never seen the British covers before. I was shocked.

Of course, there's no reason for American readers to know the British cover art. But having lived over here, I've discovered a whole other Harry Potter world. Not just the cover art, but reading the non-translated English (all that snogging!), seeing traditional school uniforms and football furor, Harry Potter has become even more real (and British) to me. Plus, I still have the occasional Harry Potter moment when I encounter something that feels straight out of the books (like when I take the train and get offered something from the food trolley!).

As long-time readers of the blog know, I love cover art. I love analyzing it, judging it, laughing at it, and reveling in it, though I'm certainly not an expert (if you love cover art, too, I highly recommend that cover girl for all things relating to YA covers). So I figured I'd give you a taste of the wide world of Harry Potter cover art. For a more comprehensive sample, visit the Harry Potter wiki's article on cover art.

Here's the first Bloomsbury UK children's cover:

And for my British readers, here's the first US Scholastic cover (of course, with the different title, the Sorcerer's Stone):

Harry Potter has actually had several different covers in the UK. Bloomsbury published separate editions for children and for adults (which I think is pretty clever). Here's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows as Bloomsbury's adult edition:

And I've never seen this on the shelves, but there was apparently another adult edition with different cover art (I suspect it didn't sell as well and was discontinued). Shame, I LOVE this edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone:

Bloomsbury has also recently created a Signature edition. Here's that Deathly Hollows:

A few others, just for your enjoyment:

Bloomsbury's children's cover of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban:

Scholastic's US cover of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince:

Scholastic's US cover of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows:

Which do you love most? Which would you have loved as a kid? If you could get a complete set of any, which? I definitely have my eyes on Bloomsbury's early adult edition (the one with the train)! I'm not sure they fit the tone of the books. But they're beautiful!

Hello fear, my old friend

2011-10-31T07:00:00.002Z

Happy Halloween! A number of bloggers have been posting about what they most fear. I've got plenty of fears to share. But in the midst of drafting Project Fun for Faux Nano, I've been thinking about the fear to write, which manages to catch me out almost every morning, silencing my words, plaguing me with doubt and insecurity. Recently, in an attempt to exorcise my demons of fear, I started singing (to the tune of the first line of Simon & Garfunkel's Sound of Silence), "Hello fear, my old friend." Because of course naming your fear is half the battle. In the spirit of Halloween, I decided to finish rewriting the lyrics to share them with you. Apologies to S&G for bastardizing their words and scansion. But at least now I have a whole song with which to face down my fear.

Hello fear, my old friend

I’ve come to talk with you again

Because a story softly creeping

Left its premise while I was sleeping

And the story that was planted in my brain

Still remains

Within the sound of silence

After restless dreams I tried to write

In the early morning light

Scribbling with pen on paper

I closed my eyes to all my failure

When my eyes were stabbed by Word’s blinking cursor

It split my will

And rallied the sound of silence

In the computer’s white light I saw

Ten thousand emails maybe more

Agents rejecting because there is no market

Editors rejecting because there is no money

Writers dreaming stories that readers never share

I no longer dare

Disturb the sound of silence

“Fool,” said I, “You already know,”

Fear like a cancer grows

I should write my words that I might capture them

Tell my stories that I might reach them

But my words like quiet snowfall melt

And exit my mind in silence

Writers like me bowed and prayed

To the fancy blogs we made

While the New York Times flashed out its warning

Via Facebook and Twittering,

The headline cried, “The book industry is already cold and dead.”

Where has my courage gone?

To whisper in the sound of silence.

Books are this girl's best friends

2011-10-28T07:00:00.001+01:00

Earlier this year, when I expected to move back to the US, I got rid of a number of books. I donated them to charity bookstores, gave them away to friends, and brought a stack I couldn't part with to my parents' house. I was down to a single shelf of books, if you can believe it.

Then October happened. And suddenly the number of books in my apartment has doubled. Pretty neat trick, huh?

At the beginning of this month, I treated myself to three new books: Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma, Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor, and The Lighter Side of Life and Death by CK Kelly Martin. I read (and love) all three authors' blogs, and their most recent books have been getting rave reviews, so I figured I could guarantee a good read (plus support authors and blogs I love). By the way, a special shout out to Nova Ren Suma. She's been running a creepy, thoughtful, and FUN blog series for this month called "What Scares You?" which features numerous ya authors. Definitely check it out.

Then, just as I was tearing into my new books, the Bath Kids Lit Fest happened, in all of its mad glory, and as my thank you for volunteering present I got to select several free books from their shelves. Woo-hoo! Free books!

Then a few writing buddies loaned me some must-reads.

Then I had an incredibly lucky run. Author Carmella Van Vleet posted on the MiG blog about her daughter's struggles with her growth disorder (it's a really educational post, and worth reading). In a random drawing for commenting on the post, I won a copy of Nava Atlas' The Literary Ladies' Guide to the Writing Life (thanks so much, MiG ladies!). Author SJ Kincaid had a giveaway on her blog, and I won White Cat by Holly Black (a favorite book from this past year that I've been desperately wanting to reread--thanks, SJ!). And I won CK Kelly Martin's newest book, My Beating Teenage Heart, from author Audrey Vernick's blog (thanks to both Audrey and CK!).

I know. I was a little embarrassed by all my luck, to be honest. My husband told me I should be playing the lotto instead of entering book contests. But I won books! Can't argue with that! In the coming months, I'll be sharing reviews of Nava Atlas' book and CK Kelly Martin's (and Audrey and SJ's books are already on the shopping list). Whenever I catch up on all this reading!

Course, as much as my husband teases me about my book winnings, he knows what I love. He got me the first omnibus volume of the comic Girl Genius (which I've been lusting after ever since The Book Smugglers' fab review) for our anniversary (who knew comics were the appropriate gift for eight years of marriage?!).

So many lovely books. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed. But in a good way. One can never have too many books.

What are you reading at the moment? What books are you lusting after?

Thinking through our characters

2011-10-26T07:00:00.003+01:00

I frequently reach moments in my rough drafts that read something like this:

Clara had no idea what to do. She was lost. Totally, utterly lost. Lost lost lost. "I know," she thought. "I'll make a list. One side of the page will be all the pros for going into the deep, dark forest after Jed (I think I love him, he could be in danger, I'm getting bored...), on the other side will be all the cons (he could be in danger, I've heard there might be rabid beasts in the forest, and there are those strange noises coming from the back yard every evening that haven't yet been explained)." Clara sat down on her bed and drew up her list. But it wasn't enough. She couldn't make up her mind. What if there was a third option she hadn't thought of? "Better journal for a while," she thought.

Of course, this is an exaggeration. And there's nothing wrong with characters sharing their thought process. But when I find my characters totally lost, resorting to making lists, or journaling their way out of problems, or going to the library, it's time to put down my rough draft and do some brainstorming off the page. No one wants to read my thought process.

Anyone else guilty of this?

Note: Clara and Jed are not characters in Project Fun. I just totally made them up. But I have to say, I'm now intrigued by what might happen next...

My Life as a Plotter: Project Fun Update

2011-10-24T07:00:00.003+01:00

I'm still going strong with Project Fun. I managed to write a scene every day this week and by Sunday was up to 18K (boy do I love watching those words add up!). Special thanks to Sharon Jones and Deanna Carlyle for all their support on Twitter (we're using the tag #fauxnano, if anyone would like to join in).

Most importantly, of course, I'm still having fun. Though I'm far enough along that I'm plagued with the never-ending novelist questions: Is this any good? Did I dig deep enough? What if my character is too weird? What if this only makes sense in my head? And on and on and on. I try to fix what I can, but otherwise just keep writing. It's all I can do.

However, my biggest fear was that writing a scene-by-scene outline in advance would ruin everything. Tons of novelists swear against outlines; they find joy in the writing, in discovering their story as they go. But strangely, at least so far, that hasn't been a problem.

As I get to know my characters better, they're doing unexpected, even surprising things. So while part of me knows what's coming, another part of me is enjoying the ride, looking ahead to the big loop-de-loop and wondering what that's going to feel like, and what new twist my car might take. Very exciting.

I've also discovered an unexpected benefit to advance-plotting. Obviously there's the benefit of having a sentence jotted down for each scene, so I'm avoiding the dreaded blank page. But that structure also gives me the freedom to skip pointless paragraphs where I try to move my character from point A to point B.

For example, say a scene starts over breakfast, with a young girl arguing with her mom. She slams the door as she heads off to school. The next scene happens that evening, when the girl and her mom confront each other again over dinner.

If I were writing this story as I created it, I'd tell you about school that day, how crummy and boring it was, how noisy, how many kids there were in the halls, pushing and shoving... but you don't care. You want to know what's going to happen with the girl and her mom.

Having an outline in front of me gives me permission to jump to the next scene. It saves me lots of pointless paragraphs that will just be cut later anyway.

Pretty neat, huh? Course, next week I might be bemoaning the evil outline. We'll see.

How are your Nano or Nano Lite or Faux Nano goals coming along?

Where are you from?

2011-10-21T07:00:00.000+01:00

The other day I was out grocery shopping, and bumped into a person on the street soliciting for a charity (this is a daily thing in the UK; college-aged students are hired by charities to accost--I mean, sign-up--passersby for regular donations).

I've gotten good at politely avoiding these people: "Sorry, not interested." Every so often they get pushy, and I'll explain to them that I prefer not to conduct business transactions on the street. But I try not to say too much. Because frequently, whenever I so much as open my mouth, they jump on my accent.

"Where you are from?"

I think they're trying to be friendly, to get me talking, perhaps willing to donate (or even entertain them while they stand on the street, probably bored out of their minds). But this question has the exact opposite effect. I'll mumble something hurriedly (the other day it was, "Here, I'm from Bristol.") and leave as quickly as possible.

I HATE being asked where I'm from.

And I should say, this doesn't just happen with charity workers. I get it from the supermarket, from people at the bus stop, from cafes. Everywhere I go, I get asked "Where are you from?"

I don't mind so much when it's part of a conversation. But if it's out of the blue, to me it's the equivalent of saying, "You're not from around here. You don't belong." Because, obviously, they're not asking the people with British accents "Where are you from?" I don't mind the question as a tourist, but as someone who's lived in Bristol for four years, I resent being told I don't belong. I can only imagine how annoying this is after twenty years.

Growing up, I was told never to ask where someone's from. I was taught that even if someone has a different skin color to mine, or a different accent, they can still be American. Maybe that's not so much of a British sensibility.

But perhaps I'm being too sensitive. I truly don't think these people mean to be nasty or exclusive. At best, they're curious. Perhaps I just don't like being asked personal questions on the street.

Because minutes later, I went into my favorite deli (Chandos! Love them!), and the two guys behind the counter were debating whether Matt Damon would run for US President. I placed my order, and then one of the guys, one I've chatted with before, asked, "Hey, where are you from again?" and I didn't resent it at all. He wanted to include me in the conversation, get the American perspective on whether Matt Damon would run (uhhh... no).

The funny thing is, I love talking about where I'm from. I love discussing Chicago, snowy winters, the Great Lakes, US politics, American food...

All of this made me wonder whether maybe I need a new "Where are you from?" policy.

Perhaps I should be less prickly and say, Chicago, or Michigan, or the US.

Or perhaps I should take the opportunity to let them know that I find the question upsetting, and I wish they wouldn't ask it, because it implies that people with different accents can't belong here.

More than likely, I'll just glare, mumble "Here," and hurry away again.

What do you think? Is it a fair question? How would you answer it?

Dear Mr. Hemingway,

2011-10-19T07:00:00.000+01:00

I owe you an apology.

I know you're not around anymore, and I know you probably don't care what I have to write anyway. But I've spent a lot of my life saying hateful things about you, so I feel the need to apologize publicly.

I first read Ernest Hemingway in an American Lit class in high school. I loved the teacher, loved everything we read, except I loathed Hemingway. We read his Nick Adams short stories. Our teacher discussed his terse style, interest in war, bull-fighting, the outdoors. To me his writing felt arrogant, filled with false-bravado. I couldn't see the draw at all.

In college, discovering that most of my classmates had read Old Man and the Sea, I gave that a try. Same style. After just a few pages, I put it down.

Years later, I ended up teaching American Lit. A fellow teacher suggested a Hemingway short story ("A Day's Wait"). I wrinkled my nose, but she promised me it was good. It was. It was a breathtakingly beautiful story, honest and sad. The only good Hemingway I ever read. It didn't inspire me to read anymore, but at least I could say I taught Hemingway. Sort of.

Fast forward to now, and my Bristol book group. The lone man in the group suggested we read For Whom the Bell Tolls. I made a face. I told the group I'd happily give it a try, but in truth I didn't intend to read more than a few pages. Especially when I saw the novel was over 400. I repeated my mantra, said I found Hemingway's writing masculine, arrogant, and dull.

This Thursday when we meet for book group, I'm planning to eat my words.

I LOVED For Whom the Bell Tolls.

Admittedly, it was a slow start. The writing was the same terse style I'd come to hate. But I pressed on, figuring I should at least finish the first chapter. And I was loathe to admit it, but every so often there were some beautiful sentences. Then I pushed on to the second chapter, thinking I should at least say I read 50 pages. By page 50, I stopped making excuses, and finally admitted I was totally absorbed in this story of an American dynamiter fighting in Spain's Civil War, and all the politics, the people who say one thing, but mean another, and everyone in their own way confronting death as they plan to blow up a bridge to stop the Fascist Army.

But not only was the story absorbing, the characters fascinating (though it did take a while to actually get to the bridge...), the best part was that this terse style became like a writing masterclass.

I mean, listen to this! "He knelt by the stream and, pushing his automatic pistol around on his belt to the small of his back so that it would not be wet, he lowered himself with a hand on each of two boulders and drank from the stream. The water was achingly cold."

Achingly cold. It gives me chills (literally, not just figuratively!). Talk about a beautiful use of an adverb (which writers are never supposed to use!).

Most of the language was slow, plodding, yet brief. It was meant to capture Spanish in translation, and I did truly feel like I was reading Spanish and then slowly translating the language into English in my mind. It also forced me to read every word, which took a long time, but is a neat trick.

But better, Hemingway plays with that rhythm, changing it at different points, and he changes the pace of his language to convey dialogue, description, thought, sex. I was mesmerized. I would love to quote one of his sex scenes, but I don't quite dare. Read the book!

I also loved the cursing in the novel (yes, sex, cursing, see what this Hemingway love hath wrought?!). Actually, he didn't curse outwardly, he did everything he could to get around it. As a young adult author, I thought there was a lot to learn here:

"Where the hell are you going? Agustín asked the grave little man as he came up.
“To my duty,” Fernando said with dignity.
“Thy duty,” said Agustín mockingly. “I besmirch the milk of thy duty.” Then turning to the woman, “Where the un-nameable is this vileness that I am to guard?”
“In the cave,” Pilar said. “In two sacks. And I am tired of thy obscenity.”
“I obscenity in the milk of thy tiredness,” Agustín said.
“Then go and befoul thyself,” Pilar said to him without heat.
“Thy mother,” Agustín replied.

Apparently this annoys a lot of people, but it absolutely cracked me up. You know (roughly) all the obscene things the characters are saying, but Hemingway is avoiding all censorship. In a later passage, in the main character's own head, so there is no Spanish translation, the word muck is substituted. But muck becomes just as angry and as effective as anything else.

Finally, and perhaps best of all, I didn't find the novel overly arrogant or masculine, or any of those other hateful things I said before about Mr. Hemingway. Instead, I found it full of questions, about masculinity, bravery, killing, what it means to be a soldier, whether war really accomplishes any purpose, whether democracies can ever be fair.

The love interest, Maria, prior to the novel's opening, has been gang-raped. This isn't handled well (sex and loving the "right man" will make it all better!), but considering it was the early 1940s, I was impressed it was there in the first place, discussed, and that Maria was treated gently and sensitively because of it.

It was a beautiful and truly thought-provoking read. And strangely enough, I'm anxious to read more. Anyone have any Hemingway recommendations? Any writers you hate?

Faux NaNo

2011-10-17T07:00:00.001+01:00

Ah, fall. When the air turns crisp, the leaves turn into breathtaking reds, oranges, and golds, and writers' thoughts turn to drafting a novel in a month.

Yep, it's nearly November, which means most of my internet writing friends are agonizing over whether or not to do NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). Over the years, I've come to realize that NaNo really isn't my thing. I'm a slower writer, and speeding up just means more plot holes and poorly drawn characters. Last year I participated in my own version of NaNo, October and November National Novel Writing Month with No Guilt (shorthand, OctAnNaNoWriMowithNoGuilt-o, of course). It's purpose was met, in that I started fervently drafting my novel Project Demo, and got some serious page accumulation (even if it wasn't quite the official NaNo goal of 50K).

Still, I love the determination and support that NaNo fosters, and I love to be a part of that, in however small a way. I laid Project Demo aside at the end of August, as we both needed a break from each other and something fresh. So I'm in a lucky spot where I can again use some of the NaNo spirit to push through my draft. This year I'm keeping things simple and calling it Faux NaNo.

The goal? Finish a rough draft of Project Fun by the end of November.

What? You haven't heard about Project Fun?

Well, that's probably because I haven't said much about it yet. As you may have gathered from the blog, life has been rather full-on lately. But I spent much of September using John Truby's 22-step method to plot out Project Fun. I started actually writing on October 4th (so really, I'm already two weeks into Faux NaNo!).

How's it going? Well... I'm a total pantser, so this a very new and strange way for me to write. But so far it seems to be going okay. Project Fun is still fun, which was about 80% of the point of writing it. But it's also very much early days. I'm pressing forward, aiming for a chapter a day, roughly 500-1500 words. And we'll see what it looks like when I come out the other end of November.

In the meantime, now that Project Demo isn't giving me nasty looks on a daily basis, and the Bath Kids Lit Fest is over, I should have a bit more time to blog, and share some updates on Project Fun throughout the remaining month and a half of my Faux NaNo.

Total as of yesterday: 11,600

What about you? Have your thoughts turned to NaNo? Anyone else doing a sort of Faux NaNo?

A different kind of visa application

2011-10-14T07:00:00.001+01:00

I've been very quiet recently about what the next year might bring, but regular readers will know this past year wasn't particularly easy.

I originally moved to Bristol, in the United Kingdom, because of a research grant my husband received. Then he received another, which finished two weeks ago. He's spent the past year hunting for a more permanent job, but you all know how difficult the market has been. I kept hoping for good news to share here, but even this summer, I honestly didn't know where in the world we'd end up next.

Well, finally, good news: Phil has been offered (and accepted!) a one-year position at the University of Bristol. It was only this week that we submitted our new visa applications (and they still haven't been processed, but we're crossing our fingers!).

It's been an arduous few weeks (not to mention almost a year of uncertainty!). There was a lot of bureaucracy involved, and then the applications themselves can be quite demanding. We had to get photos taken, prove we're native English speakers, assemble proof of bank accounts, our marriage, and academic degrees, along with filling out miles of paperwork. And then there's the fees, many hundreds of pounds just to process the applications.

I do understand, though. The government wants to make sure we're here legally, that we can afford to stay here, and that we'll add value to the country through Phil's work.

But I've spent much of the past few weeks wondering how the application process might look different if perhaps we weren't judged by bank accounts and university degrees, but rather by the life we've led the past four years.

For example, when this position at the University opened up, Phil's colleagues unanimously wanted to offer it to Phil (I'm his wife, I can brag on his behalf!).

And when I told the primary school teacher I volunteer with once a week that I might not be back the following year, she offered to write a letter to the Border Agency herself, letting them know how useful I've been.

Of course, there's more to integrating into a country than work.

The Border Agency would probably want character references. So I think about all the friends we've made here. I think about my writing friends, my library book group, my orchestra, four years of Thanksgiving celebrations in our packed living room.

But perhaps the UK government would also like to know that we're not complete outsiders, that we've absorbed our share of British culture. Well, besides an MA in Writing for Young People, I've mastered a mean scone recipe (the quickest way to my heart, of course, being my stomach). I might be trying out some more baking after the past two months watching The Great British Bake-Off. I'm totally addicted to Downton Abbey, and may or may not (it's unconfirmed) have a thing for Kevin McCloud, the host of Grand Designs.

Of course, there's also the matter of dancing in front of hundreds of kids as the beloved Horrid Henry while volunteering for the Bath Kids Lit Fest. Surely that's got to count for something? I could even send my picture in the Telegraph in as evidence!

The more I thought about what this type of application would look like, the more certain I was that Phil and I would pass it. Over four years, Bristol really has become part of my life, and a home in all senses of the word. I've spent a lot of time looking forward to going back to the US, but I have to admit, now that I'm not going, I'm kind of looking forward to another year here.

As long as those visa applications get approved. Maybe I should send the Border Agency this link?

Thanks, everyone, and especially my British friends. Guess we'll have to put up with each other for another year!

Me & Phil at a Bristol Badgers baseball game

All pictures are mine (except the Great British Bake Off shot): Me "steering" the SS Great Britain, the Clifton Suspension Bridge, and the Balloon Fiesta over Bristol's skyline

Do you tell people you're a writer?

2011-10-12T07:00:00.000+01:00

I try to avoid it if I can. That's why my landlord thinks I live a life of leisure.

If I tell people I'm a writer, then people (understandably) ask, "What have you written?"

Then I have to tell them none of my novels have been published, and they secretly feel bad for me, because I must not be a very good writer. Either that or I just don't understand how to market myself. Sometimes they try to help me with that.

Or they ask "What's your book about?" and if I'm feeling brave I might give a pitch. Or I might not, if I can't bear that empty silence or disinterested gaze one more time.

So I'll them it's for teenagers, and hope they don't ask anymore.

"Is it about vampires?"

"No."

But eventually, I have to tell people. At least, friends, acquaintances. The type of people who ask how your weekend was, and I need to explain how I spend long portions of my life sitting inside, staring into space.

The worst is when I see them again. "Is your book published now?"

"No."

Thankfully the best and closest friends understand. Or they're writers themselves.

Do you tell people you're a writer?

Do characters have to be likable?

2011-10-10T07:00:00.001+01:00

At the beginning of the Kids Lit Fest, knowing I was going to be traveling back and forth to Bath frequently, I downloaded from my library the audiobook for a well-respected, literary adult novel. I took it on my walk later that day, and hadn't even made it to the end of my street before I was sick of it. Both main characters were whiny, immature know-it-alls.

Fair? No, probably not. I looked the book up on Goodreads when I got home, and it's gotten numerous good reviews. Several readers point out that while the characters are annoying at the beginning, they mature through the course of the novel.

Maybe I should've given the book another shot, but it happened to be the second literary novel I'd encountered in the past month with this issue. If I'm going to devote hours of my time (11+ in the case of this audiobook), I don't want to spend it with whiny, immature people.

So I've been thinking lately about unsympathetic characters, and when they work and when they don't. I'm happy to root for Scarlett in Gone With the Wind. There's nothing likable about Richard III or Dr. House, yet I watch with interest. So a character doesn't have to be a saint to capture my imagination. But there still has to be something there.

Meg Rosoff in her talk at the Bath Kids Lit Fest said she dealt with an unsympathetic narrator (Bob, the 19-year-old god in There Is No Dog) by giving him flashes of brilliance.

Meg and Melvin Burgess also talked about how in Melvin's book, Kill All Enemies, the characters start out unlikable, but as the reader learns more about them, the reader becomes more sympathetic.

I think the author has to do something to either help the reader engage with her character (make him funny or fascinating, brilliant or sympathetic) or her story (even though the reader can't stand the character, she reads on because she HAS to know what this character's going to do next).

Can you think of any other ways to entice readers with an unsympathetic character? And do you have any favorite unsympathetic characters?

I think ya author Courtney Summers is a master at making readers care about her characters, even though they do terrible things.

Bath Festival of Children's Literature Day 3

2011-10-06T07:00:00.003+01:00

This is my final post on the Bath Kids Lit Fest (see Day 1 here and Day 2 here). Writing these posts has almost been like volunteering and attending the events: exhausting and time-consuming, yet fascinating and inspirational. I'm glad that not only have I been able to capture many of my memories, but that I've been able to share them with you.

A week ago Thursday was Writing for Children and Teenagers, the annual event hosted by the the MA in Writing for Young People at Bath Spa University. There were brief readings and discussion from four authors, Bath Spa's Writer in Residence, Marcus Sedgwick (his most recent book is Midwinterblood), Gill Lewis (Sky Hawk), Sam Gayton (The Snow Merchant), and Karen Saunders (Baby Badger's Wonderful Night). The course director (and my amazing tutor) Julia Green moderated.

It was a fascinating juxtaposition of stories and opinions, though like many of the multiple-author events, I wished I could have heard more from some of the authors. Marcus Sedgwick shared about being behind deadline, scrapping his work in progress, and starting the novel that became Midwinterblood after being inspired by a painting. Midwinterblood has a unique, risky structure (14 narrators, 7 time periods), so Marcus talked about breaking publishers' rules. He also argued that children's stories can have adult narrators. I'm not sure I agree, but it's interesting to ponder.

Sam Gayton shared about his writing process and the development of The Snow Merchant. He compared the writing itself to snow falling, slowly but steadily building up. Such a beautiful (and true!) image.

Gill Lewis talked about how her childhood fascination with animals, and her adult career as a vet, inspired her novel Sky Hawk. She also shared her amazing publication journey. She got an agent in the space of a week or so, and Oxford University Press offered her a contract in less than 24-hours.

I was so grateful for Karen Saunders contrasting story: her novel was almost picked up by two publishers, but ultimately turned down. Then her agent shopped a picture book manuscript she had written on the course. That was accepted for publication, but her publisher asked her to cut half of it and change the title and character names. She put her foot down when they asked if she could use an animal other than badgers. But now, six years since the completion of her MA, her picture book is out and she's at work on the next. And it's a lovely story, with gorgeous illustrations.

I've been thankful for the writers this week who have dared to say how difficult writing and publication can be. In the past, I've heard authors glibly tell stories, like that they wrote their book overnight, and I think those sorts of expectations can set writers up for disappointment.

Jacqueline Wilson was another author this week who was honest about her struggles to become a published author. And what an event that was!

For those of you (Americans!) who don't know who Jacqueline Wilson is, she's a rock star over here, an institution. I blogged about her here.

The Kids Lit Fest set a record for attendance at their Saturday Jacqueline Wilson event: 1426 people. And I managed the line! It circled almost completely around the block, and was filled with girls and their mothers (and a few lovely sons and fathers) clutching battered copies of Jacqueline Wilson books to their chests. And all on the hottest October day in Bath ever.

We packed into the Forum (a giant auditorium / church). The stage was enormous, with only a single chair and table for Jacqueline. It looked ridiculous, but when Jacqueline came out, somehow her presence managed to easily fill the space. She was charming and funny. She shared her story of becoming an author, living in a boarding house's linen closet while she worked for a children's magazine. For a while she wrote the horoscopes, and she admitted she knew nothing about stars or signs, so she made it all up. But she filled her own horoscope with all sorts of dreams of fame. Quite amazing how much has come true for her.

But she encouraged writers to be true to themselves. She got into the business as a teenager, when she saw a magazine's call for teen writers. They were looking for beauty and fashion tips and romance stories. Instead she wrote a story about being the awkward girl at the dance, pretending to look like she was having fun, taking long trips to the bathroom, and afterwards smiling and telling her family what a nice time she had before she cried in her room. The magazine bought it, and that was her first publication credit.

Jacqueline also shared her more recent history, including her heart attack that required three months of recuperation. It resulted in her first historical fiction novel, Hetty Feather, a book that she had desperately wanted to write, but could never find the time to research. Funny how life isn't always up to us. But Hetty Feather has become her favorite character from all her books.

One thing I take away from the Fest every year is how different all the good talks are. Some authors show movies, others bring artifacts, some run around and scream, some (Jacqueline Wilson) sit on a single chair on a giant stage and yet fill the whole room. I think the best talks (like the best books) come from the authors who just act like themselves. After all, that's what we're there to see, anyway.

Bath Festival of Children's Literature Day 2

2011-10-04T07:00:00.007+01:00

The fun continues... (see my last post about the Bath Kids Lit Fest here)

Last Monday, I volunteered for the Festival first for the Queens of Teen talk, with Cathy Cassidy, Joanna Nadin, Samantha Mackintosh, and Karen McCombie. Unfortunately, I haven't read any of their books, but the talk was hysterical, with the women sharing their favorite scenes, embarrassing moments from childhood, how much of their characters are really them. I could easily tell why their books have been so successful: they were a riot!

I was surprised that so many of them based their characters on themselves almost completely. Many of them also used real situations from their lives, and real people as friends and enemies. Perhaps that comes with writing contemporary humor. Maybe their lives are funnier than mine? Or at least, they can make them out to be funnier?

Next was the talk by David Almond, Melvin Burgess, and Meg Rosoff. There's so much to say, I don't really know where to begin. Perhaps that's one of the problems with inviting three amazing authors for one talk. There was almost too much going on, and I didn't feel I got to hear enough from any of the authors.

One of the best bits was just seeing each author walk into the Green Room beforehand. Why yes, I was screaming in my head, OMG, THAT'S MEG ROSOFF! *jumping up and down* Thankfully it all stayed inside my head. And then watching them all greet each other, chat with each other... Meg and Melvin know each other best, but they all seemed to be friends, colleagues at their job. Throughout much of the talk they joked with each other, complimented each other.

My favorite line was when the moderator asked David Almond what he thought of Melvin Burgess' new book, Kill All Enemies (yes, the moderator really did ask those sorts of pointless questions. *sigh*). Anyway, Melvin patted David on the back, beamed at the audience, and said, "David Almond loves my book. He told me so." I cracked up.

The authors talked a bit about unsympathetic narrators, which I thought was fascinating. Meg Rosoff's newest book, There Is No Dog, imagines the universe if God were an obnoxious 19-year-old guy named Bob. Bob isn't supposed to be very sympathetic. That's the point, Meg exploring why, if there is a god, all sorts of strange and terrible things happen. But Meg explained how she tried to keep the reader engaged with Bob by giving him "flashes of brilliance" like when he makes whales float in the sky.

She also talked about how one of the main characters in Melvin's book (again, stupid moderator question, "Meg, what did you think of Melvin's book?" Grrr!) started out unsympathetic, but the more you learned about him, and the more layers were revealed, the more you grew to care about him. That's how people work in real life, too.

That brought up one of Melvin Burgess' personal rules for his writing: never be judgmental. I thought that was a great rule, and so true of his books. After all, if we as adults start judging the characters we're writing about, how can we ever get into their skin, let alone tell the truth?

The authors also talked about the unconscious. Meg Rosoff described how authors, through years of work, have developed a worn path between their conscious and subconscious minds, so they can travel there more quickly and unintentionally (sometimes in the middle of conversations). Melvin Burgess spoke of getting his best ideas in the bath.

Someone in the audience asked about choosing to write YA books. None of the authors believed they chose to write YA, but rather that their subjects and characters were innate in them, and YA was the category that best described their stories (actually, Rosoff's books are sold as adult novels in the US). Meg Rosoff had an interesting point about how much of great literature is a coming of age story, and could be classified as YA: Pride and Prejudice, Henry IV, Dickens, Wuthering Heights.

I haven't mentioned much about David Almond. He wasn't as talkative as Meg and Melvin. But I totally lucked out, because Tuesday night he spoke in Bristol at a local library. I almost didn't go, because, stupid me, I thought I had just heard David Almond the night before. Thankfully, I DID go because it was an absolutely magical evening.

David Almond is a storyteller, and while he talked for an hour in the library, I felt as if I was in an old stone pub, sitting by the fireplace, drinking something lovely, and listening to stories. I could've sat there all night.

He made a point of saying how grateful he was that people of all ages were there. He did a great job of pitching his talk to both children and adults. But the kids were always first, and most important, and of course that's how it should be. He said that people always ask him when he started writing, and he says he's always been writing. Because kids write, for school, but also for themselves. It's adults that stop. He talked about his childhood, the storytellers who inspired him (a gossipy relative, a poet uncle). He talked about visiting his local library and dreaming that someday one of his books would be on the shelf. He said it wasn't until he learned to tell his own stories, about his childhood, about the people he knew, that his writing took off. As he said, he learned to take the ordinary and make it extraordinary.

I was really grateful that he talked about how hard writing (and publication) is, and how long it took him to become published. He said for all the prizes he's won, he's grateful to be published, that that was the big victory.

He also took the time to answer every question, running slightly over his allotted time (but I certainly didn't mind!). There were several writers in the audience, so he ended up talking about plotting (he's a total pantser), finding stories, how growing up Catholic inspired much of the magic in his stories.

He had a lovely story about writing Skellig. When he first started, he knew there was someone in the garage, but he didn't know who it was. It wasn't until the main character, Michael, puts his arm around Skellig and feels something in his back, skin flaps and bone, that David Almond realized it was a wing. He discovered he was writing about an angel at the same moment as Michael.

David Almond also talked about how, even as a kid, books amazed him. They were so orderly, with their straight black lines. But when he first tried writing, he was distraught at how messy it all was. He couldn't figure out how to make his lines (and his stories) work the same way. Then he showed us his notebook, filled with scribbles and boxes and writing in all different directions. He admitted that he has an untidy mind. But he told us that all writers have untidy minds; the trick of writing is to work hard enough to take everything inside and make it into accessible straight lines.

I was mesmerized. Thanks, David Almond, for a truly memorable talk.

And thanks to the Bath Kids Lit Fest (and Bristol Libraries) for two amazing days. I'll do one final post about my Festival experiences on Thursday.

Oh, I almost forgot! Remember how I got to dress up as Horrid Henry last Saturday? Well, there ARE pictures (follow the link for a much bigger picture). And I got a shout-out in the Telegraph: "Hats off, also, to the writer Anne M Leone who wore the Horrid Henry suit. She had to learn, walking round the Green Room, how to walk steadily while wearing a giant suit, with an enormous costume head, and wearing massive comedy-sized shoes." Pretty cool, huh? Almost famous.

I should say, Martin Chilton with the Telegraph has been doing a wonderful (and much more timely!) job capturing the highs of the Festival. You can see all of his articles here.

Bath Festival of Children's Literature Day 1

2011-09-29T07:00:00.001+01:00

Visiting Bath, entering the Guildhall for the Bath Festival of Kids Lit, is rather like walking into the Cheers bar. Everyone knows my name, everyone's glad I came. It's a good feeling.

This past week I've chatted with John McLay, one of my lecturers on on my MA, and the co-Artistic Director. I caught up with Julia Green, amazing author and my tutor on my MA. I touched base with several other Bath Spa MA people, tutors, former students, current students, and we talked writing, books, authors, agents, life. But even more strangely, after almost four years in the UK, I know some of the authors and publishers, too. It's been like a big, wonderful writing party.

So in between all the late nights, and long buses back and forth to Bath, I figured I should catch you up on it all.

I started Saturday by volunteering at the Geraldine McCaughrean and Caroline Lawrence event. The two authors were thrown together because they have Western-themed books coming out. But it was a fascinating conversation as they discovered how different they are. McCaughrean is a pantser (though she didn't call herself that!), inspired by character, and doesn't think much of sequels (though she acquiesced to writing this one because she loved her characters so much). Lawrence has of course made her name with her Roman Mysteries stories, she's inspired by setting, and is a total plotter. Lawrence kept mentioning how she plots using 7 steps, so when I got home, I had to look up her website to see the 7 steps. Hah! She's a John Truby devotee. What a coincidence!

The second event I saw might be the best children's lit event ever. It was Kristina Stephenson, author and illustrator of the Sir Charlie Stinky Socks books. She sang about farts and beans, she danced. Her musician husband had written an entire score for her reading. She recruited her children for speaking roles. She had a complete stage set (in her former life, she was a costume and set designer) with moving parts, pop up characters, mountains, castles. Her audience of parents and toddlers were mesmerized. I was mesmerized! Later, I was told the Festival often refers to them as the Von Trapp family. You can hear (audio only, unfortunately) one of Kristina Stephenson's readings here.

But I have to say, the best part of the day was what happened between those two events. Apparently, I had been noticed when I entered the room. No, not for my sunny disposition or cute new haircut. I was the shortest volunteer. So, given my advantageous height, the Festival asked if I'd be willing to dress up as Horrid Henry, so he could make an appearance to greet his fans.

The picture isn't me, by the way, but one from Horrid Henry author Francesca Simon's website. I wish I had had a camera handy, but it all happened so quickly. One minute I was happily volunteering, the next minute I had two Festival volunteers helping me dress in this ginormous plush costume. They warned me it would be crazy hot, we practiced signals to let them know when I was getting tired, so I wouldn't pass out inside Horrid Henry. But what I didn't expect was how horrid Horrid Henry's head would be. I had to put it on sideways, where the opening was biggest, then turn it to face forward. I couldn't see ANYTHING, and was totally enveloped in this giant, close-fitting, dark head. I've always been slightly claustrophobic, so for a moment, I really wasn't sure I could do it. But I would've had to disappoint all Henry's fans. Plus, I wanted to say I had done it!

I'm so glad I stuck around. Once I got outside the green room, and got mobbed by children, it was actually easier. They were all so excited to hug me and touch me and get a high five or a photo with me (never mind that I couldn't see ANYTHING and had to pat out with my hands to find their heads--my keeper assured me I did a fine job). I danced, gave the kids bunny ears, made faces, and wished I could see and really interact with everyone. But it was definitely one of the most fun things I've ever done.

Though taking off the costume was pretty fun, too. Fresh air!

Monday I sat in on a talk by Cathy Cassidy, Joanna Nadin, Samantha Macintosh, and Karen McCombie (the Queens of Teen), and another by Meg Rosoff, David Almond, and Melvin Burgess. Then Tuesday night I went to a Bristol talk by David Almond. All of them blew me away. More posts to come, I promise!

Seven Stories: The national home of children's books in Britain

2011-09-27T07:00:00.003+01:00

I'm well aware you're probably sick of hearing me babble about how great my trip to Newcastle was. But I couldn't not mention my visit to Seven Stories, the National Home of Children's Books in Britain. How cool is that? So just one more Newcastle post!

Seven Stories displayed a balance of kid-friendly stuff and a rich collection of materials for adults interested in children's books. I visited an exhibit on the production of children's books (acquisition, editing, cover design, etc), the history of Puffin Books from inception to modern day, and an exhibit on picture book author and illustrator Anthony Browne. The museum was full of editorial letters, correspondence, rough sketches--everything involving British children's books, making me realize how much I've absorbed of this world since moving to the UK. The most fascinating tidbit was a letter from a Puffin editor to Robert Westall requesting he omit some of the swearing in the second edition of his debut (and award-winning) novel, The Machine Gunners. Westall did not comply (more about this incident, and other background material about Robert Westall, can be found on Seven Stories' website). The information placards frequently had small text saying such and such additional tidbit, while not on display, could be found in their archives. It made me yearn for a day (or a week!) to crawl around behind the scenes.

But of course the museum had to make room for all their wonderful, kid-friendly attractions, too. The Anthony Browne exhibit was decorated with scenes from his books, so you felt as if you were walking into a picture book, complete with a forest, fun mirrors, and a house. The Puffin exhibit had a Stig of the Dump cave for kids to crawl through. The top floor of the museum was devoted to dress-up and story time, the bottom floor to crafts. And everywhere you looked were baskets of picture books, enabling people to sit down anywhere and read the rest of the story.

Not only is Seven Stories an incredible place to visit (with children or without!), but they do regular events. Shaun Tan spoke the day before I arrived (shoot!). So if you're going to be in the area (or if you need an excuse to visit Newcastle!), you can check out their events calendar.

Is there any other museum like this in the US? One of my writing friends tells me that the Roald Dahl Museum in Buckinghamshire (just northwest of London) has a similar vibe. That might be next on the itinerary.

*Both pictures are mine, the top one shows the back of Seven Stories, the bottom the Seven Stories boat.*

Bath Festival of Children's Literature

2011-09-23T07:00:00.000+01:00

The Bath Festival of Children's Literature opens tonight. Yay!

I posted more about the Festival last year, and some of the great talks I went to here and here, so I don't have much more to say. But if you're in the area, and have the chance to check out some of this year's talks, I highly recommend it!

I'll be volunteering at events featuring Dame Jacqueline Wilson (what a rock star author! I can't wait!), Caroline Lawrence, Geraldine McCaughrean, Melvin Burgess, David Almond, and Meg Rosoff (one of my favorite authors, I really can't wait!). Plus I'll be attending Bath Spa University's event, Writing for Children and Teenagers, featuring my tutor Julia Green, the amazing author in residence Marcus Sedgwick, and recent published graduates Samuel Gayton, Gill Lewis, and Karen Saunders.

It does mean life will be a little crazy, though, so I'll be posting less on the blog. But I'll be sure to share all my thoughts on the events and any tidbits I learn from these amazing authors.

Respecting my time

2011-09-21T07:00:00.001+01:00

The other morning I was working in my cafe when my landlord called.

Technicians had been at the house the day before, installing cable for my new upstairs neighbor. They hadn't finished the job properly, wires were exposed to the elements, and a storm was on the way. My landlord was concerned my neighbor and I were going to lose internet access, so asked if I could call the technicians.

My cafe is only down the street from my house, and I really didn't want to lose the internet, so I didn't think to question my landlord. But I was steamed. I had been right in the middle of a scene, and now I had to drop everything, walk home, and call my internet provider.

I bumped into my landlord in front of the house. I asked if he had called my upstairs neighbor. "No," he said. "She works full time, so I really didn't want to bother her when you were around."

Then he looked at me, noticed my coat and bag, and said, "Sorry, I thought you were home."

"I was just at the cafe down the street," I said.

"Must be nice having a life of leisure," he said.

I went inside then, because if I had talked with him any longer I might have snapped. Honestly, it's not entirely his fault. He doesn't know I'm writing. But still, life of leisure?!

I called the technicians, spent twenty minutes arguing on the phone, before finally realizing there was no way they'd come out to the house on my request, as the job was connected with my upstairs neighbor's account.

I went outside and wrapped a plastic bag over the wires. Then I called my landlord to tell him to do what he should have done originally: call my upstairs neighbors.

By the time I sat down to finish my scene, I had lost an hour of writing time.

But at least my lesson was learned. Next time my landlord calls during my work hours, I'm not answering the phone.

If I don't respect my time, how can I expect anyone else to?

Write what you love

2011-09-19T08:00:00.002+01:00

There are some writers who only read and write in one genre. For example, I have a good friend who only reads realistic, literary fiction. She read the first two Harry Potter books and gave up. They were good, but they just weren't her thing, she wasn't interested.

Then there are people who read almost everything put in front of them. Literary fiction, sci-fi, comic books, horror, historical fiction... And yes, that has been my reading list for the past month! Everyone has things they can't get excited about, but most writers I know fall into this latter category: we'll read just about anything as long as it's good.

So, if we're not a sci-fi gal, or a historical fiction guy, how do we decide what to write? Especially if publishers are going to expect us to stick more or less to the same genre with each book? I've struggled with this before (Do you read what you write?), but this past year I've managed to stumble across some good answers, so I thought I would share those with you.

Betsy Lerner in her book The Forest for the Trees: An Editor's Advice to Writers encourages writers simply to look at what they read, especially at what they return to over and over again. I found this advice maddening at first, given my omnivorous appetite for books, but on reflection it made more and more sense. There are commonalities in the things I love. It's not a genre, unfortunately. I can't get off so easily and say I want to be a realistic, literary writer. But the books I love do have plenty of similarities.

John Truby in his book The Anatomy of Story (which I reviewed two weeks ago) has a more general approach. He encourages writers in search of an idea to make a list of "everything you would like to see up on the screen, in a book, or at the theater. It's what you are passionately interested in, and it's what entertains you." Agents do this frequently in trying to describe their interests to potential clients. Why can't we as writers do the same?

Then there's this genius writing exercise from genius author Laurie Halse Anderson. Make a list of the things you're most afraid of. Use one in a story. Talk about a foolproof way to inject passion into your writing!

This past month I've done all three of these exercises. And combined them into one giant list of the things I'm passionate about (passionate with love or fear, all the same list!). So when my current idea was ticking off several items on the list, I knew I had a winner. Further, amongst all the commonalities, I was beginning to get a very good sense of the type of writer I wanted to be. Even better? The list is a keeper. I can see dozens of other ideas emerging from it.

Do you have a clear and defined genre? If not, how do you decide what to write? Any other suggestions?

So, uh, Project Demo?

2011-09-16T07:00:00.001+01:00

After taking almost two months off, for once I have a backlog of things to discuss on the blog. But I've had a few people catch me out on Twitter and here and say, "Wait... are you working on something new?" So I figured I should share a writing update. And while I'm at it, I feel the need to have a bit of a conversation with Project Demo. Why not listen in?

______________________

So, uh, Project Demo? How's it going? I know we haven't been hanging out much for the past week, but...

We had good times, though, right? I love that scene with the stars. And your characters. M always makes me laugh.

No, don't jump to any conclusions! This isn't a break up. This is just...

I still think about you. All the time. Well, occasionally. I just think if we had some time apart, some time to do our own thing, see other people, maybe...

Okay, fine, I'll be honest. Sometimes I hate you. I hate that your climax is so stupidly complicated. I hate that your antagonist is so multi-faceted he makes my head hurt. I even hate that M doesn't always seem to have an arc. Yes, I know I said she's funny... but she's got to have an arc!

Sometimes I wish I could bundle you all up and throw you on the fire and be done with you!

Yes, yes, I realize you're saved on my hard drive, my back up hard drive, my email... But that has to mean something, right? All that violence? You know I'm not typically a violent person.

Sure I loved you. I mean... I love you! Of course! But you're always so dark and depressed. It's like a funeral when I'm with you, a funeral every day. Where's the hope?

What? No! Of course there's no one else. How could I? I BELIEVE in you. You're a beautiful, powerful, complex story.

No, I mean complex in a good way.

Okay, fine! There is someone else! Someone fun! With younger characters! And it doesn't wear black all the time, and it isn't mopey! And this time I'm going to do it right. I'm going to plan everything at the beginning, so I know exactly what I'm doing, so there won't be any overly-complicated climaxes and characters without arcs.

No, I won't get bored with it! I won't lose my creativity in the process! Because this project is fun and fresh and original and...

But don't leave me, okay? I'm not sure about this. Sometimes I want to be dark, too. And serious. And I wasn't kidding earlier, when I said that thing about believing in you.

Project Demo?

*sigh*

_______________________

What does it mean that I'm such a violent, two-timing user in my head?

Anyway, that's the plan. I'm hoping this time away from Project Demo will be a good thing, and I can come back and pull together all these final strands and send it out. But in the meantime, I AM playing with something new.

I'm calling it Project Fun.

Further inspiration: the work of Maurizio Anzeri

2011-09-14T08:00:00.002+01:00

Monday I posted about my inspirational visit to the Robert Breer gallery at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art.

I know I'm milking this Newcastle trip for all it's worth on the blog, but I really have to share about the Baltic's Maurizio Anzeri exhibit, too. Thankfully his art was a little more understandable than Breer's floating igloos. The Baltic website explains: "Using portraits from the 1930s and 1940s collected at flea markets, Anzeri overlays abstract designs by sewing intricately patterned threads directly onto the photographic surface. Obscuring part of the photograph he both hides and heightens certain features of the face. His precise juxtapositions transform the discarded image, giving his portraits a disquieting and psychological presence."

I'm not sure you can tell from the images how disquieting, and mesmerizing, Anzeri's art is. You know that strange feeling you sometimes get when looking at black and white photographs? Moments frozen in time, people you hardly knew, relatives who will never be that young again? Anzeri captures that same effect, then plays with it, emphasizes it.

Here he explains his process:

"I put tracing paper over the photo and draw on the face until it develops. Sometimes the image comes straight away, suggested by a detail on a dress or in the background, but with the majority of them I spend a lot of time drawing. Once the drawing is done, I pierce the photo with a set of needle-like tools I invented and take the paper away; the holes are obsessively paced at the same distance to convey an idea of geometry. When I begin the stitching something else happens, drawing will never do what thread will – the light changes, and at some points you can lose the face, and at others you can still see under it... Like a costume or other identity, my work reveals something that is behind the face that suddenly becomes in front. It’s like a mask – not a mask you put on, but something that grows out of you."

His words (which I heard in a video at the Baltic, and have copied from the Saatchi Gallery's website) seem to say a lot to writers developing character, too. There's always that person on the outside, visible to everyone, but then the inner side, too, the secrets we hide, our true selves.

And yet, for as much as this is a common idea about character, look at the unique place Anzeri's creativity has taken him. I find that pretty inspirational, too.

I bought two postcards of his work, and they've been keeping me company at my table while I start on my next project... but more on that Friday!

You can read more about Maurizio Anzeri and see further examples of his art on this page at the Saatchi Gallery's website.

Watch very closely

2011-09-12T07:00:00.000+01:00

While in Newcastle (see here for pictures of my trip!), I visited the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art.

I've always found art galleries incredibly inspirational, and in the midst of finishing my revision of Project Demo and starting a new project, I figured I needed as much inspiration as I could get.

I wasn't disappointed.

The best fun was the Robert Breer exhibit. The door to the exhibit hall had several conspicuously posted warnings about how fragile the art was to the slightest touch, and to be careful of bags, children, etc. That piqued my interest.

I stepped through the doorway behind a mother with two young sons. The guard stationed just inside made sure she knew about the fragile art, while I looked around. The room was filled with white igloos (see picture) and a few other randomly assorted objects. It was absolutely bizarre. I turned to the explanatory board on the side of the room, read about how Breer was fascinated with movement, animation, and film, though none of that seemed to explain the igloos. So as the guard guided the family over to the igloo, my ears perked up.

"Watch it very closely," he said to the boys.

They all gathered in close. I couldn't tell if he was playing games with them (something security personnel in art museums don't normally do) or dead serious. All I saw was a white igloo. I watched with them.

Then the mother gasped. "It's moving!" she said.

The guard and family talked a bit more, but I had to see this for myself. I edged closer to the igloo, stared at it as the guard had suggested. It WAS moving, fractionally, ever so slowly gliding across the floor.

The kids pelted the guard with questions. The best: "Do they [the igloos] ever crash into each other?" Apparently they do, but at very slow speeds.

I lingered over each object in the room. Mostly igloos, but also tiny igloos fixed with ink that drew pictures on a board below. Also crumpled up fabrics, small styrofoam wedges, and a huge right angle wall, all moving.

I visited the other exhibit room on Robert Breer next, which had some of his animation, films, and flip books. But I was really struck by the igloos. They were so creepy. And silent. And MOVING.

And I might have missed the entire experience, just thought it was a room full of random vaguely igloo-shaped objects, if I hadn't caught the guard explaining it to the family. After all, how often do we watch very closely?

In doing research for this post, I just discovered that Robert Breer passed away August 11th. I'm so sorry.

Wednesday I'll post on my other inspiration from the Baltic.

Exploring North East England

2011-09-09T07:00:00.000+01:00

The past few months of writing haven't been all stress. Phil and I managed to squeeze in a brief jaunt to Newcastle two weeks ago.

Regular readers probably realize this has been a difficult past year for me. I've gotten pretty good at expecting life not to turn out as planned. And I had a few additional worries going into this trip: would I get enough done beforehand that I could justify not working for four days? Would I have enough to do in proportion to the time away? (Phil would be attending a conference for two of those days, so I would be on my own).

Yet somehow this trip ended up being almost magical in how smoothly it went, how fortuitous we were, and how inspirational it was to my writer brain.

Even the flights, from Bristol to Newcastle, and home again, were both several minutes early. Weird, huh? In a good way.

Also, I could spend several pages raving about Newcastle. A small, walkable city, with beautiful architecture, an incredibly extensive and efficient metro (leaps and bounds better public transportation than Bristol, which is twice its size!). Not only were there numerous museums and ancient attractions (Hadrian's Wall, castles, cathedrals), the metro meant we could cover more ground, even make it out to the sea. And the food! Delicious!

Anyway, enough babble, let me share some pictures.

This is the New Castle that gives the city its name:

The big brick building is the Baltic, an old flour mill that's been converted into a contemporary art museum. The bridge in front is the Millennium Bridge, the world's only tilting bridge.

It only "tilts" once a day, to let ships through. Phil and I happened to walk out of dinner just as it started. So glad we caught this:

I'll post more about the Baltic on Monday, as I had such a great inspirational experience inside.

I ended up exploring a bit of Newcastle as I walked to Seven Stories, the UK's only children's book museum. Too cool for school, huh?! I'll have to post more about the museum in the coming weeks, too.

But the walk there was a fascinating mixture of Newcastle's old industrial side and natural beauty. I ended up outside a miniature farm (the roosters were going nuts!), staring at this view:

Then I saw this sign (if you can't see, it says "Wytchcraft") and figured, okay, I'm game.

I followed a path along the river all the way to the docks. Here's the back of Seven Stories, another revived industrial building (the one with the blue trim. And yes, it really is seven stories):

It's got a boat out back:

Further along the river:

I wish I could share two thousand more Newcastle pictures. I have them!

Anyway, let me share a bit of North East England, too.

Here's Vindolanda, a ruined fort along Hadrian's Wall. The structures in the distance are reconstructions of guard posts along the wall.

This is part of the actual wall:

Remote, rugged, and beautiful, isn't it? (incidentally, both pictures were taken within three hours of each other. Ah, English weather).

We went to Durham to see its famous cathedral. Here's the front doors, with a replica knocker (the real one is inside):

One of my regrets about flying into Newcastle was missing the Angel of the North, the famous statue that stands along the highway (picture from Wikipedia):

But it was a lucky trip. Guess what we saw outside the train window as we traveled back from Durham to Newcastle?

Then a friend visiting the conference with Phil tipped us off about how easy it was to take the metro to the coast. He sold us when he mentioned Tynemouth's ruined castle and priory.

Again, way too many pictures to do it justice, but here's one I like of me considering the ruined cathedral.

And here's a picture looking back at the site, the castle in the background, the priory in the center, the graveyard, and the abandoned coast guard station to the right:

Then we walked along the coast, stopped at the fish market for fresh fish and chips, and later that evening caught our (early) plane home.

Trips don't get much better than this.

All pictures, except the Angel of the North, were taken by me or Phil.

The Anatomy of Story by John Truby

2011-09-07T07:00:00.003+01:00

There are dozens, if not hundreds, of writing craft books out there. Some are literary and a pleasure to read (Stephen King's On Writing, Jane Yolen's Take Joy). Others are purely practical instruction manuals, complete with graphs and exercises (James Scott Bell's Plot & Structure, Donald Maass' Writing the Breakout Novel). By the way, I would highly recommend all of the above!

But I think it's hard to find The Right writing craft books, ones which speak to your individual thinking and writing style, and meet you at the stage where you need to be met.

So I'd like to share my thoughts on John Truby's The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller. For me it was an incredibly useful read, and a book I look forward to keeping close by on my reference shelf. And hopefully my thoughts will help you know whether it might serve useful for your writing as well.

Firstly, to define genres, Truby is definitely in the "practical instruction manual" camp of craft books. As my writing friend Elisabeth (blogging at FictionForge; she reviewed The Anatomy of Story here) told me, if you like lists, you'll like Truby. That's it in a nutshell.

Truby breaks stories into different elements, plot, setting, character, etc., then dissects those elements further. For example, in his chapter on character, he breaks character types into hero, main opponent, second opponent, third opponent, ally, fake-ally opponent, fake-opponent ally (yes, those are two different things), and sub-plot characters.

Each chapter ends with a list of exercises, and an example of those exercises as shown in another story (frequently a classic movie; his favorites are The Godfather, Tootsie, and Casablanca).

Truby covers most aspects of a novel, plot, setting, character, theme, dialogue, symbol. And better yet, each chapter builds on the one before, so if you read through the book step by step, and do all of Truby's exercises, by the end you will have a thoroughly mapped out guide to your book. And not only that, but each element will be connected to each other element. Your characters' weaknesses will be intrinsically connected to their opponents' hopes, for example.

Nothing is simplistic about Truby's analysis, either. He takes much of what is organic and inherent in storytelling and spells it out explicitly. Frequently I found myself nodding at his directives, thinking I had done something similar in Project Demo, but never even realized I had done it. For example, here are some of his instructions on creating an opponent:

"Remember, the opponent should want the same thing as the hero. That means that the hero and the opponent must come into direct conflict throughout the story... The relationship between the hero and the opponent is the single most important relationship in the story. In working out the struggle between these two characters, the larger issues and themes of the story unfold. By the way, don't think of the opponent as someone the hero hates. He may be, or he may not be. The opponent is simply the person on the other side. He can be a nicer person than the hero, more moral, or even the hero's lover or friend."

Good stuff, huh?

However, while Truby has an excellent understanding of storytelling, I have to say he's not the best writer in the world. At times his book was like reading a TV manual. Which is fine, if that's what you want, except sometimes (though infrequently) he skipped steps, and once he changed a term's name halfway through. He reminded me of a brilliant professor racing through a lecture, refusing to stop to take questions. Maddening, but okay, because after all, eventually we need to make our stories our own.

Truby encourages his readers to use The Anatomy of Story to initially create stories, and he walks you through developing an idea to writing a detailed, scene by scene outline. However, I used The Anatomy of Story at a rough point in Project Demo, and it was tremendously useful for helping me see the forest instead of the trees, and making sure my motivations, themes, and plot were all streamlined and consistent throughout.

I worry, for a pantser like me, that Truby might be too prescriptive for developing my next story. However, Project Demo has been such a mess, I could use a bit more order in my life. So I'm intending to re-read the book with my new project in mind. I doubt I'll get as far as a scene by scene outline. But if I could figure out a few basics before I dive into the writing, I think it could only be a good thing. I'll let you know how it goes.

Café culture

2011-09-05T07:00:00.001+01:00

Welcome back, blog friends!

As you've probably gathered, the writing's been intense lately. Some days I hate Project Demo. Some days I feel better, think it might work, might even be good. Some days I feel all of the above.

But I've missed being here. So in between the agony of finishing Project Demo, I figured I'd start up discussion again, and share what I've been up to lately (besides, you know, the writing).

So let me tell you about my newest discovery: a lovely, neighborhood café.

I've never been a café writer before. I'm a homebody. I get easily distracted, prefer absolute silence.

But lately even my quiet home has been distracting. I've become obsessive about laundry. I've even started to enjoy vacuuming. One day I found myself rearranging my bookshelf. And that's with the internet turned off! I realized I needed to get out of the house.

I ended up at a café down the street from me. Close, with delicious drinks, no internet access, and independently run. How could I have never been there before? Even better, the owner is friendly, chatty, and has started quizzing me about my daily writing goals (accountability!).

It's worked a charm for the writing. No mess to look at, no responsibilities except writing, and I look like an idiot if I stare off into space too long. The café's big enough that if I sit in the back, I can usually tune out conversations. Plus, sometimes the people watching is a nice break. I don't get much interaction in my daily life.

The only thing that's been difficult is the music. Easy listening. Bette Midler, Backstreet Boys, James Blunt. I'm not a music snob, I mostly enjoy it. And it's kind of sweet on a quiet morning when the owner sings along. But hearing every lyric, familiar and clear, makes writing new words hard.

So I try to snag my favorite table whenever possible. It's large, in the back, away from the chilly fans and the speakers.

I don't know how long this café culture will last. I don't know if I'll be able to draft a new novel there. But for the moment, it's working well.

Where do you write? What works best for you?

Where have I been?

2011-08-15T07:00:00.001+01:00

Good question! And because I've been gone for several weeks, I thought I'd answer it before I went into hiding for several more!

Good news: I think I've finally figured out what my novel's about! It's only taken... 11 months? But thanks to a serious dose of John Truby's The Anatomy of Story (which I'm looking forward to reviewing in a future post!), incredibly insightful beta readers, and a heckuva lot of butt-in-chair time, things are finally beginning to come together.

Bad news: Have you ever gotten dressed early in the morning, with the curtains still drawn so as not to disturb your husband? And it's not until you're at work in the glaring light of day that you realize you're wearing navy socks with black pants? Yeah, that's what it's been like figuring out what my book's about. Much editing to be done!

So I've missed the blog, and all of my blog friends, but Project Demo has taken over all of my time, and needs more. But never fear, I've been constructing numerous posts in my head, and I look forward to sharing them one of these days... maybe September?

In the meantime, good luck with all of your projects! And clearly I'm not getting much sun, but I hope the rest of you are taking advantage of the last few days of summer!

On vacation (sorta)

2011-07-18T07:00:00.001+01:00

I'm going to close up shop here for the next few weeks for some intense novel writing (and a bit of summer goofing around). Should've said so last Friday, but I didn't know then how much I'd feel like I needed a break now!

Best wishes on all your projects, writing and otherwise, and have a great summer.

Update on Project Demo: Taking my medicine

2011-07-15T09:35:00.004+01:00

I'm on track to finish my current revision of Project Demo by Sunday. I'm so thankful for all my generous and smart writing friends who've offered to read this draft. The thought of showing anyone this complete mess of a book makes me feel physically sick. Yet at the same time, I know this plot could really use some of my writing friends' insight! So I'm trying not to think about it too much and pushing forward.

In the meantime, I'm really looking forward to an easier writing week next week! I'll continue working, but perhaps on a less frenetic schedule, doing more polishing and easy-revision type work. On FictionForge's recommendation, I've just started perusing John Truby's The Anatomy of Story, which looks like an incredibly helpful read. I'm looking forward to jumping into it more fully next week. And of course catching a showing of the last Harry Potter movie!

How is your writing progressing?

Re-reading: Little House on the Prairie

2011-07-13T07:00:00.001+01:00

I was discussing classic children's books with a friend the other day, and got to thinking about Laura Ingalls Wilder's books. I haven't read them since I was child. I was really curious how they'd stack up against modern children's literature, if they would still have the power to fascinate and transport me as a reader. And even if they did, would they offend me? As an adult, I've heard educators rail against their stereotypical portrayal of Native Americans. In re-reading them, would I find the stories that have influenced generations of readers? Or an offensive mess? Both? I was really curious.

I have to say, Little House on the Prairie started off really slowly. Quite a change from Harry Potter! The driving plot and conflict of the story was the family adjusting to a new life on the prairie. There were no debilitating internal conflicts, other than Laura never being quite as "good" as her sister. No cutting, for example. That's a joke.

The writing was slow, episodic, and detailed enough that I could've almost built a log cabin myself.

And unlike modern children's literature, the story's action was very adult-centric. It was all told through little Laura's eyes, but it was about Pa building their house, killing a panther, taking them to see the empty Indian camp.

And over and over, the message that to be safe, a little girl only needed to trust Pa: "You girls remember this: you do as you're told, no matter what happens... you do as you're told and no harm will come to you."

Yet, for all that, I gradually became absorbed in the story. The writing was slow, but the language was beautiful, the setting soothing.

Actually, more than that... when I finally finished the story, my mind was racing. It's got such a bizarre ending. Do you remember? Pa discovers that for the time being the government isn't going to support the white settlers in Indian territory. So after a full of year of building their lives, Pa decides they should leave.

I have to say, it had personal ramifications with my own life of late, living on a temporary visa in the UK, unsure what's next.

But more than that, it was such an unsettling ending, bizarre and unexpected, it made me start asking questions.

Like, is Pa really the hero of the story? If so, how come, more than anything, he reminds me of the father in The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver?
According to Laura he doesn't make mistakes, yet he lets the family dog nearly drown, and later almost shoots it. In the scene I quoted from above, Pa is admonishing the girls for considering letting the dog off leash when dangerous Indians approached the house. The girls feel guilty that they had even thought of disobeying Pa, and he had a good point about not antagonizing the local Indians. But what if the girls really were in danger? And of course, at the end of the story, Pa's sudden decision to leave makes even the perfect Ma sigh and remark, "A whole year gone, Charles."

Further, while Laura could never be as "good" as her sister or as Ma expected her to be, she has the exalted position not only as the story's eyes & ears, but its author. So is she sincere when she quotes Pa that little girls should be seen, but not heard?

The portrayal of the Native Americans was offensive and stereotypical. Their eyes were always black and terrible, they stole from the Ingalls, and in one particularly awful scene it's implied they don't even know how to skin a skunk properly, or have any sense of human decorum, because the furs they're wearing stink with the skunk's spray.

Yet again, it wasn't completely straightforward. At the end, one set of Indians save the Ingalls, then the whole family is entranced by their passing, and spend most of a day watching them, feeling empty and restless afterwards. The novel's very much a product of its time, but I wondered if Laura Ingalls Wilder was trying to say more, or ask if the manifest destiny that drives the book was even right. Many times Laura, with her child's voice, tries to ask these questions:

"But, Pa, I thought this was Indian Territory. Won't it make the Indians mad to have to--"

"No more questions, Laura," Pa said firmly. "Go to sleep."

And of course, at the end, the family leaves. One review I read online suggested it was because Pa finally acknowledged his mistake, and they left out of guilt (though again, the text never says this).

So strangely, much like Harry Potter, I spent several days after finishing Little House on the Prairie thinking about it. And I fully intend to re-read the others, too (Little House in the Big Woods and On the Banks of Plum Creek). It was a fascinating portrayal of a particular time in history (maybe two times in history, the 1870s when the books are set, and the time of Laura Ingalls Wilder's writing in the 1930s). And, whatever meanings may or may not be there, a complex, beautiful, and absorbing read.

What do you remember of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books? Did you grow up on them? Have you re-read them recently? Did you have any of the same questions I did?

When writing is hard work

2011-07-11T07:00:00.000+01:00

I write because I love writing. I love crafting sentences. I love breathing life into characters. I love inventing new worlds.

But sometimes it's hard work.

Sometimes it's not about beautiful words and quirky characters, but going through my draft chapter by chapter, finding every mention of one character, and rewriting the scene to include a different character (yes, I'm into the nitty gritty of Combining Characters, which I wrote about last Monday).

I know all this work is making Project Demo better, which is exciting. And it's not like I'm sweating, or miserable, or have a nasty boss who says terrible things about me behind my back. I'm just a little bored.

How do you write when you don't feel like writing?

Do you trick yourself? My tutor Julia once said she makes a game of it, pretends she's really looking forward to it. She puts on fun music, makes herself a nice cup of tea, and jumps into the writing.

Or perhaps you reward yourself? Bribe yourself?

Any advice? Commiseration?

I'm hoping to have a complete, READABLE draft of Project Demo done by this weekend. I'm saying it here so I can force myself to make it happen!

Jawless fish held their own

2011-07-08T07:00:00.003+01:00

It's summer, it's Friday, and I have a ton of work to do on Project Demo. So I figured it was okay to have a short post today. And really, all I want to say is: why yes, that IS my husband, Philip Anderson, in the New York Times.

So proud.

Though he would want me to tell you the Scientific American article explains the research a bit more thoroughly. And the real achievement is having his paper published in the scientific journal Nature. Thanks to my excellent copy-editing skills, I'm sure.

The photos show a series of extinct and modern fish jaws. See the NY Times for more info (Powell, Anderson, Friedman).

Re-reading: Harry Potter

2011-07-06T07:00:00.001+01:00

My head is like a sieve when it comes to remembering stories. Probably not so good for writing. But not a bad thing when it comes to reading, as I can happily re-read books, and enjoy them as much as the first time I read them.

Given that my overall reaction to the most recent Harry Potter movie (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part I) was, "Huh?", I figured I should probably re-read Deathly Hollows before seeing the final movie in the series.

I imagined it would be a fun re-read, but I wasn't prepared for how much I enjoyed the book the second time around. It's been years since I read any Rowling (actually, probably 2007, when Deathly Hollows first came out), and then I was anxious for the characters, reading quickly and late into the night to figure out what happened.

This time I already knew the outcome (more or less), and could revel in the story, the characters, and the world Rowling created. And I was absolutely blown away! I think it's become a bit intellectual to dismiss Rowling, to point out her over-use of adverbs, or long-winded storytelling. But what a book! What a story-telling master! In my mind, she has earned every bit of her fame.

Rowling's a master of world-building, and has created such a realistic, magical world, no wonder it inspired not only movies, but a theme park. People want to live there! But what also impressed me was how she relies on her readers to remember the details of her world. She doesn't bother explaining from book to book what every spell means, or how the Floo Network works, she just assumes we remember (thankfully for me, there's also an extensive repository of HP knowledge online, too!). It makes the world even more absorbing and believable.

She's also a master of character arcs. I've been struggling with my own characters lately, so how incredible to see the two billion characters Rowling has all have the perfect ending, a perfect moment in the sun, and a realization that changes everything for them. Since finishing the book, I've found myself, even a week later, still thinking about that moment where Bellatrix and Mrs. Weasley duel, or Harry naming his son Severus, or Lupin making Harry his child's godfather. Even all these years later, I get chills thinking about the first time Harry sees the thestrals at Hogwarts (that's probably my favorite Harry Potter moment of all). I think that's what makes the books such page turners. I had to know what happened, to everyone, because I trusted Rowling to pull everyone's story to a close.

Speaking of Rowling's two billion characters (approximately), I was also surprised at all the voices. They're so distinct! It helps that every time I read Ron, I can hear Rupert Grint's voice in my head. But regardless, each character is written with so much individuality, they're easy to tell apart, even when they're all arguing with each other.

So it's been an absolute joy to re-read. Someday when all the hype is over, and when life is particularly quiet (hah!), I'd love to settle down for a couple of weeks and read them all again, back to back.

Do you have a favorite image or moment from Harry Potter?

I've been re-reading a few classics lately. Next week I'll post my thoughts on a very different book, Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

Combining characters

2011-07-04T07:00:00.000+01:00

Revising Project Demo is progressing more smoothly--though still with much anxiety and hair-pulling. Lately I've been focusing on plot and characters, making sure each character has a goal that drives them through the novel.

I had two characters who were frustrating me. One was instrumental to the plot early on, but didn't have a role in the climax. The other character was introduced to the story late, but I couldn't figure out how to incorporate him any earlier. It wasn't until I was making a list in my note book of problems to tackle that I had a revision revelation: both of these characters had the same role in the story.

So my task this week isn't to rewrite the plot to include both characters throughout the story, but to combine the characters into one. They're very different people, so I have some decisions to make, and I'm a little regretful of losing one character's funny quirks.

But the change ultimately makes for simpler, more streamlined storytelling. And now that I've stumbled across one combination, I've been on the look out for other ways to combine characters, settings, and scenes to ensure that each has a concentrated purpose and impact.

It's moments like these where I'm reminded of how little storytelling is like real life.

Have you ever combined elements in your writing? Or have you expanded your writing, trying to give each thing its own individual purpose?

Oh, and for my American readers, Happy Fourth!

Ancient Athens: Greece Pics V

2011-07-01T07:15:00.006+01:00

It's Friday, so I figured we were due for another (unfortunately, the final!) round of Greece pictures.

Athens has several ancient sites located in the area around the Acropolis.

The Temple of Olympian Zeus was finished in the 2nd century AD and sacked in the 3rd century in an invasion. It was never repaired, and used as a quarry for building materials. But what's left is still pretty incredible:

Here's a fallen column that illustrates how all the columns are put together. A pole would have run through the middle to stabilize it:

On our last day in Athens, we visited the Ancient Agora, which used to be Athens prime marketplace and social gathering point. It's where Socrates and Plato would have spoke, where plays would have been performed, and where the city council would have met.

Now it's mostly just foundations, with the occasional odd statue or column. But it was pretty incredible to walk around such a piece of history and to imagine what might have been.

This is the Temple of Hephaestus, overlooking the Agora:

Here's a view closer to the Temple. You can still see the inner frieze, depicting the Centaurs fighting the Lapiths:

The Agora has one fully reconstructed, modern building, the Stoa of Attalos, which now houses a museum for the Agora.

It was very neat to walk around, like getting a snapshot of Ancient Greece.

The theatre is mostly in ruins, but several statues still remained at the door:

Several of the ancient sites were later appropriated by Christians and used as churches. You can see the cross carved in the middle of the stone:

Our final day in Greece, we wandered around the Plaka (a touristy area near the Acropolis), taking everything in. We loved how this was part park, part random ancient site:

We also stumbled across Hadrian's Library. Ohhh! Had I known this was a THING I could visit, I so would have gone. Unfortunately we had to catch our flight home. Something to do next time:

One last view of the Acropolis, this one taken from the Agora:

Incredible trailers

2011-06-29T07:00:00.000+01:00

Last week, author Anna Staniszewski blogged about book trailers. On Monday she posted about different types of trailers, Wednesday how she went about making her own trailer, and on Friday she premiered the trailer for her novel MY VERY UNFAIRY TALE LIFE (it looks great, check it out!).

Book trailers are a funny business. Done right, I think they help spur interest, spread the word about a good book, and give fans something to enjoy. But I think they're incredibly difficult to do well.

We're all so familiar with big-budget movie trailers, with Hollywood actors, special effects, and professional editing. So book trailers tend to suffer in comparison, often feeling poorly edited, uninspiring, and overly long.

But instead of just being a curmudgeon, complaining about book trailers, Anna's posts got me thinking about the book trailers I do like and why.

Like Anna's trailer, I believe the best book trailers don't try to compete with movies. Instead they focus on what a book does best: exciting words.

The trailer for CRASHED by Robin Wasserman is so short and simple. But it doesn't need complicated visuals or editing to pack a punch:

Similarly, I love Lucy Christopher's STOLEN. I believe this one was professionally produced, but it isn't the images that steal the show, it's the words:

Likewise, a holler out to another author friend, Paula Rawsthorne's THE TRUTH ABOUT CELIA FROST has a chilling trailer, not because of the professional editing (though it does look good!), but because of the story it presents:

THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE by Jandy Nelson is one of my favorite books and trailers. The video is much more complicated than the others here, but I don't love it because of the actors (they're totally hokey), but because of the music and again the beautiful words:

Interestingly, as I was putting this post together I discovered that a lot of the UK publishing houses fund professional videos for their big authors. That definitely makes it easier to have a high quality trailer! Would be interesting to know if the publishers have found it worth the investment. Because I know a lot of American authors would love to have such an opportunity!

Life after an MA in Writing

2011-06-27T10:00:00.001+01:00

Thursday night I snuck into a reading organized by Bath Spa University's MA in Creative Writing programs. Not only was it a pleasure to hear some great work, but I got to catch up with some old writing friends, including my beloved tutor Julia, and meet some new students fighting to finish their novels by September (oh, do I remember that!). Plus I got to spend a whole evening talking writing!

Though I believe every student I met asked me the same question: "What is it like not having workshop anymore?"

I should have taunted them with how much free time I have, how many books I've read for pleasure lately, how I just signed a six-figure publishing contract... but instead I tried to answer their question honestly! And it got me to thinking, too. What is life after an MA in Writing like?

The hard part, of course, is to keep motivated. Many of my former classmates have struggled to fit writing into their regular lives. I've been lucky enough to not have to work, but the solitude of sitting at home working full-time on writing has been a challenge, too. It's been a struggle to keep believing my characters are sympathetic enough, that Project Demo is anything anyone would want to read, and that I'm a good enough writer to pull it off.

"But haven't you kept in touch with the students you graduated with?" one person asked me.

Yes. But keeping in touch, and critiquing each other's work now and then, isn't the same as two three hour workshops a week, strict deadlines, and dedicated tutors.

The good news is that since finishing the MA program, I feel much more capable of critiquing my own work. I also know I've written one good novel, so intellectually (if not emotionally) the second seems feasible.

And that's the current challenge, isn't it? Figuring out how to write a novel without constant feedback, strict deadlines, and dedicated tutors. Speaking of which, I better get back to work on Project Demo, which I'm determined to finish by the end of this summer!

What are your summer writing goals? And for those of you who have done a course in writing, what has the "after" been like for you?

Santorini: Greece Pics IV

2011-06-24T07:00:00.000+01:00

The revision's going a bit better (thanks for all your help Wednesday!), and I'm almost caught up on emails and everything else that got put on hold while I was away. And it's Friday! What better way to celebrate than more Greece pics?

Our second day in Santorini, Phil and I did a bit of exploring. We went to one of the highest points on the island, Pyrgos, to wind through its twisty stone streets, see a ruined castle, and enjoy the view from the top.

Here's me contemplating the view. Or wondering if anyone would notice if I yanked just a few of those bells.

That afternoon we headed down to Perissa to visit the Black Beach.

My geologist husband went nuts. The beach is black because of the volcanic explosion that formed Santorini. Most of the island is made up of volcanic rock, and it all collects on the beach in tiny, granular bits, barely bigger than regular sand.

Plus we got smoothies.

Unfortunately, as you can probably tell from the picture with no one in it, it was a little chilly for swimming.

Then it was our last day in Santorini. Since most everything in Greece closes on Mondays, we couldn't visit any of the museums or cultural sites in the capital city of Fira. Instead we spent another day wandering around Oia, poking our nose in most of the shops, doing some shopping, getting ice cream, and enjoying ourselves. A hard life, huh?

Actually, we looked so relaxed, one of the shop keepers had to stop us and ask what cruise we were on. Apparently most of the cruises that stop in Oia give their passengers about two hours to see the town. They race through, take a few pictures, and rush back to their boat. What a shame.

I've already mentioned the dogs in Athens. Well, they were all over Oia, too, bounding from staircases to roofs down the side of the mountain to get the best view anytime one of their friends barked.

There are two dogs in the below picture, the one taking a nap, and the one standing guard like a soldier. If anything happens, he'll be the first to sound the alarm.

Finally, one more picture of beautiful Oia.

I'll post my final set of Greece pictures (more Athenian ruins) next week.

Have a great weekend!

Diving into revision

2011-06-22T07:00:00.001+01:00

Judging by my recent vacation which unexpectedly doubled in length, apparently Fate decided I needed a break from Project Demo.

Just before I left Bristol, I had finished rewriting my rough draft, and made a six page of list of everything I knew was wrong with it. I took the list with me, and occasionally took it out of my bag and stared at it despondently while I was traveling. But other than that, I left Project Demo alone, didn't even bother to to download the file saved in my email.

I'm hoping all those tropes about absence making the heart grow fonder and seeing more clearly with fresh eyes hold true for me. But in the meantime, after so much time not writing, I'm struggling to figure out how to start writing again, and how to dive into my revision.

Everything in writing is so intricately connected. I thought I could work on streamlining my plot first, so I spent most of yesterday outlining. But it's hard to imagine tackling my plot until all of my characters have clearly defined arcs, which may mean adding, deleting, or changing scenes. Then I decided that all sounded like too much work, and I'd just worry about my setting. Then I realized that any text I added might get revised anyway if my plot and characters changed.

Author Anita Nolan has an excellent article, reprinted on her website, about how to tackle the revision process efficiently, step by step. Even if I'm not sure some of her ideas will work for me, just reading it makes my head feel clearer. It also reminds me that revision is a process. Project Demo won't be thoroughly revised in one day. Or even one month. Bird by bird, as Anne Lamott said.

I think I'll start with one of my major characters and work from there.

Just as soon as I finish blogging, and checking my email, and...

How do you dive into revision?

Unexpected moments

2011-06-20T07:39:00.008+01:00

Not much has turned out as I expected this year.

Three weeks after I returned home from Greece, Phil and I flew back to the US to briefly spend some time with family (and to make the most of some frequent flier miles). I didn't know it would turn into such a long trip. Or become such a good vacation.

And goodness knows, after the year I've had, I really needed a few of those!

As I said in my previous post, Phil's grandmother passed away on the morning of our trip back to Bristol. While we were on a layover in Chicago, Phil's dad was able to get a hold of him, and we were able to change our plans (thank you, American Airlines) to stay an extra nine days to be there for the funeral and to spend time with his family.

So instead of rushing home, back to work and meetings and doctor appointments and such, we were there to celebrate her life, and to discover how many other lives she had touched. For once this year, our timing was impeccable, and we were so blessed to spend it with Phil's family, and to really have the time to catch up with everyone.

But it did turn into a long vacation! I plowed my way through several young adult books (my two favorites: Samurai Shortstop by Alan Gratz and The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen). I watched a lot of baseball and hockey (two sports I love and can't get much of in the UK). I also saw some fun movies, went shopping, and ate a lot of good food.

I had a few of those "I've been living in the UK for almost four years" moments, like when I stepped in a small grocery store and was blown away by all the different types of Oreos alone.

There were some great memories, too.

I had said I was in one of the most beautiful places in the world when I was in Santorini, but the area around my parents' cottage in northern Michigan could give it a run for its money.

The weather was perfect, so after a beautiful first day out kayaking, I was determined to go out every day of my vacation. I love the peace and quiet of the exercise, seeing all the dragonflies around me, hearing the loons calling in the distance. I even went out on a day that was a little windy, rougher water than I had kayaked before. But I was so proud of myself for taking the risk, instead of sitting inside wishing I had done it. And discovering that I was perfectly capable of it, too. Then the next day the worst possible thing happened: my kayak flipped over. It worked just like it was supposed to. The whole boat tipped over, with me inside it, and I spun around, into the water. Except it wasn't scary. It was fun (it helped that I was in water only up to my mid-thighs). I came up wet and laughing (and somehow my dad managed to snap a picture of me at just this moment). It was a little thing, but it made me less afraid of that worst case scenario.

Then there was the evening I went out for dinner with Phil's family. We went to his grandmother's favorite Chinese restaurant. And the owner mourned for and remembered Grandma along with us. We laughed about how Grandma used to flip over her place mat, decorated with the Chinese Zodiac, so she didn't have to look at all those gross animals, the rats, and snakes and so on. So in a tribute to her, we all flipped over our place mats, and "toasted" her memory with a forkful of her favorite dish, Chicken Chow Mein with extra crispy rice noodles.

I'm happy to finally be back in Bristol. I'm brimming with new story ideas, and eager to dive back into Project Demo and start my revision. But sometimes life gets in the way. I've learned a lot more recently than I expected about life and death, family and risks. And I'm so thankful I could be there for it.

Shirleyanne R. Stone, May 24, 1924 - June 8, 2011

Blogging hiatus

2011-06-13T14:04:00.002+01:00

Have you ever been getting off a plane when you heard your name announced by the flight crew to report up front? An anxious dread settles in your stomach. Then when the message to my husband read, "Phone your father immediately," we knew what had happened.

Fortuitously, Phil and I were on our way back to Bristol, on a layover in Chicago, when we learned his grandmother had passed away that morning. We had just spent time with her a week ago, on another layover in Chicago, and though she had been sick for several months, we had a really nice visit, as she made sure to catch us up on all the family gossip, and remind us how much we loved each other.

So yeah... that's why I've hardly been on email, the blog posts stopped, etc. But thanks, as always, for all your support. It's so appreciated. I'm hoping to be back to regular posting in a week or so.

Repost: Using Metaphors

2011-06-09T07:00:00.000+01:00

I'm away from the blog this week (be back soon, promise!), so I hope you'll enjoy this older post on using metaphors to encourage us in our writing process. I never got any comments on it, but still find its premise fascinating.

I've got Guys and Dolls music stuck in my head. Two weeks ago I saw Rent, and in order to get the music from that out of my head, I started listening to other musicals on my ipod. Mistake.

Right now it's Luck be a Lady. Which is a fun metaphor. I always wanted to use G&D with my students to teach metaphors and never got around to it. To take another G&D tune (they're all in my head!):
Well sir, all I can say is if I were a gate I'd be swinging!
And if I were a watch I'd start popping my springs!
Or if I were a bell I'd go ding dong, ding dong ding!

Wouldn't that be a fun class?

I've got metaphors on my mind as well lately. I read a great article in Myslexia by Bekki Hill about using metaphors to increase motivation as a writer. She suggests developing a metaphor to describe your writing. If it's a negative metaphor, you can then develop or change your metaphor so you visualise yourself overcoming your writing problems.

I'm not sure if it works or not, but I'm always coming up with metaphors for my writing. Somehow I always feel better if I can describe my state of being. So this morning I decided to play with Hill's theory. My writing was feeling like a box holding a two-thousand piece puzzle had been turned down in front of me. I couldn't figure out how to get anywhere. Should I start with the edge pieces? Collect like colors?

Then I decided it was more like a building without a foundation. Maybe like one of those 3-d puzzles of the Tower of London...

Then I decided it was more like my plot was a fly, swirling through a dark cave, trying to reach the light at the end of the tunnel. Except she keeps getting a leg or a wing stuck on a spider's web. She just can't make her body streamlined enough to all fit.

Okay, not quite ready for a showtune number yet. But I wonder if I visualize myself making progress on the puzzle's border, or saving my foundation or flying really fast I'll start feeling better? I'm not sure, but I'll let you know.

Repost: The Emotional Core of Children

2011-06-06T07:00:00.000+01:00

I'm away from the blog this week, so hope you'll enjoy this older post on Where the Wild Things are and creating honest stories.

Read an amazing picture book today called WHEN THEY FIGHT by Kathryn White, illustrated by Cliff Wright. It's about a family of badgers, and when the Mom and Dad fight, tooth and nail, it's overwhelming and scary for their child. But when the Mom and Dad are happy, the child feels safe and begins to realize how strong he is. The book is intended to help people, children and parents, work through and explain their emotions.

A little heavy? Certainly. According to my classmate, who shared the book with me, it couldn't even find a UK publisher until a publisher in the US picked it up. But the book doesn't feel irrelevant for a child. Parents do fight, children do get scared. We've been talking in class about the emotional core in picture books, and how the best stories speak to something inside children that is true and makes them feel accepted. Remember Max in WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE? He's not a good boy; he gets sent to bed without his supper. The subtext in the pictures is even more terrible. Is he nailing his bed sheet to the wall? Has he hung his stuffed toy by the neck?

Because of the recent movie, Maurice Sendak has received a fair amount of publicity lately for his anger over parents saying WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE might be too scary for children (here's an article about it in the Guardian). Sendak says, in referring to an argument about whether or not Max's supper should be "hot" as opposed to "warm": "Just trying to convey how dopey 'warm' sounded. Unemotional. Undramatic. Everything about that book is 'hot'."

Repost: Setting as Character

2011-06-03T07:00:00.000+01:00

I'm away from the blog this week, so hope you'll enjoy this older post on how to make your setting as vivid and important as any character.

One of my friends who recently read Project Sparkle told me the setting in my novel is a character. That's good! I'd been hoping it was. But then she told me it needed to be emphasized a lot more.

As a reader and writer, I've heard the phrase "setting as character" numerous times. I've probably used it before. But what exactly does it mean? And how could I emphasize my setting's character?

I started by figuring out what its character was in the first place. I went through my novel and copied all of my descriptions into a new document. I read through these descriptions in order, and then wrote a paragraph describing my setting overall. I included smells and sounds, what people would be doing, how many people would be around, the look of important buildings, homes and shops. I described what a person might see there, people's character, race, and age.

By working through this process, I realized my setting could be considered a character. But it needed some work.

1. My setting needed to be consistent.

Sometimes I emphasized bad parts of the setting, sometimes good, sometimes there were no emotions involved, it was just there. I needed to figure out the key descriptors of my setting, and emphasize those repeatedly, just like I might do with a tall character or a little red-haired girl.

2. I needed to introduce my setting.

My friend was right about emphasis. Especially in the beginning of the story, I hardly mentioned my setting. Just like a character, I needed to introduce my setting. I added several paragraphs, emphasizing important details and really immersing my character in the setting.

3. My setting needed an arc.

Actually, talk about a-ha moments, my setting HAD an arc, much like a character should. Since the story takes place in a period of weeks, the setting doesn't actually change. But my character's feelings about it and what she notices about it changes. I went through my text and emphasized those changes, making sure my descriptions reflected my character's emotional arc.

4. My setting needed to be intrinsic to the plot.

Just like a major character needs to be involved in the climax of a novel, my setting was instrumental to my climax. Depending on your views of pre-destination, cause and effect, and the power of place, my setting may or may not cause the climax. But it's certainly involved.

In the end, I discovered setting as character means exactly what it says. I arranged my setting much as I might any other character in my novel.

Does your writing use setting as character? How have you approached it? What are some of your favorite setting as character novels? I blogged about a few of mine earlier this summer, though I wasn't smart enough then to realize I was talking about setting as character--one of my commenters pointed it out!

Repost: Revision the Hard Way

2011-06-01T07:00:00.001+01:00

I'm away from the blog this week, so hope you enjoy this older post, from when I was in the midst of revising Project Sparkle. Strangely it seems just as relevant now with Project Demo!

I'm in the midst of my first revision of Project Sparkle. As usual, I'm inventing the process as I go, trying to find what works best for me. At the moment, I'm going through the early chapters my classmates' workshopped, making sure characters, setting, and conflicts are set out clearly and consistently. I'm hoping if I can just get the first third or so right, then the rest will straighten itself out more easily.

Tomorrow I'm meeting with my tutor, Julia, to discuss my synopsis and a chapter by chapter outline. Plot is my biggest struggle, so I'm hoping she'll point out the overarching conflicts which are inconsistent with the characters or too complex or whatever, and then I can begin to work on some big picture stuff throughout the novel.

As I'm working, it's occurred to me that I have two revision modes: easy revision and hard revision. Easy revision is my favorite. Obviously.

Easy revision is when I craft individual sentences to make them pretty. Or I check every mention of a character to make sure her appearance is always described the same way. Or perhaps if I was told in class that a character seemed too angry in a scene, I might tone down some of her language. It's busy work and polishing, and therefore not overly taxing. As opposed to hard revision.

Hard revision is when I rethink (revisualize) everything. I think about the scene's purpose, each character's goals, each character's feelings. Sometimes I rewrite an entire scene in a new setting, or with different emotions. Sometimes I cut scenes. Instead of blithely making a character's language less angry, I'll explore her feelings, her motivations. If she's meant to be that angry, I'll show why, if she's not, then I'll tone down the language.

My problem is I'm lazy. Sometimes I'll find myself writing pretty sentences, when really the whole scene doesn't work. I have to remind myself every morning to start with the hard questions first, one after another, until I'm through them. And the worst? Many days I don't even let myself do easy revision because I'm still not sure I've got a scene right. It's a waste of my time to make it perfect if I may be drastically rewriting it. Though some days I can't move on from a scene until every sentence is lovely, even if I'll need to change it later.

It's not the most efficient process in the world.

How do you revise? Do you find yourself fixing the easy things first?

Pulling everything together

2011-05-30T07:00:00.002+01:00

It's been a whirlwind of a week. My apartment is a mess, and my mind even more cluttered. And it doesn't appear any of it will be tidying itself up anytime soon! So I apologize for a scattered post today, but there's a few things I want to say.

Firstly, a huge thank you to Cat at The World Crafter's Inkspot and Kip Wilson Rechea and her blog. Almost two weeks ago they both awarded me a blog award, respectively, the Stylish Blogger Award and the Irresistibly Sweet Blog Award. I'm so embarrassed it's taken me this long to claim the awards and to say thank you. Please take the time to check out their lovely blogs.

Secondly, I've been saying for some time now that TODAY is the day I will have my third draft of Project Demo complete. Uh... well, I've still got two scenes left to go, so I'll have to let you know for sure, but for now I'm cautiously optimistic that I'll make my deadline. Woo-hoo! It's been a LONG haul and there has been much whining involved (have I ever whined so much about any book?).

Apparently I'm a bit of a whiny writer. I once joked that the worst stage of the writing process was whatever stage I was at. So just so you don't think I'm a total complainer, I have to say: I think I like this stage. Most of my scenes are written, I've mostly figured out my main character's physical and emotional journey. There are still plot holes, but they're more mouse-sized than truck-sized. Now I need to figure out my more minor characters, draw some maps, and do all the detail work that makes a book shine. This is the bit where I can finally tell if Project Demo might someday be readable. Even for a whiner like me, that's pretty exciting.

Thirdly, I'm going to be away from the blog for the next week, taking a well deserved vacation from writing and Project Demo (if not my enormously cluttered mind, sadly). So in the meantime I'm going to re-run some of my favorite older posts. I'll try to respond to comments, but my access may not be as frequent as it usually is.

How are your writing projects coming along? Are you going to meet your deadlines? And, because I'm dying to know, what do you do to celebrate meeting your goals? Or, conversely, do you punish yourself for not making it?

Taking Flight: the launch party

2011-05-27T07:00:00.005+01:00

Hope's a funny thing. In Jennifer Donnelly's beautiful book, A Northern Light, the main character worries hope is a sin. My Irish Catholic friend assures me it's one of the few things that isn't. But like Donnelly's character, I understand the fear hope can bring.

So in preparation for the Taking Flight launch party Tuesday night, I locked my hope deep inside, and instead steeled myself to keep up a happy face, and to make the most of the night, whatever happened.

I've been doing a lot of behind the scenes work for the launch, so for several hours beforehand I ran around like a crazy woman, checking to make sure the wine arrived and was chilled, the name tags were arranged alphabetically, and as 6:30 approached and agents and editors started to trickle in, they were welcomed.

I greeted people, offered drinks, and was just helping someone to hang up their coat, when my tutor, Julia, appeared beside me. She whisked me off to meet an editor she said was gushing about my extract. I thought, "Oh good, at least one person will want to talk to me tonight."

Well, there were a few others who wanted to talk to me, too. From there, the night became a whirlwind, with editors and agents chatting with me about my extract, but also my writing in general, my teaching experience, Chicago, how long I had lived in the UK...

An hour and a half later I had a moment free to look at my watch in astonishment, discover my feet were killing me, and grab some food and several glasses of water. Then I bumped into someone else who wanted to ask about A TRUTH I DON'T KNOW.

So how did it go? It was a lovely evening. Several people were interested in my extract, and have asked to read more. I even got the opportunity to pitch Project Demo--and people seemed intrigued. Plus I got to spend over two hours talking books with people, reuniting with old friends, classmates, and tutors, and eating a few of these yummy miniature fruit tarts. All in one of my favorite places in the world, London.

So all in all, not a bad evening. I'm so grateful I had my classmates, my tutors, my friends, and all of my lovely and supportive readers' hopes to bolster and encourage me. Thank you.

And who knows, maybe even more will come of it. I hope so.

Left to right, me, Ni, Katerina, Jane, Rachael, Julia, Toni, Regina, Steve, Emma, Bridget, Sheila

Oia, Santorini: Greece Pics III

2011-05-25T07:00:00.000+01:00

While I'm recovering from a late night at the Taking Flight launch, here are some more Greece pictures to keep you busy!

Phil and I flew from Athens to Santorini, a popular, touristy island, southwest of Athens in the Aegean Sea.

Like much of Greece, we didn't really know what to expect. We knew Santorini had nice beaches, was mountainous and pretty. People online had recommended staying in Oia, supposedly the prettiest town on the island. We hadn't planned much, just figured we'd spend a few days relaxing, eating seafood, and touring the small island.

We took a taxi from the airport to Oia, and as it swung around all these mountain passes, with the sea sparkling below, my smile grew bigger and bigger.

Not much to say about Oia, just some absolutely lovely pictures. It might be the most beautiful place I've ever been.

The view from above one of Oia's numerous churches:

Not only were the buildings picturesque, they contained hundreds of lovely shops. This one was my favorite (for obvious reasons!):

The owner has to be not only a complete book snob (the books were in a variety of languages, French, English, Greek, and so much great literature, Dostoevsky, Walt Whitman, Philip Roth, Stephenie Meyer!) but also an artist. The books were arranged so beautifully. My favorite was a Spanish edition of Hemingway displayed beside a worn bottle of gin. Wooden slabs of wood at various angles had been made into shelves and bookends.

At first Phil and I joked about buying property in Oia. Then we noticed dozens of old, ruined buildings along the hillside. Perfect! Course, even if the property was cheap (which I'm sure it's not!), it's ancient, and you'd have to pay builders a lot of money to transport materials and crawl around the hills. Still, it's an investment property, right? Here's me checking out one possibility:

Traditionally the people in Oia lived in caves. Some of them are now very expensive hotels. Here's a glimpse of some of the caves overlooking the view:

The first full day we were there, our hotel owner insisted we walk down the hillside to Amoudi Bay for freshly caught seafood for lunch:

Don't you love how the water changes color depending on your angle, the sun, the rocks, and the depth? Beautiful!

The view from our table (it was a windy day--notice the flag--so we ate a bit further in):

Donkeys carried tourists down (and more importantly, up!) the hillside to Armeni Bay.

We bumped into the donkeys one evening, and were absolutely delighted to see they had a wannabe following on their trail. The perfect picture book, one of the other tourists said to me, and I have to agree. Who wants to write it?

This is me feeling all my problems whisking off my shoulders:

Hopefully this gives you a bit of a holiday yourself in the middle of the week! I've got many many more Santorini pictures to share next week.

Books: This is exactly how they work

2011-05-23T07:00:00.002+01:00

Regular readers of Critically Yours will know I've often struggled with the darkness of my writing (I've longed for several years to write a really fun pirate book).

Writing a dark, gritty novel can be grueling. As my character despairs, I despair, and I rush to reach the end so we can both have some sort of resolution.

But anytime I've tried to write a purely fun book, I end up asking too many questions, looking under too many rocks, teasing out all of my characters and settings' dark secrets.

But this past week I had an epiphany sparked by this illustration.

Yes, this. Whether you're a writer or not, if you love books, go look at this picture.

Perfect, isn't it?

I want to wallpaper my bedroom with it.

Not only that, it speaks to the struggle I've been having as a writer. Part of why I read is to be carried off to magical lands, castles, and spaceships. That's what I've missed in my writing as of late. But I also read so I can better understand my own gritty, frustrating, and sometimes sad world, and to have someone to share it with, maybe hold my hand while we explore it together.

So here's my epiphany: why can't I create books that represent this illustration? Fantasy, beauty, and wonder, but also darkness, loneliness, and garbage. What if I wrote about both?

J K. Rowling did, Dr. Seuss did, C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, Libba Bray, Shaun Tan... and maybe I already have, at least a little bit, too.

I'm brimming with possibilities and really looking forward to Project Whatever Comes Next!

Tomorrow is the Taking Flight launch party (eek!); hopefully I'll be posting about it later this week, along with more Greece pics. See you then!

Ta-da! A TRUTH I DON'T KNOW is taking off!

2011-05-19T11:00:00.001+01:00

As of late, my horn has gotten a little dusty with lack of blowing. But I finally have something to show off for my efforts (I'm so excited to share, I had to post on the blog a day early!).

This Tuesday will be the launch party for "Taking Flight", an anthology of writing from Bath Spa University's MA in Writing for Young People. And it includes (first, in fact--yay for alphabetizing!) an extract from my novel, A TRUTH I DON'T KNOW.

Do you remember how ages ago I tantalized you with the glimpse I had into the illustration for my novel by Bath Spa University undergrad Andrew Hinchcliffe? I thought it captured the grittiness and the overall themes of my writing perfectly.

Here it is:

Is it too gauche to say I LOVE it?

For more information, and to enjoy all my classmates' intriguing extracts, visit the Taking Flight Anthology website.

For up to the minute news on "Taking Flight" and Tuesday's launch party, follow us on Twitter @TFAnthology

You can see my bio and synopsis here.

And you can see Andrew's incredible illustration and the first two chapters of A TRUTH I DON'T KNOW here.

Delphi: Greece Pics II

2011-05-18T07:00:00.001+01:00

The second day of our trip to Greece, Phil and I traveled to Delphi, about three hours northeast of Athens.

Our tour bus wound through the mountain switchbacks, taking us higher and higher. When the clouds parted, we could see the blue line of the sea sparkling in the distance. We barreled through this tiny mountainside village, Arachova, with winding streets, crumbling stairs, and picture-perfect houses. It was so pretty, Phil dubbed it "stupidly picturesque."

Then we arrived at Ancient Delphi and got off the bus. Ancient Delphi is built along the side of a mountain, so you have to climb up to see everything. There was enough time for us to get our tickets and to reach the first major ruin, Apollo's Temple. Then the heavens opened up. It poured.

Our guide insisted it would clear up in a minute, that it was very unusual weather for Greece. Then he said we shouldn't worry anyway, it was divine rain, a gift from the gods. It was good for us. A few minutes later we were completely soaked and most of the group insisted to be allowed back on the bus.

Thankfully, while all this was going on, Phil and I had been looking around. Not only had we paid a fair amount to spend the day in Delphi, we were looking at one of the most incredible places we had ever been. Besides, we were soaked anyway.

Unfortunately not many pictures. Other than a few spots of sunshine, it really was pouring.

Here's the amphitheater. The columns (behind the tree) and other ruins directly below it are the remains of the Temple of Apollo. It was inside this Temple that the Oracle of Delphi practiced. Can you imagine a more perfect location for an Oracle?

This gutter ran alongside several of the buildings, down the side of the mountain. And the coolest part? Because of the rain, we could actually see it still working!

At the top of the path, was the stadium, where track and field events were held. Again, what a location!

Why not step a little closer to take this picture? Phil was standing under a tree trying not to soak his camera!

And here's me, soaked, but happy:

When we returned to the bus, Phil and I were shocked to discover most of the rest of our tour had hardly seen Delphi. They asked us if it was worth it. I didn't want to lie, but... yeah, it was. Other than being sopping wet and my socks smelling like mold and getting really bad motion sickness on the way down the mountain, it honestly was one of the best days of the trip!

Luckily the sun came out for a bit later in the day. We had lunch in modern Delphi, and finally got to see more of a view. The sea is in the distance. The green patch that almost looks like a sea is an orchard of olive trees. The olive tree was first given to the Greeks by Athena, and is considered her most perfect gift.

More pictures next week, and for Friday I have a little surprise to show you!

Write another book

2011-05-16T07:48:00.006+01:00

The best piece of writing advice I ever got? Write another book.

The best piece of writing advice I can give? Write another book.

Sometimes newer writers despair when they hear that most published authors published their second, fifth, or even tenth book written, not their first. They think, "You mean I'm going to spend months and years pounding out a novel, pouring my soul into its pages, and it's still not going to be good enough? No one will ever even read it?" Yeah, probably. And that completely stinks.

But writing is hard. Just like anything else worth doing well, it takes work and years of practice. You wouldn't want a doctor performing her first ever operation on you. Or an accountant filing his first tax return on your behalf.

And here's the secret to writing multiple books: you get better with each one. Each new book also helps you to gain perspective on the older ones, your many drawer novels. You can see how your previous books weren't working. You might go back to them someday, now that you're a better writer. But you also might keep pushing forward, writing better and better books, no looking back.

Sure, some authors do publish their first book. Some first books are bestsellers. But some authors have to write 10 or 20 books before the industry decides their writing is good enough to be published. Maybe some of us are slower than others. Or maybe some ideas are more marketable than others. Maybe a lot of it has to do with pure luck.

But here's another secret: when you start thinking about all of the above, really despairing that you're not smart enough or lucky enough or whatever to make it, keep writing. Because before you know it, you'll be completing your next novel. And instead of agonizing, suddenly you have a whole new baby to present to the world, a second chance, then a third chance, then a tenth chance...

Not that I know this from personal experience or anything. ;)

Agent Rachelle Gardener recently blogged about this: "Will Your First Book Be Published? Four Reasons You Should Write Several Books Before Seeking Publication." Her blog, as always, is incredibly wise and encouraging. But I also found the comments really helpful--lots of writers pumping out lots of books. We are not alone.

More Greece pictures on Wednesday!

The Acropolis: Greece Pics I

2011-05-14T11:40:00.001+01:00

Blogger finally got over its massive meltdown, and I finally got my blog back! Here's Friday's post, just a day late:

Are you ready for a plethora of Greece pictures? This should give me something to blog about for the next few days, at least!

Phil and I spent the first day of our trip exploring Athens' Acropolis, which is on a mountain plateau towering over the city.
Above you can see the people swarming the entrance (called the Propylaea). Its ceiling used to be painted dark blue and covered with stars--how beautiful must that have been? The small temple on the right of the picture is the Temple of Athena Nike (erected in a hope for victory (nike) against the Spartans).

Of course, once you've climbed through the marble staircase of the Propylaea, the star of the show is the Parthenon:

The Acropolis is also home to the Erechtheion, which has these lady pillars, the Caryatids. I've seen them in so many pictures, but how cool to actually SEE them (actually, these are replicas, but I saw the real ladies in the Acropolis Museum!).

You see all the ladders, cranes, and scaffolding? At first I thought we were unlucky, but later learned the Acropolis is under an almost permanent conservation effort. And she needs the help--the caryatids lost more facial definition in the past fifty years (before they escaped to the museum) from acid rain, than they had since they were first built in 400 BC.

Speaking of things we learned... Greece really loves its animals. Lots of stray dogs and cats, but they seemed fairly well cared for, with kibble and water set out for them, and no one minding if they made themselves comfortable.

The Propylaea stairs:

A kitty "helping" with stone transport:

For me, one of the most amazing things about Athens was just how much was there, so well preserved, scattered throughout the city. On the edge of the Acropolis is this (slightly newer) theatre, the Odeon of Herodes Atticus, which is still used for performances today:

Below is Mars Hill, which the Apostle Paul (according to the Bible's Book of Acts) climbed up on to rail against the Athenians for their temple to an unknown god:

See? Athens has EVERYTHING. Too cool. I'll post some more next week.

Returning to Project Demo

2011-05-11T10:05:00.004+01:00

I'm baaaack! After losing access to the internet for almost a week, I spent the following week in Greece on a desperately needed vacation, and am only now returning to the real (and virtual!) world.

Yesterday I had fresh kiwi and yogurt with honey for breakfast, then spent the morning touring the Ancient Agora, once Athen's marketplace and social center. That afternoon Phil and I gathered our luggage and caught the metro out to the airport for our flight home (Good thing, too! Today is another strike in Athens, shutting down all public transportation and including police, bankers, and air traffic controllers!).

On the long ride to the airport, I mentally said goodbye to Greece, yogurt with honey, the Acropolis, the sea, mountains and blue skies, and prepared myself to return to Bristol. It wasn't easy.

But then I thought about Project Demo, which I hadn't worked on for the past week. I'm hoping to finish draft 3 by the end of this month, to finish my entire revision before the end of the summer. Project Demo has always been the no-win novel. I've despaired over it, feared to show it to anyone, even abandoned it once. Yet I keep coming back to it. And suddenly it's nearing the end. I can see the finish line, and, if I squint, what might be a beautiful story.

So while I didn't really have any choice about coming home, for once it was Project Demo that gave me something to look forward to. Imagine that!

I got back to Bristol last night just before midnight, but was up this morning to keep to my writing routine and dive into Project Demo. Also hoping to put off the massive pile of unanswered emails and the mile-long to-do list as long as possible!

Oh, and don't worry. I took LOTS of pictures of Greece. It is a beautiful, magical place, and I can't wait to share some of it on the blog.

The Stylish Blogger: Me?!

2011-04-29T07:00:00.000+01:00

Thanks to author and blogger Kelly Hashway, who awarded me the Stylish Blogger Award. Stylish! Who would’ve thought?
In addition to an acceptance speech, the Stylish Blogger Award requires a list of 7 things you might not know about me. Uhhh… well, okay, here goes!

1. I love blueberries.

2. My favorite place is Australia (I know it’s a big country, but I haven’t been lucky enough to explore it so carefully that I can narrow it down to a single area I love). The landscape is breathtaking, the wildlife so fascinating, and the people so kind. I must’ve been searched for drugs at the airport at least three different times, and each time I was happy to comply. Perhaps that’s why security kept searching my bag: clearly I was high on something.

3. I can’t wait until to own a dog again. My last dog, Connor, wasn’t young or healthy enough to make the trip with me across the Atlantic. He spent the last few years of his life gloriously cared for by my in-law, and passed away two summers ago. As I don’t think it’s fair to bring any dog across an ocean, I’m waiting until I return to the US to find another furry best friend.

4. I love the color orange. It’s weird, and it’s a fairly recent thing in my life. But it’s so bright and bold and fun. I’ve started wearing a lot of orange (see my blog pic for proof!).

Boy this is hard… do I really have to come up with seven things to say about me?

5. I can sing Head-Shoulders-Knees-and-Toes in Visayan (a Filipino language). I lived in the Philippines for a summer when I was in college, working with kids and families in rural and impoverished areas.

6. I was on the diving team (springboard diving) throughout high school and in my first year of college. I was never very good, and it was plenty scary, but it was really fun, too, doing flips and twists into the water.

7. I find baking incredibly peaceful, whether it’s kneading bread or mixing brownies. I’ve got leftover bananas on hand, so tomorrow is banana bread. Come over if you’re in the area!

Wow, that was a lot about me! So… the other part of this award is to pass it on to several other wonderful blogger friends… but I’m going to kind of cheat on this part.

I’m so grateful for Kelly, and for all you amazing readers and friends I’ve found through Critically Yours. Thank you.

However, I had another award fairly recently (here’s a link to all my awards, and all the blogger friends I’ve celebrated in the past). So instead I’d like to share links to some of my favorite blogs.

They don’t need any publicity from me, they’re plenty popular and well known, but they’re places that make me happy, or teach me, or inspire me, and I hope you might enjoy sharing them with me.

The Book Smugglers is the most thoughtful book review blog I’ve found. I’m so appreciative for Ana and Thea for all their honest reviews, and their willingness to tackle issues like homophobia, racism, and misogyny in books.

Rachelle Gardner: Rants and Ramblings on Life as a Literary Agent

Rachelle mentions rants in her title, but I can't remember her ever ranting. Not only have I found her blog full of of useful information about the publishing business, just as importantly, she never comes across as tired or frustrated with writers, but inspiring and encouraging, and she’s made her blog into such a safe place.

Laini Taylor

A friend got me hooked on author Laini Taylor's blog. Laini doesn’t post about her writing much (though those posts are always informative and encouraging!). Her blogging passion is pictures, and whether pictures of her travels, her adorable little girl, interior design, or her latest find in an eclectic Portland store, her blog always has lots of pretty.

What are some of your favorite places on the web?

*As some of you may have seen me bewailing on Twitter, due to work on my front yard my home’s broadband cable was snapped in half on Wednesday (clearly this is Fate playing with me after I bragged about how much I was getting done when I turned off my internet!). I won’t have regular access online for some time. I’m trying to keep on top of things as much as I can, but I apologize for all your lovely emails and blog comments that are going unanswered.

Also, I am going to be away from my blog next week. I had planned to share some favorite old posts, but at this point, I might just let it be. Hopefully I’ll be back, in force in mid May. Until then, I’ll be missing you! *

*Pictures are all mine, Connor, and me feeding the surprisingly pushy rock wallabies in Queensland, Australia*

Digging deep

2011-04-27T07:00:00.001+01:00

At a particularly difficult point while working on Project Sparkle, my tutor asked me, "Why is this story important to you?" I stumbled over my answer. I didn't know where to begin. So many parts were connected to me, my life, who I am, what's important to me. "Good," Julia said. "That's what I wanted to know."

I was reminded of that exchange this weekend, when I finished Sara Zarr's Story of a Girl. Zarr's writing is raw and emotional. At times I found myself getting teary eyed, not even necessarily because of what was happening in the story, but because I got the main character, and found myself remembering what it's like to be a lonely teenage girl. Even though my childhood was different from hers, while reading I understood her and walked in her shoes. And cried for her.

When I returned to work on Project Demo, all these thoughts were still spinning through my head. Did Project Demo have that kind of emotional resonance? Could it? So instead of diving into my revisions, I took some time to again answer Julia's question, why is this story important to me?

I wrote about the first inspirations for Project Demo, the reasons the story scared me, unsettled me, intrigued me. I kept writing, pouring all my thoughts onto the page. And when I finished, I was ready to go back to work on Project Demo, and to dig as deeply as possible to get at some of the raw truths and characters I want to write about.

I've heard authors say that when they get stuck they return to their original inspiration. But even when we're not stuck, returning to that original inspiration can keep us true to the emotional resonance of the story we want to tell.

Am I right? Or just opionated?

2011-04-25T07:00:00.001+01:00

You may have heard HBO has a new series based on A Game of Thrones, the first novel in George R. R. Martin's fantasy series. Lots of the bloggers and Twitterers I follow are thrilled with the news.

I'm not. It's one of a string of books made into movies recently that I didn't like and now can't avoid. I'm such a curmudgeon.

I read A Game of Thrones years ago. It was on a camping trip, and I didn't have another book with me, so my husband (then boyfriend) listened to me complain about it for days. I wasn't interested in any of the characters, and parts felt like a middle-aged man's sex fantasy. I honestly don't even remember if I finished the book.

My friend who had recommended it was horrified (as will be many of you, I'm sure. Sorry!). For years since she's been telling me it's the best fantasy series ever and I have to give it another try. Most everyone seems to agree with her. It has almost 29,000 reviews on Goodreads and an average review of 4.42 stars (out of 5).

Perhaps my expectations were too high when I started it (hype can certainly ruin a book). Perhaps I wasn't in the right mindset. I know I can misjudge books (I struggled with the beginning of Little Women the first time I read it). This blog isn't called Critically Yours for nothing!

But with so many other good books out there waiting to be discovered, I can't muster up the energy to re-read Martin. Instead, I'm inclined to believe it's just not an Anne book.

Do you ever give books a second chance? Have you ever changed your mind?

Out of ideas?

2011-04-22T07:12:00.003+01:00

I have days where blog ideas are popping up everywhere. It's like walking through an orchard, picking fruit. I could write about this one, or that one, or that one. Last year hubby got me a notepad for the shower (Aqua Notes FTW!) and some mornings it's filled with blog ideas.

Other days (like today) I dread a blog day because I have absolutely nothing to write.

I could skip a day... but I hate to skip days when I could write, have time, and my regular readers (thank you regular readers!) expect a post.

Sure, I always have something to say... I've had a good rant going on in my head lately about people who don't understand capitalization, but that might come across a little harsh. I could talk about all the craziness going on in my real life, except I don't like to talk much about personal stuff on the blog, nor get overly whiny. So... what's left? What do you blog about when you don't have anything to blog about?

Some bloggers post link round-ups. I did read some GREAT posts this past week about following your writing dreams, people who squish those dreams, and plan Bs (so you can buy food and shoes):

Here's Karen at Musings of a Novelista on Plan B's

Here's Sarah Ockler at The Contemps on Dream Squishers, Backup Plans, and Other Things That Ruin Your Life

Isn't it fascinating how sometimes blogs seem to be having a conversation with each other even when each came to their idea independently? Actually, authors do that, too. Sure, there are imitators, but a lot of vampire and werewolf books these past few years sprang up at exactly the same time. That would be an interesting blog post, too.

Or bloggers (or at least those of the writerly/booky persuasion) babble about books. I do that a fair amount. By the way, a shout out to Mary and Girl Friday: I finished Regeneration by Pat Barker (your recommendation) yesterday and was blown away! Really didn't think it was my type of thing, but it was amazing.

Also, last night I started my first Sara Zarr book, Story of A Girl. Wow. What a beginning! I kept going back and rereading it because it was so perfectly written.

Or bloggers start out thinking they don't have anything to say and end up writing a whole post anyway. How embarrassing.

What do you do when you don't have anything to blog about?

And while I'm writing about being out of ideas... anything you'd like me to blog about?

Breaking my routine, cheating myself

2011-04-20T07:00:00.004+01:00

I should start this post by saying that I'm completely and whole-heartedly a morning person. I wake up early, wide awake, usually in a good mood and ready to start my day. Obviously everyone's not like that (I'm married to a night owl!), but I want to talk about what works for me.

When I first moved to the UK, my job didn't start until 9. After years of teaching (and years of early starts), it was luxurious. So I used my extra time in the morning to write.

I'm not working anymore, but I've continued the same routine. Every morning, first thing, I write for an hour. I always do my best and most creative work then; when I'm completely stuck on something I'll even save it for the next morning.

After my hour is up, I'll have breakfast, get dressed, and spend some time checking the news, email, Twitter, etc, before I go back to work for a few more hours.

Except lately my routine hasn't been quite like that. Life's been busy, and I've been waiting on a lot of things, so I've been letting myself check my email before I start writing.

I kept telling myself it was okay. I was impatient, I couldn't focus on my writing until I checked.

Except I wasn't focusing on my writing after I checked email, either. If a message was important, I'd respond right away, and that took time. But sometimes even messages that weren't important would get stuck in my head. Good things, bad things, sad things, all jumbled up, stressing me out, taking away from my best time for writing.

And of course, once I gave myself permission to check email, I started checking Twitter and blog stats, too. And anytime there was a pause in my writing I would check again.

I was getting less and less done in the morning.

So finally this past week I told myself enough. The rule is that I can turn on the internet only after I've written for an hour.

Strangely, I've gotten a LOT done the past few days.

What's your writing routine? What distracts you from it?

*The picture is mine; sunset (unfortunately not a sunrise!) in Cairns, Australia

Why join SCBWI?

2011-04-18T10:05:00.005+01:00

In response to my recent post about British SCBWI's Undiscovered Voices 2012, Girl Friday asked me: "I'm not a member of SCBWI yet - what are some other [besides UV!] good reasons for joining?"

I've heard this question, and a multitude of answers, discussed frequently. The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) is the most well-known, and international organization for children's authors and illustrators. On a basic level, membership shows a commitment to writing and/or illustrating (ie, it's a good thing to put in query letters!), and a commitment to the profession. But at $85 (approximately £52) for your first year, and $7o (£43) for each following year, it's not cheap.

I didn't belong to SCBWI when I lived in Chicago. For some reason the city didn't have an active group with regular events (maybe that's changed since?). I attended one event in the western suburbs (over an hour-long drive) and found it wasn't geared towards my interests or needs.

But when I moved to the UK, I found British SCBWI to be a new, and somewhat small, but thriving group. I joined and haven't looked back. Winning a place in Undiscovered Voices 2010 alone makes it all worth it. But I've found SCBWI has a lot else to offer.

SCBWI offers numerous prestigious grants and awards (like the $2000 Work-in-Progress grants). However, Undiscovered Voices is a British SCBWI thing only (sorry Americans!), and British SCBWI also offers several other, smaller competitions, including regular Slushpile Challenges that are judged by different agents and editors. As opposed to the major SCBWI grants, these competitions have a much smaller pool to draw from. The competitions are also a great (and free!) way to get attention from British publishers and agencies.

British SCBWI also offers a number of events hosted by publishers, agents, and published writers. These can be opportunities to meet publishers and agents, but also chances to learn about the market and improving your craft. The majority of the events are held in the evening in London (not so good for us non-Londoners), but there's also an annual conference, a retreat, sketch crawls (like pub crawls, except with drawing!), and several other opportunities such as regional and online critique groups.

SCBWI has a mailed bulletin, British SCBWI has an online journal, and besides being informative and practical, they offer another market for writers and illustrators to try for (I published my first article ever for British SCBWI's journal). Plus the SCBWI magazine compensates writers and illustrators with a free year's membership!

One of the most exciting things about British SCBWI, in my opinion, is that it's still growing. So if you want to start your own critique group, or organize an event, or become actively involved in your region, there's probably room. British SCBWI also has an active Ning with several discussion groups and an email list for people to post good news, questions, and information.

Obviously my experience is only with British SCBWI, but for anyone considering joining SCBWI, the best thing is to do some research on SCBWI in your area, see if there are events and opportunities you would be interested in, and an active local group. To me, it's been an ideal way to make connections in the industry, improve my craft, and find support from others with the same interests.

Find out more about British SCBWI, and what they have to offer, here.

And I do love this video Candy Gourlay (author of Tall Story, and another previous Undiscovered Voices winner!) put together to celebrate the members of British SCBWI:

For those of you who are also members of SCBWI, what has it offered you?

Update on Project Demo: Operation 50/50 Part II

2011-04-15T07:00:00.000+01:00

Today is the last day of Operation 50/50, Karen at Musings of a Novelista's scheme to write 50 scenes in 50 days.

I haven't been a dedicated participant, after taking a week and a half off to go sightseeing around England. However, I've since started back up, and have continued to be thrilled with my progress, day by day, scene by scene.

I'm now on my third go through Project Demo. It still feels rough, but the plot is finally consistent, the characters mostly keep the same names throughout. Yesterday I figured out a major detail that had been eluding me, so I'll start working that in. I'm almost at the stage where I need to stop working linearly and start attacking bits and pieces: character arcs, back story, setting details, the beginning. How I hate beginnings!

Lately, I've been thinking that writing is a bit like playing an instrument. When my orchestra is in season, I practice most days. But I don't play pieces the whole way though, or favorite songs; rather, I slog through the hard bits, playing the same lines over and over. I'm hardly blown away by my talent, or inspired by the music; it's just about learning each note and playing it as well as I can.

And that's what I've liked so much about Operation 50/50. It isn't about creating exquisite writing, but about plowing through, adding words, and working towards the target of finishing a book. And every day I've had the same goal: just write (or revise) one scene.

So I'm going to keep at it for a bit longer. If I really wanted to be scientific about it, I'd count the days I missed and set a new due date... but for now I think I'll just keep going, at least as long as I'm thinking in scenes. Thank you, Karen, for the inspiration!

What about the rest of you? How are your writing projects going?

What story is your story?

2011-04-13T07:00:00.001+01:00

On Monday, author Anna Staniszewski blogged about "What Story Are You Meant To Tell?" She's always been fascinated by space travel, and has finally figured out how to tell the type of story she wants. She feels it's her story to tell; as she said, "the story is one I would have liked to read when I was young."

I'm thrilled for her, yet I've always found such advice worrying. When I was young, I loved fantasy, and read just about every fantasy novel I could get my hands on. But fantasy is very difficult for me to write; my world-building often becomes immensely complex and confusing, my magic inconsistent. My stories work much better when I'm on firm, real ground.

But am I telling the types of stories I would've wanted to read as a child? That I'm meant to tell?

Lately I've been cleaning out my bookshelf, dividing books into must-keeps, maybes, and give-aways. The must-keeps have been separated onto their own shelf, and have provided a clue about the type of stories I like to read: Adult mysteries, Victorian novels, writing guides, MG cancer stories, YA inner-city violence, fantasy, historical fiction, contemporary mean girls...

In other words, I like a lot of things. And as I've been thinking back over my childhood, I've realized I was the same back then. Even though I read a lot of fantasy, I treasured Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh, Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, and the Ramona books by Beverly Cleary.

So maybe there isn't one type of story I'm meant to tell, but rather certain characteristics that I love in stories: characters I can relate to, settings that transport me to another place and time, stories that make me laugh, cry, and think. And those types of stories I can write.

And that's what makes an author's career, too, isn't it? If I'm lucky enough to become published, I want to write as much as I can, and tell all sorts of stories. Maybe, like Anna with her space travel story, someday I'll even figure out how to write a fantasy novel.

Thanks, Anna, and the commenters on her post, for helping me to find perspective on this!

Finding darkness in beauty

2011-04-11T07:00:00.001+01:00

We've had several warm, sunny days in Bristol lately. Not only has it been great to get outside, I think my writing, or at least my work ethic, has been better for it, too.

A few weeks ago I wrote about inspiration, finding beauty in art, music, and architecture, and how important it is to feed our souls. So when a writing friend sent me this video, of writers Holly Black (author of White Cat, which I loved), and Cassandra Clare talking about their writing retreat in Mexico, I totally got it.

But this quote from Clare really caught my attention: "I've gotten about half, maybe more of 'City of Lost Souls' done here... It's funny, because it's a really dark book. It's got a lot of darkness, a certain amount of existential angst, and meanwhile I'm writing in these extremely beautiful surroundings, surrounded by all these flowers!"

I had been struggling with Project Demo, my own dark book. Especially with life being a little crazy lately, it's been hard to keep going back to it, and to keep pushing deeper and farther into such despairing places.

But Clare's experiences mirror my own. While I'm not nearly lucky enough to be writing from a retreat in Mexico surrounded by flowers, even just getting some sunshine in plain old Bristol has been so welcome.

Those of you who follow this blog have heard me moan before about how dark my writing often becomes. But I feel I've uncovered a little secret from Black and Clare's experiences. If I take care of myself, and feed my soul, the writing (however dark) will follow.

*The photo is mine from Bristol's annual International Balloon Fiesta*

Holding a novel in your head

2011-04-08T07:00:00.001+01:00

One of my biggest struggles as a writer is my inability to reflect on my entire novel at once.

I want a big picture view, so I can decide what genre to classify it as, or how best to pitch it. I want to know what parts are slow, what parts are too fast, and whether my main character is likable.

Instead, I find the novel in my mind is like a jpg that's too big for my computer screen, so I need to scroll sideways and up and down to see the whole picture, mentally switching from character to character, chapter to chapter.

Maybe I should write short stories! Does anyone else have this problem?

Perhaps it's because I'm a visual thinker; I use mind maps, plot charts, images of my characters. So I really wish I could draw a picture of my novel. Then, if I stared at it really closely, I could see all the characters, all the plot points, how everything flows together, the resolution at the end. But there's just no piece of paper big enough.

However, over time I have found some ways of getting close to what I want:

My tutor, author Julia Green, requires all of her students to write a page-long synopsis of their books. Describing an entire novel's plot and characters in such a brief format enables a writer to see where the book's logic might fall apart or questions go unanswered.

I can hold sections of a novel in my brain, so I've taken to dividing my novels into different chunks based on characters' journeys and plot points. Then, when I hold and analyze each section in my head, I can better understand how the whole might work.

Darcy Pattison, in her book Novel Metamorphosis: Uncommon Ways to Revise advocates the Shrunken Manuscript. She has more details on her website, but basically she recommends literally shrinking your manuscript (single space, no chapter breaks, a tiny font) so you can print it and visually consider the entire thing at once (Do all the weak scenes fall in a row? Are any parts description heavy? Unusually long? Equal time for characters?).

How do you analyze your novel as a whole?

So you want to sell a novel?

2011-04-06T07:41:00.007+01:00

Last night was the launch for Undiscovered Voices 2012.

Yay!

Really, I can't say Undiscovered Voices without adding a "Yay!" directly afterwards.

For those of you who don't know, Undiscovered Voices is a British SCBWI anthology of previously unagented and unpublished writers. It has been published twice previously (2008 & 2010) and currently 13 out of 24 of its featured writers have since been discovered, and are published or contracted to be published.

Oh, and yeah, I was in the 2010 anthology. Still waiting for my discovery!

But the experience was life-changing. I would encourage ANYONE living in the UK to consider submitting for this year's competition. You have to join SCBWI to participate, but it's worth it (honestly, SCBWI in itself is worth it!). More details here.

The judging panel includes three agents, three editors, and, new for UV 2012, a bookseller and literary scout. Last night at the launch the panel answered questions about the industry, trends, some of their favorite childhood reads, and what specifically they're looking for.

As my fellow UV 2010 winner Nick Cross joked with me, the evening was entirely stress free. We've already won!

But as someone fascinated by the world of publishing and books, it was such an informative evening. I had a truly insightful conversation with Amber Caraveo, Editorial Director at Orion Children's Books, about what makes a great beginning for quieter, or more character-oriented books (thanks to Benjamin Scott for asking such a brilliant, craft-oriented question, and Amber for really answering it!). The bookseller for Foyles, Jo Anne Cocadiz, admitted that a cover can break a book for her. And when the judging panel each listed their favorite book from childhood, there was so much overlap! Lots of mentions of Enid Blyton, but also Goodnight Mister Tom and Tom's Midnight Garden. They also had to each describe a book they had recently acquired and why--so many beautiful books that aren't available yet and already I can't wait to read them!

But for me, the most interesting part of the evening was what the judging panel said they were looking for. It's a bit frustrating, because as a writer you write what's inside you, not what anyone's looking for. And those submitting have probably already begun working on whatever they'll submit. But if you did want to sell a novel, and were just starting out or searching for a new project, they gave some great hints.*

Write younger! The judges said 1 out of every 2 submissions they see is YA. Early readers or novels for 9-12 year-olds stand a much better chance and are in higher demand.
They want more adventure and survival stories.
Humor is a huge plus
No traditional fantasy. As a reader, this made my heart sink a little, but when the panel actually defined traditional fantasy, I realized they're happy to look at unique fantasy. They just don't want Tolkien-rehashes, populated with wizards, dwarfs, and quests.
A unique premise or hook will help you stand out, especially if you're writing something in a heavily populated genre, like paranormal romance or dystopian.
Plot isn't everything. They're willing to work with a writer on plot problems if the writing and characters are good.

Now if only I were sitting on a fully-polished, character-driven adventure story for 9-12 year-olds! But when someone asked about realistic contemporary, every single judge started nodding! Phew!

Thanks to Sara Grant, Sara O'Connor, and everyone else at the event last night. I'm sorry I had to dash out so quickly afterwards to catch my train!

For further information about Undiscovered Voices 2012 (really, ENTER!), check out their website, and follow them on Twitter and Facebook. Good luck!

*Liz De Jager has posted an excellent, and much more thorough, recap of the event, including what specific editors and agents said what!