Revision update: It’s coming along. I’m still working on the first eight chapters, where I split one chapter into two, and cut down the others a LOT. I still have some research to finish up that could mean I’ll be making changes, but I feel like I’m making some progress, although small steps. Would still love to have it finished by the end of this month, but time is going by so fast, the end of the year is looking more and more reasonable.

I added a new link to my blogroll of Blogs By Writers today, for MiG Writers, written by the members of a critique group of MG and YA writers.

I found it through a link to their post about the difference between middle-grade and young adult. It’s an older post, but still relevant, interesting and well-researched, but my take away from the whole thing is that definitions are only guidelines.

The article discusses word counts a lot, and I’ve talked about word counts a lot on this blog. Some commentors said word counts don’t matter because the Harry Potter books weren’t within the recommended word counts, but that is only true for the first book, and by the time the first book became a bestseller, J.K. Rowling could write an encyclopedia and the publishers would probably have welcomed it. Well, maybe not, but you get my point. Established writers have different rules.

Another interesting part of the post is what constitutes an MG vs. a YA story-wise. Mostly, it was a coming-of-age-type theme for YA and protagonist around 16-18. For MG, theme is learning about yourself and age is 10-12. Now, again, there are always exceptions. I just finished Suzanne Collins‘ Underland Chronicles series and, although her protagonist is 12, the themes and subject matter are decidedly YA. An editor recently told me that she considered that series YA. It’s much more cut and dry in Collins’ newer books, with her Hunger Games protagonist at 16.

For me, I don’t believe writers should shape their story to these guidelines if something else will work better. I don’t think of middle grade or young adult when I get story ideas. The character’s ages are dictated by the story. I didn’t start my books thinking I wanted to write for a middle-grade audience, it just sort of worked out that way, and one of the book ideas I have is definitely a YA.

The story ideas I get coincide with the kind of stories I like to read, and as a big child myself, I lean toward stories that are fun and take me to another world (not necessarily high fantasy, but something that changes my idea of the current world). To me, Terry Pratchett’s Disc World series fits that bill, even though all those characters are adult. The stories are simple, exciting, funny and touching. That’s what I love in a story, and most of those kind of books, I’ve found, are middle-grade.

Do you read what you write? How do you think of your stories before you write them?

Write On!

I didn’t get too much done on my revision today, but I think I got some important sticky points figured out in my head. We’ll see if they work on paper. Fingers crossed.

Even though I’m still revising my second novel, a third novel has been playing around in my head lately. The main character has been chatting to me, and I’ve gotten to know her and her story pretty well. The thing is, the novel is a bit different than my first two, and I’ve been wondering if that’s ok or a bad move.

Interestingly, I read a great article today recommended by Editorial Ass on this very subject. Aprilynne Pike, best-selling author of Wings, wrote about firsts and how it’s important when you’re starting out to know where you want to end up. She said that, for most writers, where you start out in your career is often where you stay.

“Most authors tend to spend their careers in the genre they first break out in, and at the level at which they break out at. Bestsellers tend to continue being bestsellers (whether or not it’s justified), mid-listers often talk about how hard it is to break out of the mid-list range, and it is surprisingly difficult to move from a small publisher to a big one,” Aprilynne writes.

She went on to say that this applies to what genre you write in as well. So, knowing what you want out of your career should be a consideration when you’re breaking in.

What I got from Aprilynne’s article is that the first novel you write might not be the best one to start your career with. Aprilynne wrote a few novels before she got her agent, etc. So, instead of looking for an agent as soon as your first novel is ready to go, think about the kind of career you want and target your agent search toward that, even if it means writing a few more novels first.

(Something to consider: At the North Texas SCBWI conference last month, literary agent Lisa Grubka of Foundry said agents are getting more and more specialized in what they represent. So some agents will specialize in commercial middle grade, and others in literary YA, which is what Lisa leans toward.)

My career goals are similar to Aprilynne’s. I want to write commercial children’s fiction. Now, looking at my idea list, I have a two humorous middle-grade urban fantasy/fantasies with boy protagonists, one humorous middle-grade urban fantasy with a girl lead, one more dramatic urban fantasy with a girl lead, one middle-grade drama with no fantasy elements whatsoever and led by a girl, and one story that’s definitely YA but urban fantasy. My two first novels are humorous middle-grade boy urban fantasies, the second with sci-fi elements.

Mostly, I’m writing middle-grade urban fantasies, and I’m guessing that boy or girl lead isn’t going to matter too much. Suzanne Collins‘ follow-up to her Underland Chronicles series (brilliant, by the way; I finished the last in the series this morning), The Hunger Games (which I hear is even more brilliant and I can’t wait to start reading while I’m brushing my teeth tonight), has a female protagonist, and she’s 16, as opposed to Gregor’s 12. Of course, with Collins’ best-selling status, it probably wouldn’t matter too much. Aprilynne does point out that there are exceptions to the rule, with some writers successfully changing genre mid-career.

So, I think I’m on track so far with where I want to go in my career and the books I’ve written so far. The YA in my list is a little different, but it’s still an urban fantasy, and it’s a very personal story, so it might take me a while to write it. And the no fantasy title, hmmm, we’ll see.

But with the new story that has been talking to me lately, I have been wondering about the writing style, because it’s likely to not be too funny. Will that matter? Maybe. I don’t know.

And what if you’re a writer whose ideas are all over the place? How do you choose which to write next?

I always thought the answer was whichever story is talking to you the most. But after reading Aprilynne’s article, there are more things to consider.

How do you decide what to write next?

Write On!

I haven’t been including my revision update, because, actually, I’m not sure where I am with it. My goal is still to finish by the end of November, but realistically, it might be by the end of the year, with all the holidays and Christmas shopping, etc. We’ll see.

But the reason I’m not sure where I am with the revision is that I’ve been going back and forth with the first eight chapters. I keep having eureka moments that go, “Ah ha! If I do this, it’ll fix everything. … Uh, no. … Ah ha! If I do this, it’ll fix everything. … Uh, no.”

What I finally realized — I think — is that the problem I’ve been having is not a structure, plot or writing problem, it’s a research problem. There’s one aspect of my main character that I haven’t fully researched, and as long as I’m unsure of that, I can’t write the character properly. The problem is, the research needs more than Web browsing. I need help from an expert, and I’ve felt too intimidated to call. I didn’t know who to call, and I didn’t want to just cold call someone out of the phone book. Finally, I put a message on our local SCBWI Yahoo list asking for recommendations, and I’ve received great help. It’s a first step. Fingers crossed.

The other thing I’ve really been working on is paring down the text and not explaining anything too early. I’m working on cutting out the backstory until it’s really, really necessary. I’m reading the brilliant Suzanne Collins’ Gregor the Overlander: The Code of Claw right now (the last in the series! I’m so excited!), and I noticed she’s great at leaving out information until the reader needs it. She sticks with the action in the present, and she includes the backstory only when it’s needed to explain a current decision or plot point. That keeps the story moving quickly and doesn’t bog down the reader.

It’s a new way of writing for me, at least, in the first draft, I wrote the backstory early because that’s when I came up with it and it was necessary for me to learn it then, because I needed to know it for the rest of the book. But now that I’m revising, I’m working on moving that stuff back as far as possible. Every time I think of putting it in, I ask myself, can the reader understand what’s going on without it? If yes, then I leave it out … for now. So far, I think it’s working, but we’ll see what my critique group thinks.

How do you handle backstory?

Write On!

Here’s my fourth and last blog post with notes from the North Texas SCBWI conference. (See why I rave about conferences? If nothing else, they give you lots of fodder to write about on your blog. )

Illustrator Melonie Hope Greenberg gave a presentation on marketing with some very useful tips. Melonie has illustrated a number of picture books, and had a circuitous journey to get there, as she reinvented herself time and again.

The biggest take away I got from Melonie’s presentation is how much work it can take to promote your book and make it a success. Melonie showed her boxes of index cards filled with contacts from the media, bookstores, editors, etc. No only is she constantly promoting her books, but also herself as an illustrator to get future work.

To promote both her artwork and picture books, Melonie regularly sends postcards to contacts to keep her top of mind. And a lot of work goes into keeping her contact lists up to date, especially with people moving jobs.

One of Melonie’s best tips, in my opinion, was Google Alerts. (If you haven’t heard of these, Google allows you to set up alerts for specific keywords then will email you links to the top 20 web pages that have those keywords. The top 20 changes constantly as new pages are uploaded or old pages get more traffic, so you can keep the alert going for a while.) I had heard of using Google Alerts to keep track of reviews and other mentions of your name or book. But Melonie said she sets up Google Alerts for her book’s subject matter, and when she’s sent notices about other websites writing about that topic, she sends them a postcard about the book. For example, if she had a book about lighthouses, she would set up a Google Alert for lighthouses, and if, say, she gets an alert about a lighthouse club in Maine, she can send them a postcard about the book to spread the word.

And spreading the word is what it’s all about. Melonie showed that it can be a lot of work, but the pay-off — a successful career as an illustrator or writer — is worth it.

Write On!

First, good luck to all you NaNoWriMo participants starting your 50K novels today. I’m revising, so I’ll be participating in spirit, with some revision work done every day. But my best wishes go out to those of your who signed up. Good luck!

Now on to the regularly scheduled blog post:

Number three in my blog posts about the North Texas SCBWI conference I attended on Oct. 24. Today, I’ve got notes from Dutton Children’s Books editor Lisa Yoskowitz and Foundry Literary + Media agent Lisa Grubka, both of whom were really great.

Few pointers from Lisa Y on submitting to an editor:

• Submit in accordance with publishing house’s guidelines
• Address to Acquisitions Editor or Query Editor. But, IF (and only if) you’ve researched a particular editor’s body of work and you feel your book is right for them, it’s ok to address to them, and in your query, explain why
• Economy of words – just like in your book, make sure every word counts in your query.

That last one was echoed by Lisa G, who stressed, “You only have one page [for the query]. Make it count.”

She also told attendees to submit in accordance to agents’ guidelines, and to personalize the query; research the agent and explain why you’re sending to that agent. She said that good writing will come across in a good query, and she encouraged writers to, like they do with their manuscripts, put their query letters away from a while after they’ve written them so they can revise and make them the best they can possibly be.

Even the best query can take time to get through the system, of course, and Lisa G said the busiest times of the year for agents are January through May and September through December. The summer, although still busy, is considered the slow time. So, consider this when sending your query. Don’t wait to send out your query if you’re ready and it’s in a busy time, just be patient and know that if you don’t hear back immediately, it’s just the workload.

Lisa Y said for editors, they’re busy year-round — especially in today’s economy, with fewer people doing more — but they generally have four slower weeks in each quarter, but they vary.

As for what these two lovely ladies look for in submissions, both lean toward more literary, character-driven YA, but Lisa Y said that, if the writing’s amazing, she’ll be attracted to anything. There it is writers: Be amazing!

Write On!

More busy days with my day-job, so I’m sorry these blog posts are coming slowly. But not it’s Friday night, work is over for the week, laundry is folded — almost — and I’m sitting in front of Becoming Jane, laptop on my lap and glass of wine by my side. Ahhh

Here’s number two of my posts from the North Texas SCBWI conference last weekend. Illustrator David Diaz, who won the Caldecott Medal (and he told us it is an actual medal, that’s quite heavy) for the picture book Smoky Night, talked about writer’s block and what he called, “spanking the muse.”

David’s amusing talk gave some interesting insight in the ways in which writers and illustrators deal with those times when they have trouble creating. Prior to the conference, he did a (non)scientific study on Facebook and found that many creative types use many things to bring on the muse, with alcohol rated quite high.

But from David’s advice from the study, here are a few tips:

• Focus - on what you’re trying to achieve
• Change your medium – write with pen and paper if you’re used to a computer
• Slow down or speed up – too much technique can kill creativity; let it flow
• Move your butt – go for a walk or something to change your environment
• Feed your head - nurture your inner creative person by providing creative things (David said he spends much time combing magazines for inspiration)
• Embrace your inner dinker – allow yourself the freedom to dinker (David’s word for procrastinate) as long it opens you up to let the muse come in

David showed a number of quotes about the muse, and here are my two favorites:

“One reason I don’t suffer writer’s block is that I don’t wait for the muse. I summon her at need.” — Piers Anthony

“I have a wonderful muse called alimony.” — Dick Shaap

I love both of these, and I think they both have the same message: Make your own muse.

I’m going off David’s talk now, but I’m a believer making your own muse. I used to write whenever I had the time, and I got writer’s block often. But since I made the commitment to write every day, writer’s block hasn’t been as much of a problem, and my muse mostly stays close by. To me, the muse will give to you whatever you give to her (him or it). Inspiration comes when you’re living your story, writing every day and keeping the characters in your head as much as often when you’re not actively writing. Do that, and you’ll always have somewhere to go in the story, because your characters will always be taking you somewhere.

Robert McKee, author of Story, said the key to overcoming writer’s block is research. For me, whether you’re actually researching some aspect of your story or simply thinking about your story and actively writing, it’s one and the same. Both keep your muse at your side.

One of the best talks I’ve seen on creativity (as well as David’s, of course) is from Elizabeth Gilbert, author of Eat, Love, Pray. I’ve linked to it before, but I think it’s worth mentioning again. And this time I found the code so I could actually embed the video. It’s about 20 minutes, but it’s worth watching; you won’t be disappointed.

How’s your muse treating you?

Write On!

I’m behind on my blogging about the North Texas SCBWI conference from this past Saturday. But I have lots of good stuff to tell you about.

Today, I’m starting with first lines. Editor Lisa Yoskowitz, with Penguin’s Dutton Children’s Books imprint, began her presentation by showing a number of first lines from classic books. These first lines introduce the reader to the book and — hopefully — pull them in. The lines Lisa showed were brilliant, and they made me realize something: This is what I’m striving for in my writing.

Here are two of my favorites from Lisa’s presentation:

“Where is Papa going with that ax,” Charlotte asked her mother as they set the table for breakfast. — Charlotte’s Web

“There was a boy called Eustace Clarence Scrubb, and he almost deserved it.” — Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Both of these are brilliant in different ways, but they both pique interest enough to keep a reader reading.

Here’s what I found so amazing about these two:

Charlotte’s Web:

• With the ax comment, a reader is immediately interested in what’s going on.
• Introduces three characters right off the bat and their relationships.
• Brings the reader smack back into the middle of the action of the story; no need to introduce Charlotte and say she lives on a farm, etc. Just straight to the ax.

Voyage of the Dawn Treader:

• Introduces the main character and the type of boy he is swiftly and effectively.
• Intrigues the reader because we want to know why Eustace deserves his name.

With a book, there are lots of first impressions that encourage a reader to spend their money and take the story home: the cover art, the jacket copy, the authors name. But if readers are like me — and I suspect there are a good many out there who do this — no matter how interesting the front picture and jacket description are, they won’t buy the book unless that first page, sometimes first couple of pages, draw them into the story.

That first page begins with that first line, and it should make a great first impression.

These kind of first lines are what we should be striving for in our own work. And then, of course, the rest of the book should live up to that.

What’s your favorite first line of a book?

Write On!

Done today: Still on first five chapters

Revision remaining: 149 pages

Daily pages needed to be finished by end of November: 3.5

I feel as though I’m not getting anywhere with my revising when I look at my stats, but revising can sometimes be slower than writing. This is time when you’re considering so much more. With the first draft, you’re vomiting on the page, to use a lovely industry-used image, and vomiting is quick. But with revision, you’re thoughtfully picking and choosing the best part of that vomit, moving it around for the nicest picture, and that takes time – ok, enough with the vomit.

As I’ve mentioned, I’m going to the North Texas SCBWI conference tomorrow, and one of the features there is Dutton Children’s Books’ Lisa Yoskowitz critiquing attendee’s manuscript first pages. So, last night, I spent time going over mine.

I had already revised my first chapter and gotten great comments at my critique group (and I have a bunch of talented writers in my group), but as I looked it over, I remembered something I’ve read a lot lately: Don’t include backstory in the first chapter. Bring it in later.

I had some backstory in my first chapter, in fact, in my first page (well, technically, it was fore-story, my character thinking about his family and what was happening that day), but I thought, what’s wrong with that? It’s quick, interesting, and adds to the character and story. And, I’ve read books that have that … surely.

I pulled out some books, and, you know what, none of them had thoughts explaining things in the first page, even first chapter. And I understood them fine and was interested to keep reading.

I hadn’t really noticed this before. So, as an experiment, I went through my first chapter and took out everything that explained things. I wasn’t sure that it would work, but I figured, best to try than to not.

What I came up with surprised me. My new first chapter had the same essence and interest as the original. Plus, I found new voice in the character in joining up the parts that were left. And everything that was cut can be added in later.

It reminded me of the book I’m reading now, book four in Suzanne Collins’ Underland Chronicles. With three books’ worth of stories behind her, she weaved in the information that was needed when it was needed, and it wasn’t missed early.

This morning, I asked my husband to read my new first page, and after he did, he asked, “What did you change?” I guess my explanations weren’t missed either.

I’m looking at my revision under a bit of a different light now.

What are you working on?

Write On!

Done today: Still on first five chapters

Revision remaining: 149 pages

Daily pages needed to be finished by end of November: 3.5

I wasn’t sure if I was going to write about the new Where the Wild Things Are movie, which my husband and I saw last weekend, because I wasn’t sure what I wanted to say. Mostly, my feelings of the film go against all the critics who have praised it.

Maybe that’s because I went in looking for Where the Wild Things Are book, a delightful romp into a kid’s imagination when he’s sent to his room by himself. As an only child, I lived in my imagination for much of my childhood, creating new worlds, stories that I played a part in, and friends. I devoured books and imagined myself in those stories. And when I played with little action figures in our flower beds, I imagined myself that small looking up at the underside of the flowers.

That’s why I love Maurice Sendak’s original Where the Wild Things Are picture book — a look at a fun adventure in a kid’s imagination.

In the movie, I felt that was lost. Instead, it’s an examination of a kid who’s feeling angry because his sister didn’t stand up for him — after he picked a snowball fight, I might add — and his mother, who’s shown in a very sympathetic way and as attentive if busy, told him she was too busy to play with him at that moment. In my mind, the kid isn’t painted in a very good light, and when he goes on the Wild Things adventure, it’s after he runs away, not an innocent romp while he’s having a time out.

The best review of the movie I’ve seen is The Horn Book’s. Claire Gross says the best way to enjoy this movie is to view it as totally separate from the book, and I agree.

My wish, however, is that director Spike Jonze had come up with his own wild things and left Where the Wild Things Are for an adaptation that would more closely reflect the fun of the original book.

Have you seen it? What did you think?

Write On!

Done today: More on chapter 4

Revision remaining: 149 pages

Daily pages needed to be finished by end of November: 3.5

So, today I started the revisions I had thought of a couple days ago, and then came up with an even better solution to the problem! That’ll be tomorrow morning’s revision exercise, but I think it’ll be a keeper. It will improve flow, pacing and shorten these early chapters so we can get to the bulk of the adventure quicker. I’m excited.

I’m going to the North Texas SCBWI conference this Saturday, and I’m also very excited about that. I’ll be getting a critique, which is exciting, as well as hearing from Dutton Children’s Books’ Lisa Yoskowitz and Foundry Literary & Media agent Lisa Grubka, as well as others.

Last week, I sent in my registrations for the Austin SCBWI conference in January and the Houston SCBWI conference in February. Unfortunately, I was too late to get a critique from one of the great agents or editors who will be in Austin (word to the wise, register early because spots will fill up fast), but I am in time for an author critique at the Austin event and an agent critique at the Houston event, so that’s also something great to look forward to.

These are all conferences around where I live, and I feel blessed to have so many good ones within a drive or cheap flight.

I don’t think conferences are necessary to success in publishing. I’m sure there are plenty of people who write a book, send out queries and get published without ever going to a conference.

But, whenever possible, I like going to conferences for a number of reasons:

• Motivation – It’s always great to hear people talking about the work. Makes you want to run home and start writing immediately.
• Inspiration – Every conference I’ve been to has had a healthy dose of encouragement. Book writers tend to be a helpful bunch.
• Meeting new people – I reiterate: Book writers tend to be a helpful bunch, and it’s always nice to meet others who are going through the same things you are.

Even though I go to conferences as much as possible, I don’t do much in the way of contests, mainly because by the time I hear about them, the deadline has passed. I’m so on top of things!

But contests can be a great way to a) get a read on where you are as a writer, and b) get your name out there as a writer.

Even if you don’t win, your writing can be noticed. A query contest I entered earlier this year got an agent interested in my first book.

This is why I’m entering the KidLit.com query contest run by Andrea Brown Literary agent Mary Kole. Contests provide an opportunity, and opportunities should never be passed up. The deadline is Dec. 31. Wanna join me?

What are you looking forward to?

Write On!