Jennifer R. Hubbard's Blog, page 107
January 12, 2011
Apple Crisp & Rototiller: What it's like to write the second book
As I move from my debut book to a more intense focus on my sophomore effort (more on that soon, I hope), I've become quite interested in the whole "second-book" phenomenon. One advantage of a first book is its freshness, its lack of baggage. With the second book come expectations: the writer's, the publisher's, and the readers'. For some writers, the second book is smoother than the first, but for many it's a difficult trip. I've been asking writers of second books to guest blog about their efforts, and here is my first such guest: Caragh O'Brien, author of the Birthmarked trilogy.
The Apple Crisp and the Rototiller: Writing Books 1 and 2
by Caragh M. O’Brien
Writing the second book in the Birthmarked Trilogy has been completely different from writing the first. I put together the first draft of Birthmarked in a couple months while I was on a leave from teaching, and I had no real expectation of publishing it. The twists and intensity made it enormously satisfying to write. Revisions came along with the surprise of finding an agent and an editor who were excited to have me on board. There was a creative, analytic process of exchanging ideas with my editor, Nancy Mercado, which I found fascinating, and I loved every bit of the hard work involved. There were setbacks, of course, but over all, Book 1 was simply wonderful, the writing equivalent of apple crisp. You know, with the buttery crumbles on top.
The second book, Prized, has been far more grounded in the nitty-gritty of real life. Roaring Brook offered me a three-book contract, so at least I was spared the anxiety of trying to sell the second book, but I did have a deadline to get something on the table. My first draft took me five painful months to write while I was teaching full-time, and I knew it was a mess. I was embarrassed rather than proud to send it in, and though my editor remained encouraging and upbeat during early drafts, I feared the book was destined to be a horrible disappointment to the kind fans who were, by then, starting to write me about how much they liked Gaia’s story.
The revising for Book 2 has involved dogged, savage persistence. Imagine your rototiller turning gouges in the black earth. I’ve resigned from teaching to overhaul the novel completely and repeatedly, tossing out fifty-page chunks at a time. I do not say lightly that I resigned from teaching: that choice was grueling, for I both gave up something I loved to do and cut away my safety net of a tenured job. Yet it allowed me to devote my days to my obsession and brought me a kind of deep, creative fulfillment I’d never imagined.
The results are promising. I’ve recently finished my ninth draft of Prized and expect the copy edits back this week for final revisions. My editor thinks it’s terrific, which means a lot to me. I’ve explored material for Prized that took considerable soul searching, and it has made me a braver person. I’m not afraid of risk the way I used to be. I’m more willing to speak up and say what I think.
It’s fair to say the books have made me more like Gaia. I’m grateful for them both, apple crisp and rototiller, and I’m heading into Book 3 with an open heart.
Caragh M. O'Brien is the writer of Birthmarked, a young adult dystopian novel released by Roaring Brook Press, 2010. The sequel, Prized, is due out in November, 2011.
January 11, 2011
Here, there, and everywhere
A sample: "... I’d never really understood that [bullying] was happening in other places. And that it was something you could talk about. And write about. It was an electrifying moment ..."
And in the spirit of bloggers' exchange, I will have some guest posts coming soon on this blog.
In other business, I want to congratulate all the winners and honorees of the ALA Youth Media awards, which include the Caldecott, the Newbery, the Printz ... and the Morris Award for debut authors. For the second year running, the Morris was given to a book I read as an ARC (Hint, hint, debut authors! ;-D Lend me your ARCs for good luck!): Freak Observer, by fellow Tenner Blythe Woolston! And I'm proud that two of the Morris shortlisters were also Tenners, Karen Healey (Guardian of the Dead) and Barbara Stuber (Crossing the Tracks). Rounding out the nominees' list were Eishes Chayil (Hush) and Lish McBride (Hold Me Closer, Necromancer). Well done, all! And as usual the Printz list, led by winner Paolo Bacigalupi for Ship Breaker, will add to my TBR pile.
January 9, 2011
Unreliable narrators
Liar's narrator admits to being a liar. Therefore, we're on alert from page 1 that our narrator may be unreliable, although she claims that this time, she's telling the truth. But as the book progresses, she changes her story, admitting to some lies and declaring that what comes next is the real truth.
The plot unfolds in layers, layers that peel back to reveal more and more secrets. Between the peeling layers and the flashbacks, it's a complex story (in her Acknowledgments, the author credits Scrivener for helping her to keep it all straight). The suspense, the interweaving of the layers, and the strong imagery combine to make this an excellent read overall.
Best of all, I like that at the end, we're left with two (at least) possible interpretations of what happened. Either version is supportable by the information included in the text--and though I tend to favor one interpretation, I can't dismiss any reader who would choose the other. It's reminiscent of The Turn of the Screw in that respect.
I found myself comparing this book with Inexcusable (my go-to example for unreliable narrators). In Inexcusable, we don't realize at first that the narrator is unreliable, but we begin to have a hint or two, and then by the end, our view of events is totally different from the narrator's view. In Inexcusable, our confusion comes when the narrator's unreliability is revealed, but we reorient ourselves, and at the end we know what really happened. In Liar, we can't be sure what really happened; we know the narrator has lied at least some of the time, but we don't know exactly when. But we can assemble the clues and build a convincing case. It's not ambiguity just for the sake of being cute or clever; the writer doesn't leave us hanging just because she painted herself into a corner. Rather, we're shown a pattern with a couple of possible interpretations and asked to choose which one we buy into. In that way, it's almost like reading two books at once.
All three of the books mentioned in this post are good examples of how to play with the reliability of narrators and the building of suspense.
Source of Liar and Inexcusable: bought
Source of The Turn of the Screw: school copy, read way back when
January 8, 2011
Today's signing rescheduled
I'll be back later with a regular-style writing post!
Thanks for a great year
A year ago today, my first novel came out. It's been quite a year! And now that book is out in paperback, too.
Throughout the year, I haven't linked to every award listing, interview, review, fan letter, and guest post. Not because I don't appreciate them--I absolutely do--but on this blog I try to focus mostly on the craft of writing, and not dwell overly much on my book. On this anniversary, however, I wanted to say a big Thank You for the following honors, among others:
YALSA Quick Picks nominee (books for reluctant readers)
Spring 2010 Indie Next list (Teen Reader category)
2011 Tayshas List (Texas Library Association, books recommended for young adults)
RT Book Reviews Reviewers’ Choice Awards, nominee in Young Adult Novel category
And thank you to everyone who put the book on their personal "best of" list, nominated it for awards (e.g, the Cybils), blogged or tweeted about it. Thank you to those who wrote me--I've tried to answer every one of you. Thank you to those who posted thoughtful reviews of the book, hosted interviews and chats, invited me to speak at your school or conference. Thank you for reading!
In a way, writing is a sort of conversation, and the writer only has control over part of it. It's been a pleasure to see readers respond to themes and ideas that I consciously wove into the book--and a delightful surprise to have them point out aspects I hadn't thought of before.
January 7, 2011
Superlatives
When I ask others to tell me a story, I often ask for their best or worst experiences, or their funniest. Or their first or last encounter with something. "The worst trip I ever took" is bound to be an interesting story. As is "the funniest day of my life" or "the last time I saw this person I loved" or "the first time I met the person I ended up marrying."
I'm not saying every one of these stories will be gold--just that these are often the memorable moments, the highs and lows of human experience, the times where we make emotional connections. Sometimes when I'm seeking a new story idea, I think of these extremes: best and worst, first and last, funniest and saddest, highest and lowest.
January 6, 2011
The things around us
One common writing prompt is to start with a physical object, or a group of objects, and build a story around them. Whose seashell / scarf / perfume bottle is (or was) this? How did it get here? For a group of objects: How do these objects all relate to one another?
More questions to spark a writing exercise: Does this object inspire pride, dread, elation, nostalgia, sorrow, anticipation, regret, or a belly laugh? Is the object worn and battered, moldy or dusty, brand new, or has it been lovingly tended through generations? Is there perhaps something magical about this object, or historically significant, or just personally inspiring? Does this object remind you of a special person, or a special occasion? Or does it remind you of something about yourself that you always want to remember--or that you'd rather forget?
We all have our tools and our talismans, and plenty of stories to go with them.
January 5, 2011
Random observations from the sickroom
2. It's a relief when I'm no longer too sick to read.
3. Sometimes the Christmas-tree lights blink, and sometimes they don't. Yes, our tree is still up.
4. My husband is one of those angelic caretakers who knows when to hover, and knows when to leave a sick person alone.
5. He also knows more about pumpkin muffins than I do, since I predicted his improvisational substitution in the recipe would lead to disaster, and instead it led to deliciosity.
6. Yes, I just made up the word deliciosity. At least some creative neurons are still operating!
7. When I love a book a third of the way through, I'm holding my breath that it fulfills its promise and still thrills me at the end.
8. All the stuff that usually seems like it can't wait--often can wait, after all.
January 4, 2011
Breathing room
If you need one too, feel free to take a breath.
Blogging agents
My former agent has a post today called, "In Defense of Blogging Agents," which discusses the question (that until recently I hadn’t realized was a question) of whether agents should blog or engage in social networking, and whether writers should care whether their agents blog or not.
His particular case needs no defense, in my book. As a former client, I know how hard he worked on my behalf. I saw continual evidence of it, although that evidence wasn’t posted on the internet. Not only did his blogging not interfere with my representation, but I saw some benefits from it: I know there are people who found my blog and/or my book through his blog.
My former agent blogged; my current agent does not. I have friends who’ve had happy agent experiences, and friends who’ve had to part ways with their agents. Overall, my conclusion is that blogging is pretty much beside the point. It has nothing to do with the quality of the agent’s representation or the compatibility between agent and client. What writers generally need is an agent who understands and supports their work; understands contracts and pursues the best terms; knows the marketplace for literary rights and where to pitch them; is honest with their clients and responds quickly to questions.
All people (not just agents) have other claims on their time—families, hobbies, etc. If they want to spend their time blogging, or raising triplets, or breeding show dogs, or just staring out the window, it’s their own business. I would suggest that for a writer to pursue only blogging agents, or only non-blogging agents, leaves out a lot of excellent agents either way. I would suggest that other criteria are far more important—although ultimately these questions are up to the individuals involved, of course. Personally, I’ve had excellent representation from an agent who blogs and from one who doesn’t.
