Alisa M. Libby's Blog, page 18

TBF Live (next weekend)

One conference down, another to go! Next weekend I'm trekking up to Rochester, New York for the Teen Book Festival. I'm nervous but also super excited – it sounds like a fantastic festival and I'm really honored to have been invited. I just hope I don't pass out from public speaking anxiety. That said, I've been meaning to do a round-up of books written by authors I'll be meeting next weekend at the Festival.

This is the perfect time of year to read Bewitching Season – it's Spring, people are ...

musing on the muse

This weekend was the Muse & Marketplace conference at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel. My session on Saturday went well – low attendance (so many amazing sessions with incredible authors…) but my small audience made up for it with great, insightful questions. On Sunday I went to a bunch of craft-related sessions, which are always my favorites at conferences. The highlight of the weekend – aside from meeting great people and signing some books – was author Ann Hood's session "The Joys of...

to revise or not to revise

I've made an executive decision to put my shrunken manuscript aside for a while. I have two conferences coming up in the next couple weeks, and I won't be able to give the book my full attention until all of that excitement is over. I just picked up my pages and carried them – with small ceremony, the soft strumming of guitars in the background – to my desk in the (very messy) office, where they will wait undisturbed for my return. I'm hoping to get back to work on the book when I have my...

the incredible shrunken manuscript!

You know those comic books where someone takes a sip of apple juice dosed with some magical potion and they shrink to the size of a ladybug and are used as a government spy? This is like that, but instead I shrunk my manuscript.

I learned about the Shrunken Manuscript writing technique on the Women on Writing ezine (thank goodness for Anna, who is always sending me great links). Basically, you shrink your novel to single-spaced, 6-point text so you can see the entire book in about 30 pages...

yup, more revising

I feel like all I ever report here is the vague and continual "revising" that is constantly taking place. To elaborate: I have two projects in the works at the moment. One is my Nanowrimo novel that is still in need of a final act, and then a complete revision. The other is something I've had in the cooker for a while now, and has recently gone through an overhaul: the main character has grown from 13 to 15, and the voice and plot have grown (I hope) along with her. Hence the need for...

yup, more revising

I feel like all I ever report here is the vague and continual "revising" that is constantly taking place. To elaborate: I have two projects in the works at the moment. One is my Nanowrimo novel that is still in need of a final act, and then a complete revision. The other is something I've had in the cooker for a while now, and has recently gone through an overhaul: the main character has grown from 13 to 15, and the voice and plot have grown (I hope) along with her. Hence the need for...

plymouth and icebergs and writing again

Last Sunday I wandered around downtown Plymouth, visiting shops filled with sparkly things, retro sunglasses, antique dresses and cameo rings. In a tea & curiosity shop I spoke to a local film-maker about the movie he was shooting (I find writers/creators wherever I go, it seems). Sadly I am not much of an actress and had to decline the role he offered.

A note in history: the Titanic sank in the early hours of April 15, 1912, after having been hit by an iceberg before midnight of the 14th. So ...

plymouth and icebergs and writing again

Last Sunday I wandered around downtown Plymouth, visiting shops filled with sparkly things, retro sunglasses, antique dresses and cameo rings. In a tea & curiosity shop I spoke to a local film-maker about the movie he was shooting (I find writers/creators wherever I go, it seems). Sadly I am not much of an actress and had to decline the role he offered.

A note in history: the Titanic sank in the early hours of April 15, 1912, after having been hit by an iceberg before midnight of the 14th. So ...

what about backstory?

I see Flashbacks and Backstory as two different things. Your character's backstory is her past, the details that inform who she is, her values and likes and dislikes, etc. Flashbacks are memories that sneak up on your character, unbidden, often unwelcome – little nuggets of her past that, for whatever reason, flash through her, a surprise.

Backstory does create it's own challenges: how much to include, and where to put it in your story? Like a flashback, inserting a lot of backstory can slow d...

Flashbacks

Flashbacks are difficult. Frankly, you should avoid using them whenever possible. Seriously. The difficulty of a flashback is that while it may inform your character, you're not moving forward. Best to keep them brief and sprinkle them throughout your book as needed.

Here are some thoughts:

Use minimal, but vivid detail. If you choose your words carefully, you won't have to use many of them.

Insert "triggers" to your character's memories. Your character hears a song or sees an image that makes h...