Denise Jaden's Blog, page 52
November 8, 2010
In Vancouver? A Celebration of New Works!
It seems I never remember to mention things until they're right upon me. Tomorrow I will be at this:
I'm really looking forward to it! KidsBooks will have copies of Losing Faith for sale and I'll be there happily signing copies for whoever wishes. I'll also have bookmarks, discussion guides, and other goodies. Plus Sarah Ellis will be speaking! And...I didn't miss the word delectables in there, did you?
Hope to see you there!
I'm really looking forward to it! KidsBooks will have copies of Losing Faith for sale and I'll be there happily signing copies for whoever wishes. I'll also have bookmarks, discussion guides, and other goodies. Plus Sarah Ellis will be speaking! And...I didn't miss the word delectables in there, did you?
Hope to see you there!
#Nanowrimo Update: Beginnings, Middles, and Endings
One thing I'm finding while writing through Nanowrimo is that all the major structural flaws are suddenly very obvious.
Beginnings: I know through my first six chapters that I have not nailed the beginning. I've heard one suggestion before: to flip the first and second chapter, or at least to put the second chapter first and build chapter one in as backstory later. And this would probably help. But that will be a problem to solve during revisions. I think my "right" beginning is in those first six chapters somewhere, so that is good news. But I'm amazed at how obvious it is when you write quickly that what you have probably is not quite "right". But you do it anyway.
Middles: Have you ever heard the term "The Sagging Middle"? I'd like to find one Nanowrimo writer who does not know what I'm talking about. Just one. But writing through that sagging middle, pushing ourselves to keep going even when it feels like it's one monotonous, never-ending death sentence for our books...and eventually finding the excitement again: that's what makes us real champions.
Endings: Do you ever feel like ALL you can think about is the damn ending? When will I get there? It's going to be great, right? It HAS to be great after all this.
Yes, I'm not even 20k into my story and all I can think about is the ending. Pretty sad, isn't it? But that's just today. Tomorrow will be better. How's Nano going for everyone else?
Beginnings: I know through my first six chapters that I have not nailed the beginning. I've heard one suggestion before: to flip the first and second chapter, or at least to put the second chapter first and build chapter one in as backstory later. And this would probably help. But that will be a problem to solve during revisions. I think my "right" beginning is in those first six chapters somewhere, so that is good news. But I'm amazed at how obvious it is when you write quickly that what you have probably is not quite "right". But you do it anyway.
Middles: Have you ever heard the term "The Sagging Middle"? I'd like to find one Nanowrimo writer who does not know what I'm talking about. Just one. But writing through that sagging middle, pushing ourselves to keep going even when it feels like it's one monotonous, never-ending death sentence for our books...and eventually finding the excitement again: that's what makes us real champions.
Endings: Do you ever feel like ALL you can think about is the damn ending? When will I get there? It's going to be great, right? It HAS to be great after all this.
Yes, I'm not even 20k into my story and all I can think about is the ending. Pretty sad, isn't it? But that's just today. Tomorrow will be better. How's Nano going for everyone else?
November 4, 2010
#NaNoWriMo Update: Expletives Galore!
First of all, I have to apologize to friends and family. One thing I did not get around to before midnight on October 31st was emailing all of you and warning you that I would be pretty much falling off the face of the earth for a month. Again. But I'm hoping most of you know me well enough to expect this yearly snub and forgive me for it. I hope. Pretty please.
As for NaNo, things are going swimmingly. They didn't start out that way however. On the 31st, just before bed I went online to quickly check my email, and what did I find? My email program wasn't working! Not only that, but apparently ALL of my office programs were due to expire at midnight.
Um...WHAT!?
So I spent a few hours into the night trying to figure things out, to no avail. In the morning, I woke up early, pretty much sleepless, and very, very frustrated. I started to work on my brand new novel anyway...in Notepad. Ugh. Have you ever tried to use Notepad for more than a paragraph? I say it again. Ugh.
So you won't blame me, I'm sure, for starting my manuscript with a word starting with "F". (I'm serious). But the funny thing is, aside from my anger, frustration, and generally just plain pissy attitude, soon I was sailing into my new manuscript and actually having fun with it. Because the character whose point of view I'm writing in this time is very different from all the others I've written (Tessa from Losing Faith, in case you're interested) I've found that using an expletive or two (or eight or nine) helps break my pattern and get me into the voice of Tessa right away. I don't talk like this in real life. I mean, I"m not Hannah Moskowitz (LOL, kidding, Hannah!), so it breaks me away from what feels like my default writing voice. I think (or hope) many of these will be removed in later drafts. But who knows!
For now, I'm starting each day's writing with a &%$#* or a #&@*! and it seems to be working well! But Tessa is more that just a head full of swear words and I'm slowly finding more and more about her.
Any interesting tricks you've learned to get your head into your character?
FYI - I did get my Office programs up and running again (Thanks, Duane) and I'm feeling much less like I need to use that vocabulary - now it's purely Tessa! Oh, and check out my fancy new NaNoWriMo widget on the right sidebar of my Blogger blog! I'm very excited to pass the 10k mark, hopefully today!!!
As for NaNo, things are going swimmingly. They didn't start out that way however. On the 31st, just before bed I went online to quickly check my email, and what did I find? My email program wasn't working! Not only that, but apparently ALL of my office programs were due to expire at midnight.
Um...WHAT!?
So I spent a few hours into the night trying to figure things out, to no avail. In the morning, I woke up early, pretty much sleepless, and very, very frustrated. I started to work on my brand new novel anyway...in Notepad. Ugh. Have you ever tried to use Notepad for more than a paragraph? I say it again. Ugh.
So you won't blame me, I'm sure, for starting my manuscript with a word starting with "F". (I'm serious). But the funny thing is, aside from my anger, frustration, and generally just plain pissy attitude, soon I was sailing into my new manuscript and actually having fun with it. Because the character whose point of view I'm writing in this time is very different from all the others I've written (Tessa from Losing Faith, in case you're interested) I've found that using an expletive or two (or eight or nine) helps break my pattern and get me into the voice of Tessa right away. I don't talk like this in real life. I mean, I"m not Hannah Moskowitz (LOL, kidding, Hannah!), so it breaks me away from what feels like my default writing voice. I think (or hope) many of these will be removed in later drafts. But who knows!
For now, I'm starting each day's writing with a &%$#* or a #&@*! and it seems to be working well! But Tessa is more that just a head full of swear words and I'm slowly finding more and more about her.
Any interesting tricks you've learned to get your head into your character?
FYI - I did get my Office programs up and running again (Thanks, Duane) and I'm feeling much less like I need to use that vocabulary - now it's purely Tessa! Oh, and check out my fancy new NaNoWriMo widget on the right sidebar of my Blogger blog! I'm very excited to pass the 10k mark, hopefully today!!!
November 2, 2010
GCC Presents Daisy Whitney and The Mockingbirds!
Some schools have honor codes.Others have handbooks.Themis Academy has the Mockingbirds.
Themis Academy is a quiet boarding school with an exceptional student body that the administration trusts to always behave the honorable way--the Themis Way. So when Alex is date raped during her junior year, she has two options: stay silent and hope someone helps her, or enlist the Mockingbirds--a secret society of students dedicated to righting the wrongs of their fellow peers.
In this honest, page-turning account of a teen girl's struggle to stand up for herself, debut author Daisy Whitney reminds readers that if you love something or someone--especially yourself--you fight for it.
Author Daisy Whitney is touring the Girlfriends Cyber Circuit this week, and I'm thrilled to have her here to answer a few questions. The Mockingbirds comes out in stores this month!
Welcome, Daisy! Can you tell me about your book in seven words or less.
THE MOCKINGBIRDS — underground, student-run justice system.
Other than your main character, who's a favorite character of yours in your novel and why?
I love Martin! He's one of the Mockingbirds and a love interest in the story. I love him because I think he is everything a guy could be - funny, honest, brave, strong.
What's one piece of writing advice you would give to aspiring authors?
Write every day and don't let anyone tell you you can't do it because with hard work and talent dreams have a funny way of coming true.
What did you write when you were a teen? Did you journal? Write poetry? Write overly literary or emotional stories? Or avoid writing altogether?
I wrote very bad journals all of which I have destroyed!
What's the last book you read that you really loved?I just read WHERE SHE WENT by Gayle Forman (April 2011) and it's amazing. I am also crazy about ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS by Steph Perkins (December 2).
Great! Thanks for stopping by, Daisy!
If you'd like to find out more about The Mockingbirds, coming from Little Brown in November, 2010, check out these links:
http://www.amazon.com/Mockingbirds-Daisy-Whitney/dp/0316090530
http://www.Facebook.com/MockingbirdsBook
http://www.DaisyWhitneyBooks.com
Some schools have honor codes. Others have handbooks. Themis Academy has THE MOCKINGBIRDS.
THE MOCKINGBIRDS | A young adult novel by Daisy Whitney | November 2010 | Little, Brown
Themis Academy is a quiet boarding school with an exceptional student body that the administration trusts to always behave the honorable way--the Themis Way. So when Alex is date raped during her junior year, she has two options: stay silent and hope someone helps her, or enlist the Mockingbirds--a secret society of students dedicated to righting the wrongs of their fellow peers.
In this honest, page-turning account of a teen girl's struggle to stand up for herself, debut author Daisy Whitney reminds readers that if you love something or someone--especially yourself--you fight for it.
Author Daisy Whitney is touring the Girlfriends Cyber Circuit this week, and I'm thrilled to have her here to answer a few questions. The Mockingbirds comes out in stores this month!
Welcome, Daisy! Can you tell me about your book in seven words or less.
THE MOCKINGBIRDS — underground, student-run justice system.
Other than your main character, who's a favorite character of yours in your novel and why?
I love Martin! He's one of the Mockingbirds and a love interest in the story. I love him because I think he is everything a guy could be - funny, honest, brave, strong.
What's one piece of writing advice you would give to aspiring authors?
Write every day and don't let anyone tell you you can't do it because with hard work and talent dreams have a funny way of coming true.
What did you write when you were a teen? Did you journal? Write poetry? Write overly literary or emotional stories? Or avoid writing altogether?
I wrote very bad journals all of which I have destroyed!
What's the last book you read that you really loved?I just read WHERE SHE WENT by Gayle Forman (April 2011) and it's amazing. I am also crazy about ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS by Steph Perkins (December 2).
Great! Thanks for stopping by, Daisy!
If you'd like to find out more about The Mockingbirds, coming from Little Brown in November, 2010, check out these links:
http://www.amazon.com/Mockingbirds-Daisy-Whitney/dp/0316090530
http://www.Facebook.com/MockingbirdsBook
http://www.DaisyWhitneyBooks.com
Some schools have honor codes. Others have handbooks. Themis Academy has THE MOCKINGBIRDS.
THE MOCKINGBIRDS | A young adult novel by Daisy Whitney | November 2010 | Little, Brown
November 1, 2010
Monday!
I got my sorry butt out of bed early today to start on NaNo. One day down, twenty-nine to go!
I don't want to forget to mention that my book is touring again. I didn't mean to have the GCC tours so close together, but that's just the way it worked out. So I really hope you're not getting sick of me! Here's some more tour stops where you can find out more about me and Losing Faith:
Monday, November 1: Angela at Reading Angel (Review)
Tuesday, November 2: Angela at Reading Angel (Playlist)
Wednesday, November 3: Corrine at Lost for Words (Review)
Thursday, November 4: Corrine at Lost for Words (Interview)
Friday, November 5: Sam at Read Sam Read (Review)
Saturday, November 6: Sam at Read Sam Read
(Guest Post)
Sunday, November 7: Anne at Potter, Percy and I (Review)
Monday, November 8: Anne at Potter, Percy and I (Guest Post)
Tuesday, November 9: Kelsey at The Book Scout (Review)
Wednesday, November 10: Kelsey at The Book Scout (Interview & Giveaway)
Thanks so much for the Teen Book Scene for hosting me!
I don't want to forget to mention that my book is touring again. I didn't mean to have the GCC tours so close together, but that's just the way it worked out. So I really hope you're not getting sick of me! Here's some more tour stops where you can find out more about me and Losing Faith:
Monday, November 1: Angela at Reading Angel (Review)
Tuesday, November 2: Angela at Reading Angel (Playlist)
Wednesday, November 3: Corrine at Lost for Words (Review)
Thursday, November 4: Corrine at Lost for Words (Interview)
Friday, November 5: Sam at Read Sam Read (Review)
Saturday, November 6: Sam at Read Sam Read
(Guest Post)
Sunday, November 7: Anne at Potter, Percy and I (Review)
Monday, November 8: Anne at Potter, Percy and I (Guest Post)
Tuesday, November 9: Kelsey at The Book Scout (Review)
Wednesday, November 10: Kelsey at The Book Scout (Interview & Giveaway)
Thanks so much for the Teen Book Scene for hosting me!
October 28, 2010
NaNo Prep!
As I've mentioned, I will be writing for NaNoWriMo again this year, my fourth year in a row. I'm very excited, but also a little terrified (I get this way every year, and try to keep telling myself how normal it is.) If you want to track me down on the NaNo site (www.nanowrimo.org) I'm on there under denisej
Tuesday I received a pretty cool email from a reporter at ABCnews.com. They wanted to interview me about NaNo and my successes and process. Well, I did the interview, and now I'm feeling extra-committed (which means...extra-terrified!)
I've been working on a loose outline for this book, and as I've been brainstorming, I've come up with a few preparation tips that have helped me and I hope they'll help you too. Feel free to take these and share them around if you like any of them. After all, we're in this together, right?
1. Brainstorm story ideas. You may have already done this. Or you may be thinking that a brilliant idea will just come to you on November first. I'm of the opinion that you should at least start with a seed of an idea. If you don't have any ideas yet, think of some of your favorite moments of conflict in some of your favorite movies or books. What did you love about that conflict? Was it romantic tension? A power struggle? A loud screaming match of a climax? Or a smart character that talks their way out of a situation with smart-talk? There are a zillion other things it could be too, but the plan is to think of what you like and why you like it. You don't want to be stuck writing fifty thousand words about something you don't even like!
When you read the paper or watch a movie, or even when you're just talking to a friend, allow your mind to ask "what if" questions. Start with what you hear or see or read, and let your mind go to..."what if it went this way..." Those can make great story ideas.
2. Brainstorm character names. This, for me, is the fun part. Pick up a baby name book from the library and look up the meanings of some names. That can help you if you just don't know where to start with characters.
3. Once you've settled on one or two characters, try journaling as them, just to get their voice. This will (probably) not be anything that will make it to the novel, but just fun stuff to get to know them. Here's some thoughts to get you started:
As your character -
- Write five statements starting with, "I remember..."
- Write five statements that start with, "I want..."
- Write five statements that start with, "I cant wait until..."
Think you know your characters now? Great! Here's a little character interview I do with my characters when I'm so sure I know them (and I'm usually totally wrong!)
Character Interview:
The Basics
Full Name:
Male or Female:
Age:
Education:
Job:
Likes:
Dislikes:
Strong or weak:
Outgoing or shy:
Short or tall:
Detailed physical description:
Go a little deeper:
How does my character feel about him or herself? Will this be different at the beginning of my book than at the end?
How does my character feel about their father?
Their mother?
Does my character have any pets?
How do they feel about their pets?
What does my character want most in the world?
What do they hope to avoid, above all else?
What are five adjectives that would describe my character?
What does my character do with their spare time?
Do they have any hobbies?
Does my character have special talents?
Where does my character fall on the intelligence scale?
Where do they think they fall on the intelligence scale?
What was my character's most embarrassing moment?
Most proud moment?
Most hurtful moment?
What is my character's favorite movie?
What's their favorite music?
Does my character have any bad habits?
Any habits that annoy others?
Who's their best friend?
Their worst enemy?
What's their dream job?
Their dream vacation?
Not so hard, right? Well, it is for me. Every time. But it's good to spend time thinking about our characters. I'm definitely more driven by my characters and knowledge of them (as you can probably tell) while I know others are driven more by plot. I'd be interested to see if anyone has more plot-based jump-starting tips for NaNo.
I'll leave you with one more character/voice exercise that I love to do:
Come up with a wise-ass/or smart/or unique reply in your character's voice to these statements:
Someone tells them, "You don't belong here."
Or someone tells them to, "Get a life."
And finally, figure out how your character would take a compliment. Say someone tells them, "Wow, you're gorgeous." or "Wow, you're so talented!" or "Wow, you're so smart." Don't just let them be shy - make them speak to these things!
I'd love to hear if any of these things work for you or don't, or if you have other favorite tips to get into your stories and characters' heads!
Tuesday I received a pretty cool email from a reporter at ABCnews.com. They wanted to interview me about NaNo and my successes and process. Well, I did the interview, and now I'm feeling extra-committed (which means...extra-terrified!)
I've been working on a loose outline for this book, and as I've been brainstorming, I've come up with a few preparation tips that have helped me and I hope they'll help you too. Feel free to take these and share them around if you like any of them. After all, we're in this together, right?
1. Brainstorm story ideas. You may have already done this. Or you may be thinking that a brilliant idea will just come to you on November first. I'm of the opinion that you should at least start with a seed of an idea. If you don't have any ideas yet, think of some of your favorite moments of conflict in some of your favorite movies or books. What did you love about that conflict? Was it romantic tension? A power struggle? A loud screaming match of a climax? Or a smart character that talks their way out of a situation with smart-talk? There are a zillion other things it could be too, but the plan is to think of what you like and why you like it. You don't want to be stuck writing fifty thousand words about something you don't even like!
When you read the paper or watch a movie, or even when you're just talking to a friend, allow your mind to ask "what if" questions. Start with what you hear or see or read, and let your mind go to..."what if it went this way..." Those can make great story ideas.
2. Brainstorm character names. This, for me, is the fun part. Pick up a baby name book from the library and look up the meanings of some names. That can help you if you just don't know where to start with characters.
3. Once you've settled on one or two characters, try journaling as them, just to get their voice. This will (probably) not be anything that will make it to the novel, but just fun stuff to get to know them. Here's some thoughts to get you started:
As your character -
- Write five statements starting with, "I remember..."
- Write five statements that start with, "I want..."
- Write five statements that start with, "I cant wait until..."
Think you know your characters now? Great! Here's a little character interview I do with my characters when I'm so sure I know them (and I'm usually totally wrong!)
Character Interview:
The Basics
Full Name:
Male or Female:
Age:
Education:
Job:
Likes:
Dislikes:
Strong or weak:
Outgoing or shy:
Short or tall:
Detailed physical description:
Go a little deeper:
How does my character feel about him or herself? Will this be different at the beginning of my book than at the end?
How does my character feel about their father?
Their mother?
Does my character have any pets?
How do they feel about their pets?
What does my character want most in the world?
What do they hope to avoid, above all else?
What are five adjectives that would describe my character?
What does my character do with their spare time?
Do they have any hobbies?
Does my character have special talents?
Where does my character fall on the intelligence scale?
Where do they think they fall on the intelligence scale?
What was my character's most embarrassing moment?
Most proud moment?
Most hurtful moment?
What is my character's favorite movie?
What's their favorite music?
Does my character have any bad habits?
Any habits that annoy others?
Who's their best friend?
Their worst enemy?
What's their dream job?
Their dream vacation?
Not so hard, right? Well, it is for me. Every time. But it's good to spend time thinking about our characters. I'm definitely more driven by my characters and knowledge of them (as you can probably tell) while I know others are driven more by plot. I'd be interested to see if anyone has more plot-based jump-starting tips for NaNo.
I'll leave you with one more character/voice exercise that I love to do:
Come up with a wise-ass/or smart/or unique reply in your character's voice to these statements:
Someone tells them, "You don't belong here."
Or someone tells them to, "Get a life."
And finally, figure out how your character would take a compliment. Say someone tells them, "Wow, you're gorgeous." or "Wow, you're so talented!" or "Wow, you're so smart." Don't just let them be shy - make them speak to these things!
I'd love to hear if any of these things work for you or don't, or if you have other favorite tips to get into your stories and characters' heads!
October 27, 2010
Meet FIVE of @TheTenners This Weekend!
Don't know who The Tenners are? We are a force of 2010 debut authors, over ninety of us in all! Five of us will be coming together at:
Uppercase BooksSnohomish, WashingtonSaturday, October 30th, for a 3:00 p.m. signing
The five 2010 debut authors are: Karen Kincy, author of OTHER Mindi Scott, author of FREEFALLKimberley Derting, author of THE BODY FINDERChelsea Campbell, author of THE RISE OF RENEGADE Xand me, Denise Jaden, author of LOSING FAITH
There really is something for everyone! If you're in the Washington area, I hope you'll come out and say hello. It's rare that authors are organized enough to set up group signings like this (thanks Karen!) and I'm sure it will be a ton of fun.
I'm still working on putting together some Nano Prep Tips, and I should be back with those either tomorrow or Friday.
Uppercase BooksSnohomish, WashingtonSaturday, October 30th, for a 3:00 p.m. signing
The five 2010 debut authors are: Karen Kincy, author of OTHER Mindi Scott, author of FREEFALLKimberley Derting, author of THE BODY FINDERChelsea Campbell, author of THE RISE OF RENEGADE Xand me, Denise Jaden, author of LOSING FAITH
There really is something for everyone! If you're in the Washington area, I hope you'll come out and say hello. It's rare that authors are organized enough to set up group signings like this (thanks Karen!) and I'm sure it will be a ton of fun.
I'm still working on putting together some Nano Prep Tips, and I should be back with those either tomorrow or Friday.
October 26, 2010
Teen Author Tuesday Presents Cindy Callaghan and Just Add Magic Giveaway!
Read to the bottom to find out how you can win a copy of Cindy Callaghan's JUST ADD MAGIC!
Today I get the pleasure of welcoming another fellow Tenner, Cindy Callaghan! Cindy's debut novel, JUST ADD MAGIC was just released on October 10th from Simon & Schuster's Aladdin Mix. It's middle-grade fiction, for ages 8-13.
Welcome, Cindy. Can you tell me about your book in seven words or less.
Cookbooks, annoying little brothers, mean girls, good friends, magic!, soccer, chili, recipes, cute boys…Sorry, eight words, but I couldn't leave out the cute boys.
Sounds great! Other than your main character, who's a favorite character of yours in your debut novel and why?
Darbie is a wonderful secondary character who upon first-glimpse is the most immature of her gang because she is mis-matched, clumsy, hungry, ignorant to boys, and just plain silly. But, the more I got to know her and the more I think about her, I actually think she is the most self-confident. She doesn't have to put on "shows" for anyone. She just likes being herself!
Can you tell my readers a little about yourself?
I could talk about myself all day…I won't, but I'm just saying. First I am a mom. Being with my kids is and the most important thing to me. Luckily they like my writing, so it's a great second-job (I say "second" job because I have a regular corporate job too) because they can be involved in it, and they really enjoy it. I am also the busiest person in the world. I have to be extremely well-organized and multi-task a lot to get everything done. And because I am so frantically busy most of the time, I am also the sleepiest person you'll ever meet. I can sleep anywhere, anytime.
What's been the most surprising thing about your path to publication so far?
How much everyone cares about it. I'm touched by how interested people are in by writing and publication. People have so many questions and they're so excited. Everyone is willing to help from friends delivering bookmarks to another jazzing up my school presentation for me.
What's one piece of writing advice you would give to aspiring authors?
On this I quote the great Greco-Roman philosopher, Nike. JUST DO IT!
Are you swept up with promotion for your debut book right now or can you give us a sentence or two about something new you're working on?
Promotion has been huge, you're right. But, I am excited about my newest project: THE HAUNTING OF SYDNEY MCKENZIE. Like JUST ADD MAGIC, it's a middle-grade fiction. In seven words, it's California-Delaware, spooky, hot-chocolate, ghosts, not-fitting-in, Ouija-boards, and cute boys. I'd love to say more, but I don't want to jinx anything.
Gotta have them cute boys! It sounds great, Cindy. What did you write when you were a teen? Did you journal? Write poetry? Write overly literary or emotional stories? Or avoid writing altogether?
All of the above.
What's the last book you read that you really loved?
I loved Lindsay Leavitt's Princess For Hire.
If readers want to find out more about you and your writing, where should they look?
My website: www.cindycallaghan.com
Thanks so much for visiting today, Cindy, and all the very best with your debut novel!
And for my readers, since I'm so enamored by Cindy's abundance of cute boys in her novels, let's do this... if you'd like to win a copy of JUST ADD MAGIC tell me the name and book of one swoon-worthy cute fictional boy. Open to U.S. and Canada only, ages 13 and older.
Good luck!
Today I get the pleasure of welcoming another fellow Tenner, Cindy Callaghan! Cindy's debut novel, JUST ADD MAGIC was just released on October 10th from Simon & Schuster's Aladdin Mix. It's middle-grade fiction, for ages 8-13.
Welcome, Cindy. Can you tell me about your book in seven words or less.
Cookbooks, annoying little brothers, mean girls, good friends, magic!, soccer, chili, recipes, cute boys…Sorry, eight words, but I couldn't leave out the cute boys.
Sounds great! Other than your main character, who's a favorite character of yours in your debut novel and why?
Darbie is a wonderful secondary character who upon first-glimpse is the most immature of her gang because she is mis-matched, clumsy, hungry, ignorant to boys, and just plain silly. But, the more I got to know her and the more I think about her, I actually think she is the most self-confident. She doesn't have to put on "shows" for anyone. She just likes being herself!
Can you tell my readers a little about yourself?
I could talk about myself all day…I won't, but I'm just saying. First I am a mom. Being with my kids is and the most important thing to me. Luckily they like my writing, so it's a great second-job (I say "second" job because I have a regular corporate job too) because they can be involved in it, and they really enjoy it. I am also the busiest person in the world. I have to be extremely well-organized and multi-task a lot to get everything done. And because I am so frantically busy most of the time, I am also the sleepiest person you'll ever meet. I can sleep anywhere, anytime.
What's been the most surprising thing about your path to publication so far?
How much everyone cares about it. I'm touched by how interested people are in by writing and publication. People have so many questions and they're so excited. Everyone is willing to help from friends delivering bookmarks to another jazzing up my school presentation for me.
What's one piece of writing advice you would give to aspiring authors?
On this I quote the great Greco-Roman philosopher, Nike. JUST DO IT!
Are you swept up with promotion for your debut book right now or can you give us a sentence or two about something new you're working on?
Promotion has been huge, you're right. But, I am excited about my newest project: THE HAUNTING OF SYDNEY MCKENZIE. Like JUST ADD MAGIC, it's a middle-grade fiction. In seven words, it's California-Delaware, spooky, hot-chocolate, ghosts, not-fitting-in, Ouija-boards, and cute boys. I'd love to say more, but I don't want to jinx anything.
Gotta have them cute boys! It sounds great, Cindy. What did you write when you were a teen? Did you journal? Write poetry? Write overly literary or emotional stories? Or avoid writing altogether?
All of the above.
What's the last book you read that you really loved?
I loved Lindsay Leavitt's Princess For Hire.
If readers want to find out more about you and your writing, where should they look?
My website: www.cindycallaghan.com
Thanks so much for visiting today, Cindy, and all the very best with your debut novel!
And for my readers, since I'm so enamored by Cindy's abundance of cute boys in her novels, let's do this... if you'd like to win a copy of JUST ADD MAGIC tell me the name and book of one swoon-worthy cute fictional boy. Open to U.S. and Canada only, ages 13 and older.
Good luck!
October 25, 2010
#SIWC2010 Notes - 3
This is my third and final set of notes from the Surrey International Writer's Conference. All my other notes I took by hand, and don't have time to transcribe at the moment. But I must say, these are some of the best notes from the conference anyway.
I don't recall what this workshop was called, but it was by the fabulous James Scott Bell and basically outlined his revision process. If you're looking for a good book on craft, specifically on plot and structure, James Scott Bell is your guy. He has a real gift in teaching this area, and I know he has at least a couple of books out on craft.
Here are a few interesting points from his workshop:
Drafting:
Push limits in your first draft.
Revise previous days pages and then move forward.
At the 25k mark, check – are all the elements in the plot engine working? Are all those things solid, because need to be ready to push on for rest of novel.
First Read Through:
First – cool off. Put it away, don't think about it for at least two weeks.
Print out a hard copy.
Intention is to come back to it as a reader.
He prepares a cover for his book. He wants it to be like a real reading experience.
He has fun – gives himself a blurb on the cover - LOL.
Read like a reader – resist the inclination of stopping to take notes – minimal notes.
James uses 4 main symbols:
Check mark – story is dragging
Parenthesis – incomprehensible sentences
Circle – when stuff needs to be expanded. (fill in the circle)
? – why did I write that? Why is this character doing that? Whatever questions arise.
Systematic Revision Process:
Does the story make sense?
Do the characters act like real people? Would someone really act like that?
Consciously look at story from every character's POV and get them to make the best decisions that they can for them. Every character must have an agenda.
Are the stakes high enough?
Can the problem have a higher reach?
Does the main character jump off the page? Needs to be different when they first appear. Plots have all been done, but characters haven't.
Ray Bradbury likes to give every character an obsession.
No wimps! We want active characters.
Use the voice journal – write as fast as you can, trying to get the subconscious mind going.
Inner conflict is one of the great keys. No one should be absolutely sure about what they're doing.
Hitchcock's Axiom – a great story is life with the dull parts taken out.
Where is there no conflict, tension, or worry in the characters. Every scene needs to have that feeling.
Is there enough of a worry factor?
At what point could an editor put my book aside and decide not to come back to it? Consider cutting that part.
Raymond Chandler's advice – bring in a guy with a gun.
Write a summary – 2000-3000 words about your story, not of what it is, but of what it could be.
Do this more than once. Keep working on it over a couple of weeks or more. Keep making the premise and structure stronger.
Change what you need in order to make the story more compelling. Next draft gets done according to the new summary.
Major areas to watch for;
Weak opposition – does you opposition have the power to kill your lead? Crush your lead's professional pursuits? Crush your lead's spirit? Opposition needs to be stronger than your lead character.
Slow openings – happy people in happy land. Need some kind of disturbance or ripple. That's when your story begins.
Too much backstory – you think the reader needs to understand. But readers will wait a long time to understand as long as the disturbance is engaging. Pepper in a little bit of backstory to help bond the reader with the main character. Koontz and King do this well.
Don't open with weather and dreams.
Characters alone with their feelings. Need to see characters interacting, something happening. (ex. A woman's husband has just left. Don't care because we don't know her. Even if it's just her being served divorce paper's, at least it's interaction so we can feel more for her.) Need to see a character doing something and talking. Dialogue helps us know the character quicker. This also forces you to write a more active scene.
So much dialogue is not done well, so show early on that you can do it well.
Chapter 2 switcheroo. Start with second chapter instead, because that's often where things kick in a bit more. Withhold info from chapter one and pepper it in.
Start deeper. Can you start your scene further in? Check this with every scene.
Action scene – viewpoint character has an agenda and is being opposed. Action or reaction?
What each character wants in every scene, and how are they being opposed? At least one character in every scene must have this.
If the character's not worried about something, the reader won't be either.
Action/ Emotion mirror – impending doom – lots of emotion there.
Dialogue – fastest way to improve a manuscript. A compression or extension of action. If characters are saying something, it's because they want something or are resisting something. Flows from one character to another without extra explanation. Cut boring dialogue. Need tension always.
Great dialogue begins with orchestration – are they all different so there's potential for conflict? Do they all sound different?
3 acts – 1 memorable line of dialogue in each to elevate it for the reader.
Write out a vanilla line and then play with it.
Use silence and action responses, not always dialogue.
End of revision process – what is a possible theme? – how to find – imagine character 20 years later. Why did they have to go through the story – ask them. What would character say. Have the character make an argument about that very lesson early in the story.
Wizard of Oz – says to Toto she wants to get away from home. Ends with no place like home.
Polish – concentrate on scene openings and endings. Sometimes you can turn around the descriptive passages at beginning – move description later.
Chapter endings – try cutting last paragraph, see if it works. Don't write scenes to their full logical completion.
Compress dialogue. Final pass through dialogue, cut entire lines, words within, put in silences. Gives a real sense of tightening.
Dial up or down 25% - try to overwrite emotion, you can always bring it down later.
See, amazing, right? The more I learn, the more I realize I need to learn. I hope you got something out of this, and if so, I'd love to hear what you find most interesting/enlightening here.
I'll be back tomorrow with Teen Author Tuesday, and then later in the week with some NaNo Prep Tips!
I don't recall what this workshop was called, but it was by the fabulous James Scott Bell and basically outlined his revision process. If you're looking for a good book on craft, specifically on plot and structure, James Scott Bell is your guy. He has a real gift in teaching this area, and I know he has at least a couple of books out on craft.
Here are a few interesting points from his workshop:
Drafting:
Push limits in your first draft.
Revise previous days pages and then move forward.
At the 25k mark, check – are all the elements in the plot engine working? Are all those things solid, because need to be ready to push on for rest of novel.
First Read Through:
First – cool off. Put it away, don't think about it for at least two weeks.
Print out a hard copy.
Intention is to come back to it as a reader.
He prepares a cover for his book. He wants it to be like a real reading experience.
He has fun – gives himself a blurb on the cover - LOL.
Read like a reader – resist the inclination of stopping to take notes – minimal notes.
James uses 4 main symbols:
Check mark – story is dragging
Parenthesis – incomprehensible sentences
Circle – when stuff needs to be expanded. (fill in the circle)
? – why did I write that? Why is this character doing that? Whatever questions arise.
Systematic Revision Process:
Does the story make sense?
Do the characters act like real people? Would someone really act like that?
Consciously look at story from every character's POV and get them to make the best decisions that they can for them. Every character must have an agenda.
Are the stakes high enough?
Can the problem have a higher reach?
Does the main character jump off the page? Needs to be different when they first appear. Plots have all been done, but characters haven't.
Ray Bradbury likes to give every character an obsession.
No wimps! We want active characters.
Use the voice journal – write as fast as you can, trying to get the subconscious mind going.
Inner conflict is one of the great keys. No one should be absolutely sure about what they're doing.
Hitchcock's Axiom – a great story is life with the dull parts taken out.
Where is there no conflict, tension, or worry in the characters. Every scene needs to have that feeling.
Is there enough of a worry factor?
At what point could an editor put my book aside and decide not to come back to it? Consider cutting that part.
Raymond Chandler's advice – bring in a guy with a gun.
Write a summary – 2000-3000 words about your story, not of what it is, but of what it could be.
Do this more than once. Keep working on it over a couple of weeks or more. Keep making the premise and structure stronger.
Change what you need in order to make the story more compelling. Next draft gets done according to the new summary.
Major areas to watch for;
Weak opposition – does you opposition have the power to kill your lead? Crush your lead's professional pursuits? Crush your lead's spirit? Opposition needs to be stronger than your lead character.
Slow openings – happy people in happy land. Need some kind of disturbance or ripple. That's when your story begins.
Too much backstory – you think the reader needs to understand. But readers will wait a long time to understand as long as the disturbance is engaging. Pepper in a little bit of backstory to help bond the reader with the main character. Koontz and King do this well.
Don't open with weather and dreams.
Characters alone with their feelings. Need to see characters interacting, something happening. (ex. A woman's husband has just left. Don't care because we don't know her. Even if it's just her being served divorce paper's, at least it's interaction so we can feel more for her.) Need to see a character doing something and talking. Dialogue helps us know the character quicker. This also forces you to write a more active scene.
So much dialogue is not done well, so show early on that you can do it well.
Chapter 2 switcheroo. Start with second chapter instead, because that's often where things kick in a bit more. Withhold info from chapter one and pepper it in.
Start deeper. Can you start your scene further in? Check this with every scene.
Action scene – viewpoint character has an agenda and is being opposed. Action or reaction?
What each character wants in every scene, and how are they being opposed? At least one character in every scene must have this.
If the character's not worried about something, the reader won't be either.
Action/ Emotion mirror – impending doom – lots of emotion there.
Dialogue – fastest way to improve a manuscript. A compression or extension of action. If characters are saying something, it's because they want something or are resisting something. Flows from one character to another without extra explanation. Cut boring dialogue. Need tension always.
Great dialogue begins with orchestration – are they all different so there's potential for conflict? Do they all sound different?
3 acts – 1 memorable line of dialogue in each to elevate it for the reader.
Write out a vanilla line and then play with it.
Use silence and action responses, not always dialogue.
End of revision process – what is a possible theme? – how to find – imagine character 20 years later. Why did they have to go through the story – ask them. What would character say. Have the character make an argument about that very lesson early in the story.
Wizard of Oz – says to Toto she wants to get away from home. Ends with no place like home.
Polish – concentrate on scene openings and endings. Sometimes you can turn around the descriptive passages at beginning – move description later.
Chapter endings – try cutting last paragraph, see if it works. Don't write scenes to their full logical completion.
Compress dialogue. Final pass through dialogue, cut entire lines, words within, put in silences. Gives a real sense of tightening.
Dial up or down 25% - try to overwrite emotion, you can always bring it down later.
See, amazing, right? The more I learn, the more I realize I need to learn. I hope you got something out of this, and if so, I'd love to hear what you find most interesting/enlightening here.
I'll be back tomorrow with Teen Author Tuesday, and then later in the week with some NaNo Prep Tips!
October 24, 2010
#SIWC2010 Notes - 2
I chose some great workshops yesterday! Unfortunately, the Internet has been dicey, so it's been difficult to get any notes up and posted. I didn't make it to the social media workshop yesterday, but I heard that they put twitter up on the overhead projector. While exploring hashtags, they looked up #siwc2010 (by the way, if you haven't been watching this hashtag, you should! Lots of interesting little bits from the conference there.) Anyway, while looking up #siwc2010, my blog post happened to have been the latest tweet up on the screen, and KC Dyer clicked on the link to my blog! I'm very sad that I missed out on seeing this, but not completely sad, because I was at another AWESOME workshop.
What's So Funny?
by Senior vice-president of theatrical production at MGM, Luke Ryan!
Too cool, right? Luke started as a screenwriter, so he had plenty of insight on the writing, and some wonderfully funny things to say about humor. I don't want to give away all of his notes here, but I'll pass along a few highlights. If you ever get the opportunity to hear him speak, I highly recommend it!
Out of the top 50 movies of all time, only 6 were comedies. It costs much less to make comedy than action/fantasy/adventure.
Luke asked the group in the workshop what's funny to them, and this is what they came up with: the unexpected, slapstick, sarcasm, black humor- making fun of something nobody would normally make fun of. The joke you can feel coming, exaggerated personalities, absurdity.
But Luke brought it down to three main points:
1. Pain
2. Awkwardness
3. Discomfort
Develop character we care about and then beat the snot out of them. (One of my favorite lines of the class!)
It's easy to have a good comedy idea, hard to come up with good comic writing.
Two types of Diminishment
1. Physical – bathroom humor, bonked on head humor, can't control himself
2. Emotional- over-reactive/under-reactive – character responds with more or less emotion than expected. Witty banter/dialogue.
Everybody loves it when a fat guy falls down. Jim Carrey.
Over-reactive – Will Ferrell, Chris Farley.
Under-reactive - Bob Newhart, Chevy Chase
Bill Murray/Steve Martin – can do both.
2 or more people – usually one over and one under reactive.
Beat - unit of narrative measurement that expresses a specific idea or action
Single beat jokes – no set up, and seldom very effective. Incidental comedy.
Two-beat jokes – set up to prepare jokes, follows with a payoff. The beats can come right next to each other or separated.
Resonance – like two old friends that show a joke over time.
Multi-beat jokes – still starts with a set-up, ends with a payoff but inserts anticipation beats in between to heighten interest and add information. Rule of 3.
The longer of setup and anticipation beats, the greater the payoff.
Make a comedic spine to run over the course of the movie.
Luke also gave us 21 things that are always funny. Here are a few highlights:
1. I'm not going to… - character swears he won't do something, cut to where he does.
2. Physical comedy – head bonks, contorting in impossible way, falling down, impossible physical challenges. He showed a clip/montage from Dumb and Dumber – tongue stuck to pole in winter, carrot on snowman, throwing snowball too hard, tackle girl he likes. Over-reactive comedy.
5. Gross-out Humor – bodily functions and secretions. Always have to outdo last, but can't go too far. Comic suspense starts in Dumb and Dumber scene when Lloyd Christmas gives Harry Turbo-Lax. Then we wait for the payoff. Waiting to laugh. We don't see what's so gross (that would be too much). Embarrassment sets in when he cracks the window, Invasion of Privacy when Mary knocks.
10. Doing exactly what he's told (instead of the implied).
11. Playing To/ Playing against – well-known stereotypes. Race or gender things work well here.
13. Comic Reveal – reveals a hidden truth to audience that character doesn't know.
16. Defining the Underdog – we find humor in what's expected and what they'll actually be able to do. (My Cousin Vinnie – unskilled lawyer, failed Bar 6 times, needs to get them out of jail).
19. Vulgarity
20. Comic Repetition – use it until it's not funny anymore, then digging it up and using it to a greater degree until it's funny again.
21. Obsessive Drive – can't control himself and tries everything to complete goal, may actually bring him further from his goal.
I hope that's helpful! Do you have any favorite types of comedy or favorite comic movies? What about comic novels? I've been reading AUDREY WAIT! by Robin Benway, and it's hilarious! It's a nice change of pace to be reading something funny after a lot of darker reads. I'd love to hear if you have any recommendations!
What's So Funny?
by Senior vice-president of theatrical production at MGM, Luke Ryan!
Too cool, right? Luke started as a screenwriter, so he had plenty of insight on the writing, and some wonderfully funny things to say about humor. I don't want to give away all of his notes here, but I'll pass along a few highlights. If you ever get the opportunity to hear him speak, I highly recommend it!
Out of the top 50 movies of all time, only 6 were comedies. It costs much less to make comedy than action/fantasy/adventure.
Luke asked the group in the workshop what's funny to them, and this is what they came up with: the unexpected, slapstick, sarcasm, black humor- making fun of something nobody would normally make fun of. The joke you can feel coming, exaggerated personalities, absurdity.
But Luke brought it down to three main points:
1. Pain
2. Awkwardness
3. Discomfort
Develop character we care about and then beat the snot out of them. (One of my favorite lines of the class!)
It's easy to have a good comedy idea, hard to come up with good comic writing.
Two types of Diminishment
1. Physical – bathroom humor, bonked on head humor, can't control himself
2. Emotional- over-reactive/under-reactive – character responds with more or less emotion than expected. Witty banter/dialogue.
Everybody loves it when a fat guy falls down. Jim Carrey.
Over-reactive – Will Ferrell, Chris Farley.
Under-reactive - Bob Newhart, Chevy Chase
Bill Murray/Steve Martin – can do both.
2 or more people – usually one over and one under reactive.
Beat - unit of narrative measurement that expresses a specific idea or action
Single beat jokes – no set up, and seldom very effective. Incidental comedy.
Two-beat jokes – set up to prepare jokes, follows with a payoff. The beats can come right next to each other or separated.
Resonance – like two old friends that show a joke over time.
Multi-beat jokes – still starts with a set-up, ends with a payoff but inserts anticipation beats in between to heighten interest and add information. Rule of 3.
The longer of setup and anticipation beats, the greater the payoff.
Make a comedic spine to run over the course of the movie.
Luke also gave us 21 things that are always funny. Here are a few highlights:
1. I'm not going to… - character swears he won't do something, cut to where he does.
2. Physical comedy – head bonks, contorting in impossible way, falling down, impossible physical challenges. He showed a clip/montage from Dumb and Dumber – tongue stuck to pole in winter, carrot on snowman, throwing snowball too hard, tackle girl he likes. Over-reactive comedy.
5. Gross-out Humor – bodily functions and secretions. Always have to outdo last, but can't go too far. Comic suspense starts in Dumb and Dumber scene when Lloyd Christmas gives Harry Turbo-Lax. Then we wait for the payoff. Waiting to laugh. We don't see what's so gross (that would be too much). Embarrassment sets in when he cracks the window, Invasion of Privacy when Mary knocks.
10. Doing exactly what he's told (instead of the implied).
11. Playing To/ Playing against – well-known stereotypes. Race or gender things work well here.
13. Comic Reveal – reveals a hidden truth to audience that character doesn't know.
16. Defining the Underdog – we find humor in what's expected and what they'll actually be able to do. (My Cousin Vinnie – unskilled lawyer, failed Bar 6 times, needs to get them out of jail).
19. Vulgarity
20. Comic Repetition – use it until it's not funny anymore, then digging it up and using it to a greater degree until it's funny again.
21. Obsessive Drive – can't control himself and tries everything to complete goal, may actually bring him further from his goal.
I hope that's helpful! Do you have any favorite types of comedy or favorite comic movies? What about comic novels? I've been reading AUDREY WAIT! by Robin Benway, and it's hilarious! It's a nice change of pace to be reading something funny after a lot of darker reads. I'd love to hear if you have any recommendations!
