Beth Revis's Blog, page 52

Music & Writing

One frequently asked question I tend to get is "What kind of music do you listen to while writing?"



I love music...but I'm not a good music listener. I tend to listen to the same song over and over and over again. I'll never forget how, in the first few months of living with my college roommate, I decided I wanted to learn the words to Bare Naked Ladies' hit single "One Week"--and I listened to it on repeat until I thought she was going to stab me in my sleep.



When in the car or exercising or nearly any other time, I like my music loud and fast. But when writing, I need a rare kind of song that's not too fast and not too slow, that's doesn't distract me but that I don't completely ignore, that's not too loud or too soft.



I need a Goldilocks song.



While working on edits for A MILLION SUNS, I have come up with a small collection of songs that are perfect. And I just listen to them over and over and over again. Over the last few weeks I've developed a playlist of 10 songs that I listen to on repeat. Proof:





Heh. Yeah. That's 400 plays of "Forbidden Friendship" from the How to Train Your Dragon soundtrack. It's more than double the listens of most of the other songs because for a couple of weeks, that's the only song I was listening to--that song on repeat all day.



It would drive most people crazy, I think, to listen to the same thing over and over, but I like it for writing. I get in a zone where I forget about the music, and the repetitive music helps me stay in the zone. Occasionally I'll write while listening to the radio or Pandora, but every once in awhile, they'll play just a terrible song that I hate, or something that clashes and it'll break my concentration.



In truth, I'm a little envious of the writers who actually have a cool playlist. I see lots of (cooler) writers who post these playlists with AMAZING songs that perfectly hit the mood of the book. I know some writers who won't start writing until they've picked out individual songs for each of their characters or made a book playlist. For them, the songs create a mood that fits the books. These people are so much cooler than me. I'm just going to be jamming away to the same songs on repeat in the corner ;)



PS: I feel the need to explain that "Across the Universe" by the Beatles has such a low number of plays because this is my A MILLION SUNS song list. For ACROSS THE UNIVERSE, I had over 800 plays of the song. :P

Being...Satisfied

It's about to get all shades of steamy up in here.



So... occasionally I read a romance novel. I say "occasionally" not because I think it's shameful to read romance novels--after all, my mom reads little else--but because I don't want to lose my street cred as the writer who would rather (literally) blow up her character than have a kissing scene.



But every once in awhile, I find myself not wanting death and destruction with a healthy handful of zombies or killer unicorns or dragons thrown in. Every once in awhile I'd like a bodice-ripper. (Or, as the very old lady at my church put it: "thigh warmers". It took a full minute for me to figure out what she meant by that term, and I nearly choked at the pot luck when it finally hit me.)



Anyway, last night I started NINE RULES TO BREAK WHEN ROMANCING A RAKE--so far a clever title by the author of the YA novel THE SEASON, Sarah MacLean.



One scene stood out to me. In in, Callie has asked for a kiss from Ralston, a playboy rake. They brush lips, barely, and Callie says she's satisfied with such a kiss.

His lips curved at her ear as he spoke... "Kisses should not leave you satisfied."  [Insert Very Hot and Steamy Kiss Here, a Kiss so Passionate it Leaves Callie Breathless. Ralston then says:] "They should leave you wanting."

Okay, first? HOT.  Second: isn't that what a good novel should do? Maybe it's because I've got the ending of Hitchcock's THE BIRDS on the brain (my topic at the League today) or maybe it's because I'm already starting to think about the end of my own trilogy, but I think there's a very important lesson in this scene.



A good story leaves you satisfied. It makes you close the book with a happy sigh. All is well, the heroes have won (or lost nobly) and it is over and you're happy.



But...a great story leaves you wanting more.



A great story makes you want to write fan fic. It makes you want to live in Hogwarts, it makes you go looking in wardrobes for Narnia, it makes you jump on your broom while sweeping and pretend to fly, it makes you flick your pencil like a wand, it makes you want more. A great story will bring you to the bookstore at midnight for the sequel. A great story will make you dream of it at night after you close the book and leave it on the nightstand.



A great story should leave you wanting.

Live-Blogging! Edit Version

I have edits due. Soon. And while I've been plugging away like a good little writer, I've noticed in the last two or three days that my productivity has....fallen. Drastically.



I think the answer to WHY my productivity on edits has fallen can probably be found in this video, but I kept getting distracted by the awesome British accent and therefore didn't learn a thing.







So anyway, the husband has the guys over for boy's night (read: bacon-wrapped-hotdogs, beer, XBox, Risk) and, as I usually do during boy's night, I have holed myself up in my office. With my laptop. And coffee. And I'm going to stare at these edits until either they're done, or my eyes bleed. And while I do it, I'm going to live-blog.



If you don't know what I mean by live-blogging, then check here first (with links to more live-blogging sessions in that post). Basically, my biggest distraction from doing work is the internet. So, when I really need to focus, I live-blog: I work on my book, and when I get tempted to play online, I start off by logging my time here--and then I usually guilt myself into not really slacking off.



How will it go? Stay tuned to find out!



---



8:45pm: 1st cup of coffee. I'm a little worried about how this is going to go, btw, because I mowed the lawn and have allergies now and I'm already feeling blargy.



8:51: And I immediately got distracted by blogs...



8:57: Put my mitts on. STUFF JUST GOT REAL, Y'ALL.



9:01: Had to Google Image "stoop." Because...while I used the word, I realized I actually don't know what one is...



9:03: In researching stoops, I found this. That's rather stupid, no? I mean, don't you always need steps? Why even have this? I guess maybe it's not real steps...but. I don't get it.



9:09: Woot! Edited...three whole pages. So...uh...that's 3 pages in over 20 minutes. Hrm. Not good.



9:15: Hello Failbook. Oh, WAIT. *ducks head* *goes back to editing*



9:19: ZOMG I JUST SAW MY EMAIL! THANK YOU LAURA!!!!



9:42: THIS is what has been distracting me!!!





THIS is what distracted me!!! See the wording on the picture? DISTRICT 12. As in...THE HUNGER GAMES! They're filming in the town I used to work in, and my friend Laura snapped this picture. I am now plotting on a time/day I can go stalk the set  stroll around casually STALK THE SET.



9:54: ...annnnd back to work.



10:00: OK, seriously this time, back to work.



10:10: I love it when my editor makes a note about how much she likes a certain scene. :)



10:32: Got distracted when getting another drink. The boys are watching HUMAN CENTIPEDE. There's no hope for them.



10:33: YAY! I finally got the email all the other authors are getting that says, basically "I'm your biggest fan, now can you please send me a free signed copy of your book?" I feel like I'm in the cool club! ;)



(In related news, if you'd like a signed book, you can order one here. But...uh...I can't afford to just pass them out like candy. Them suckers get expensive over time.)



10:57: DUDE. I've gotten so distracted!!! But I found this awesome Etsy shop--and in particular, this item--and...*sigh* I told you the internet was my distraction!



11:23: Crap. Yeah. Getting offline....NOW.



11:30: Back online. But for legitimate research purposes! Researching...a toilet. (Seriously)



12:06: See? This is the dangers of researching toilets. One things leads to another and a half hour has passed and *sigh*. Internet, you are evil.



12:26: INTERNET YOU ARE EVIL. *disconnect*



12:35: Nearly 20 pages edited! Woot!



12:43: It's the little words that make me stumble. It's dithering between "viciously" or some other adverb that leads me away from the document. If I can't decide immediately on whether or not to change (or in what way to change) the manuscript, I trip off to the interwebs.



1:10: Oh, hello WALL. Let me just go ahead and CRASH into you.



1:36: I think I've got a way to insert this particular scene from one chapter into another, but... *I feel like I'm playing Operation*



2:10: I'm at the 150 page mark in the manuscript--not bad, but not great. Still, more than I'd done in one sitting before!!



2:17: Yup, I'm calling it a night. Sort of. I'm going to take off to watch Alfred Hitchcock's THE BIRDS--it's for research, I swear!





PS: Comments are greatly welcomed and fill me with joy!

An Online Presence

The other day I did something SHOCKING and STRANGE.



I bought a book.



"That's not shocking and strange!" you might exclaim.



Well, true. It's not. Especially for me. But here's the kicker: I bought a book written by an author I had never heard of. This author had NO blog, NO Twitter, NO Facebook. NOTHING.



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Does your face look like that when I say I bought a book from someone with no online presence?



Probably not.



Because chances are, you have, too.



How many times have you gone into a bookstore or logged onto Amazon and just picked up a book not for the author's name, but because the book looked interested? Most people buy books that way.



I bring this up because I was lurking in the background of a YALitChat recently, and saw several people ask variations of the same question: how many followers do I need to have on my blog before an agent or publisher will notice me?



The answer to that question is simple: none.





Calm down. CALM DOWN. A blog, or Twitter, or Facebook are not a book. An agent will not sign you because of your blog. A publisher will not pay you an advance because of your online presence. They want a book.





"But!" some of you say, "But! They might want me more if I have a book and an online presence!"



Maybe. I can honestly say that I've bought some books only because I knew the author through her online presence first. And we all know of stories where someone was "discovered" because of her blog (or whatever). But chances are, that's not the reason why you'll be found. Sorry. But, statistically, MANY more writers are "discovered" because their book is good, not because of their online platform. (And wouldn't you rather be known as the writer with the amazing book, rather than the writer with the blog?)



You want a number? Okay, how about this: Hyperbole and a Half started out as a blog, and the author recently announced she had a book deal. This is a case where I'd be willing to bet money that the blog had an impact on the book deal. You want to know how many followers Hyperbole and a Half has? 52,555. Fifty-two thousand, five hundred and fifty five. So, sure. Get that many followers and you've something significant.



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(Honestly, though? Hyperbole and a Half still doesn't have a book deal because she has over 50k followers on her blog. She has a book deal for the same reason she has over 50k followers: because her work is effing hilarious.)



Long story short? Numbers don't matter.





Think about the analogy I gave above. Think about yourself when you go into a bookstore. Don't you usually buy a book because the book looks good, not because you know the author online?



Yes, online social media can help. But you should do it because you like it, and you should do it in such a way that writing always comes first. You never have to apologize for not being a good blogger, or for not even having a blog. In the end, never forget: the book sells the book. Not the online media. And for you aspiring authors, the same principle applies: your book will land you an agent and a book deal. Not your blog.

Tonight! Mundie Moms Chat!

Just a friendly reminder that TONIGHT at 9pm EST, I'll be chatting with Mundie Moms LIVE. Details are here, but please stop by and ask me anything you like!



PS: I'll be giving away a SIGNED copy of the book--open internationally!

Bookanista Feature: Neil Gaiman's ANANSI BOYS (narrated by Lenny Henry)

[image error] I'm going to do something a tad different for this Bookanista review: I'm reviewing the audiobook version.



First let me explain: I LOVE AUDIOBOOKS. Which goes well with another deep-seated feeling I have: I HATE HOUSEWORK. So, I usually let the housework pile up until we're out of clean dishes and can no longer find the floor. Then I take a day and do all the house cleaning stuff all at once.



That's where audiobooks come in: I listen to audiobooks while doing housework, and it makes the housework not quite as painful. In fact, the mark of a good audiobook is one where I will voluntarily do household chores so I can keep listening.



ANANSI BOYS by Neil Gaiman kept me washing dishes, vacuuming, mowing the lawn, and even--gasp!--dusting. It's that good.



About the book: This book is strange. And I mean that in the best possible way--and fans of Neil Gaiman (who have all probably already read this book) will be happy to know that the unexpected, at times eerie, at times comical is strong in this novel, too. Briefly, ANANSI BOYS is about the sons of the African god Anansi, the spider god who owns all the stories. When Charlie Nancy's father dies, he discovers not only that his father was a spider god, but that he has a brother who inherited the powers of their father--and who's stopping in for a visit that will ruin change Charlie's life forever.



Cool, right? You can see why I wanted to know this story!



About the audiobook: But here's why I'm featuring the audiobook version of this book specifically: the narrator, Lenny Henry, was perfect for the role. Typically Gaiman narrates his own audiobooks--in fact, I bought ANASI BOYS as my first Gaiman audiobook expecting Gaiman to be the narrator specifically. I was a little disappointed to find that Lenny Henry narrated instead.



But I was quickly in love with this voice actor! He had the perfect accent for each of the characters, and his voice made them each pop in a magical way. I found Jaguar's voice in particularly to be brilliant, especially when compared to Graham Coates.



The voice narration added a whole new layer of depth to the book. Henry's voices were not the voice that I'd have used in my mind--instead, they were better. Individual words stood out, tones were nuanced. I cannot say enough how perfect this narrator was for this book.



If you'd like to try out this or other audiobooks, I'm a big fan of Audible.com--a monthly subscription service where you can get a new audiobook a month or buy audiobooks at a discount.





If you'd like to see what the other Bookanistas have been reading, check it out below!



Elana Johnson marvels at Moonglass

Christine Fonseca  raves about It's Raining Cupcakes

Shelli Johannes-Wells  chats with Pure and The Summer of Firsts & Lasts author Terra McEvaoy

LiLa Roecker  and Carrie Harris have a passion for Possession

Beth Revis admires the audiobook of Anansi Boys

Carolina Valdez Miller is giddy over Moonglass – with giveaway

Megan Miranda  swoons over Strings Attached

Shana Silver delves into Divergent

Sarah Frances Hardy gabs about Gossip from the Girls Room

Matt Blackstone is tantalized by Bad Taste in Boys

Stasia Ward Kehoe  glories in a guestanista review of The Rendering

Doing It Justice (Wherein I Fangirl at Laini Taylor)

Yesterday I talked about Story (with a capital S) and it turned into a wibbly-wobbly sort of explanation. Then, of course, I went to two--yes, TWO!--different blogs who both said it better than me:



Laini Taylor on getting the Story down
Shannon Messenger on Revising
So yes: go read these two ladies, especially if you're either in the first draft or the revising stage of a novel.

Something in Laini's post really struck a chord with me:

Big Things. Big Ideas. Big Plot. Back when I was brainstorming it and plotting (in the fall) I had a "OHMYGODTHAT'SSOCOOL!" brainwave that made the whole thing click into place, and now I am upon that thing! Yay!



But also: Oh! Now I have to do it justice. *knuckle chew nail bite*

I know exactly what she means by this. When I came up with the idea for Across the Universe, it really felt like a Big Idea--and my task really was to do it justice. Even as I was writing, I was conscious that I needed to push myself harder, find the right words, make everything about the novel just sing so I could do the story and the characters justice.



In the end, I was able to look at Across the Universe and know I'd given it my level best. If I hadn't done the Story justice, it wasn't from lack of trying.



I think that's why I struggled so hard with A Million Suns. I had the Big Idea--and I have cackled often when people tell me their guesses for the sequel because I think I've thrown a real shocker in there. But I was also conscious of the idea that I not only had to do the Story justice--I also had to do you justice. I definitely had a much more present idea of who my audience was, and a desire to make you happy with the sequel.



Laini also said something else in her post that's highly relevant:

Sometimes stories just "happen" and you hear writers talking about "taking dictation" etc as if a muse is speaking it straight into their brains or whatever. Ignore those writers. They will just drive you crazy. The huge majority of the time, we have to make our stories happen.

When I read this, my exact response was yes. YES. Because 90% of the time, it's the work that has to happen. And I can honestly say that A Million Suns was much more work than Across the Universe--but also just as worth it.



Ah! Well, that's me, being all verbose about writing! Enough philosophy: let's look at pretty pictures!





Lookit! LOOKIT! It's the German cover of Across the Universe--titled as Godspeed--The Journey Begins. Such a fitting title! What do you think?? And, if you happen to want a German edition of the book, you can pre-order it here.

The Story Comes First

So I'm working on edits right now.



And.



Well.



If you've noticed that posting has been scanty lately, that's why! Everything is currently on hold while I zero in on the manuscript of A MILLION SUNS and try to get it right. That means: house = filthy, dogs = dissatisfied that I'm not throwing any balls, husband = sadly neglected and poorly fed, personal hygiene = questionable.



Segue.



Not too long ago, I was talking with another author about edits. Basically, most people get three rounds of edits with a manuscript (at least):





Edit Letter = broad, general changes to make to the story. This comes as a letter with suggestions on what to change. For example: "introduce Character Y earlier," or "strengthen the subplot with Character B," or "make the pace faster in the first hundred pages."
Line Edits = comments about specific lines in the text. Changes could be broad: "explain the motivation for the character in this scene" or specific: "make these sentences shorter and change these words."
Copy Edits = grammar and continuity, other housekeeping details. 


In talking with this author, I told her that the part I found the easiest was copy edits. Grammar is something I understand well, so usually as I go through the copy edits, I'm either hitting myself on the head for letting something slip, or I'm breaking out my MLA handbook and arguing that the comma should stay in the picture.



But this other author told me that she found copy edits to be excruciating--she questions each word change, and worries about whether the sentence will flow rhythmically still.



I admire that, I do. And her books are lyrically beautiful and poignant and show the level of care that she takes with each and every word on the page.



I'm at the line edit stage right now, and--for the most part--I'm pretty quick to accept changes in word choice and rewrite sentences, and I'm fairly certain that when I get to copy edits, I'll be even quicker on that. The thing is--with a few exceptional cases--I care more about the story than about the words.



Caveat: I'm not saying either of us are wrong--the other writers books are brilliant and among my favorite works published today.



But for me: the words are the frame for the story. Story is an intangible thing that I can't describe. You know that feeling you get at the end of a good book? That satisfied, happy feeling you get? Maybe it was tragic and you've got tears on your face, or maybe it was funny and you're still wearing a smile, but the point is: when you close that book, you've got a feeling inside of you that wasn't there before?



That's Story. And that's the thing that doesn't change.



(I feel as if I'm explaining Story in the same way Doctor Who explains time:)







Words are part of Story. The author I'm talking about weaves words like gilded thread in a tapestry. But I'm much more focused on the ball of emotion that lies in the back of your throat when you close a book than the words that will get you there.



I couldn't have put this in words a year ago. I don't think I'm doing a good job of putting it in words right now. But I think this focus on Story is what has effected my writing style more than anything else. I am quick to cut and quick to rewrite--I will chop up chapters and character and shuffle them around and hack mercilessly at the manuscript. I have beautiful words sometimes, and I hate to see them go. There's a scene I just cut in my manuscript, actually, that I thought--and still think--is pretty writing. But it slowed the Story. So I hacked it out.



I just sent an email to someone who mentioned that she liked the story of how my Chapter 1 of ACROSS THE UNIVERSE was originally Chapter 4 (hi Liza!). And I'm working now on my fourth draft of A MILLION SUNS, and I honestly think that about 90% of the words have changed from draft to draft. If you held up draft 1 to draft 4, there's almost nothing the same, word-wise. Character, plot, scenes--all of that changed drastically.



But the Story didn't change--other than that it was enhanced with each cut, each rewrite, each new word.



I don't quite know what point I was trying to make with this post. But I'll wrap it up with this: for me, as a writer, the beating heart of the book is the Story. Everything around it--the individual words, the characters, the plot, the setting, everything--all of it serves the Story. So, if you're editing, don't get lost in the words. Don't get tangled up characters or drowned by plot. Focus on Story.

Cows in Space?!

[image error] I think most sci fi writers might not care about National Cow Week, but when Mercy emailed me to tell me of this event (more info here), my first thought was: AWESOME! My book has lots to do with cows!



And while yes, ACROSS THE UNIVERSE is a sci fi, and yes, it does take place on a space ship...it also does have a lot to do with cows. Because while Godspeed is a space ship, it's a generation space ship, a special kind of ship that allows generation after generation to live on the ship. It is, essentially, a bio dome.



And there are cows.



I actually thought about this, and made sure to include cows in the ship. See, I'm from the country. And there are a lot of cows here. In fact, on my first day of teaching at the school where I used to work, I was taken for a tour of the cow pastures.



I even mentioned cows in my author video :)







For a peek at the cows that reside on Godspeed, here's a little excerpt:

I slow down when I see the cows up close.



They're not normal cows.



I haven't, you know, grown up on a farm or anything, but still, I know what a cow is supposed to look like. And these cows—well, clearly they're supposed to be cows, but I've never seen any cow like these before.



For one thing, they're shorter. A lot shorter. Their heads barely reach my shoulder. The males have horns like cows are supposed to have horns, but they're mushroom shaped and blunted, not because they've been cut off, but because they've grown that way.



They seem as curious about me as I am about them. I stop at the fence and lean over it, panting and sweaty, and a few of the cows wobble in my direction. They have more muscle on them than normal cows, meat bulging under their hides, making them bowlegged and slow. They chew on cud in even, measured movements, smacking a little each time, releasing a whiff of dirt and grass that almost reminds me of home.



One of them moos, but it's not a regular moo; it ends with a squeal like a pig. Moo-uh-eeee!



I back away from the fence.



The cow-pig-things watch me as I go, their silent big brown eyes somehow ominous.

Hurrah for cows! Even genetically-altered cows on a creepy space ship!

Winner of DARK AND HOLLOW PLACES

Thanks to everyone for participating in my Charity vs. Zombies contest! I turned to Random.org, and the winner is...

Chelsea!