Kelly Hashway's Blog, page 129

Surviving Promotion

Well, I survived my first radio interview! Yay! It was prerecorded, which helped ease my nerves--a little bit. I was still nervous. My interviewer talked to me for a little while before we got into the interview, and I appreciated that because I was able to get most of the shakiness out of my voice. Most. Not all. A few times I had to pause to keep my voice steady. Isn't it funny that I was completely relaxed at my school visit in front of three second grade classes, but on a radio interview when no one was watching me, I was nervous? What can I say? I'm strange.

I have to admit that I cheated a little and prepared notes. I had visions of staring blankly into space and not remembering how to form words the second I was asked the first question. Plus, I plan everything. That's just me. The good news is I didn't need my notes. As soon as I started talking about my book, I was in the zone. The words flowed--hopefully they made sense!

So my first radio interview experience was pretty successful. I'm sure when it airs, I'll be highly critical of myself, but I survived the interview so for now I'll be happy. (I'll post a link when the interview airs.) And tomorrow is my first book signing at An Open Book in Newton, NJ. I'm crossing my fingers that it goes well.

 How about you? Does the thought of speaking to potential readers scare you? Do your nerves melt away once you find your zone?

 

Writers Helping Writers Critique

I believe it is so important for writers to help other writers. So last week I volunteered to critique anything from queries to first 250 to problematic scenes to picture books, and I got a lot of great submissions. I had a blast reading and commenting on all of them. Out of all the submissions, only one brave writer said I could post her work here for others to critique as well. So her reward for being brave is that she'll get feedback from more than just me.

Below is the first 250 word of a fantasy novel titled THERE IS A DARK DIVIDE, bravely submitted by Fi Phillips. (Good for you, Fi!)

Steve Haven yanked at his shirt collar for the twentieth time since leaving his flat. It felt stiff, restricting in the grip of the black tie he wore. With his other hand, he hugged his umbrella to him like an amulet against the elements. His feet, clad in new shoes that rubbed at his heels, moved erratically over the pavement in an attempt to avoid the puddles.

I hate the rain, he thought, almost as much as I hate wearing a suit. He tugged at his collar again. I hope you appreciate the sacrifice I'm making for you, old man.

He stopped to cross the road as a bus sped by, spraying him with freezing water.

"Thanks, mate," he shouted after the driver. "Thanks a lot," he grumbled, staring at his drenched trousers.

The Corporation had offered to pay for a hearse to take him to his uncle's funeral. "You're his only family, Steve," Miss Palmer had said when he'd finally answered the phone that had been ringing all morning. "It would be the proper thing to do."

He had declined of course, explaining that he'd rather slip in and out unnoticed. "I'm not good with people," he'd mumbled. "I never know what to say."

She had sighed, the way she always did when he disappointed her, then repeated the date and time, insisting that he wrote it down."

And now here it is with my comments are in red.

Steve Haven yanked at his shirt collar for the twentieth time since leaving his flat. It felt stiff, restricting in the grip of the black tie he wore. (I'd reword this slightly to read, "It felt stiff, restricting under the grip of the black tie." I don't think "he wore" is necessary because it's implied.) With his other hand, he hugged his umbrella to him like an amulet against the elements. (I love the simile here with the amulet. It gives me the sense that he's trying to protect himself, probably from more than just the rain.) His feet, clad in new shoes that rubbed at his heels, moved erratically over the pavement in an attempt to avoid the puddles. (Right away I'm loving the imagery. He seems to be struggling against the elements and his own clothing. I'm instantly wondering what else he feels he needs to shield himself from.)

I hate the rain, he thought, almost as much as I hate wearing a suit. He tugged at his collar again. I hope you appreciate the sacrifice I'm making for you, old man.

He stopped to cross the road as a bus sped by, spraying him with freezing water. (Saying he stopped to cross the road seems like conflicting images to me. If he stopped how is he crossing the road? Unless you mean he stopped tugging on his collar. If it's referring to the collar consider rephrasing along the lines of, "He stopped fidgeting long enough to cross the street. A bus sped by, spraying him with freezing water.")

"Thanks, mate," he shouted after the driver. "Thanks a lot," he grumbled, staring at his drenched trousers. (I don't think two dialogue tags are necessary here. I'd change the second sentence to read, "He stared at his drenched trousers. "Thanks a lot."")

The Corporation had offered to pay for a hearse to take him to his uncle's funeral. "You're his only family, Steve," Miss Palmer had said when he'd finally answered the phone that had been ringing all morning. "It would be the proper thing to do."

He had declined of course, explaining that he'd rather slip in and out unnoticed. "I'm not good with people," he'd mumbled. "I never know what to say." (This is great insight into his personality. Good use of dialogue to show the reader Steve's character traits.)

She had sighed, the way she always did when he disappointed her, then repeated the date and time, insisting that he wrote it down. (This is good, too. It shows us he has a relationship of some sort with Miss Palmer, and he also has a history of disappointing her.)

I think this is off to a good start. You have a lot of good characterization right up front and that will make readers sympathize with Steve.

 

 

Since Fi was brave enough to let me post this, please help her out by giving your thoughts. You don't need to do an in-depth critique (though you may if you wish). General comments and overall impressions are welcome. What do you think of the way Fi begins her manuscript? Do you see ways to improve it?

Monday Mishmash 6/13

Happy Monday! It's Mishmash time. Here's what's on my mind today:

Critiques Thank you to everyone who submitted work for me to critique. I had a blast giving my feedback and reading all the amazing stories. I'll definitely be doing this again in the future. And on Wednesday, I'll be sharing one critique and asking for your feedback on the first 250 as well.First book signing My first signing for May the Best Dog Win is this Saturday at An Open Book in Newton, NJ. If you are in the area, please stop by between 1-3pm.Donating books to fight illiteracy My publisher, FutureWord Publishing, is donating copies of my book, May the Best Dog Win, and another FutureWord title to literacy groups in Elmira, NY. I'm honored to have my book donated for such a great cause.Free Kindle My husband and I went to a resort that was offering free gifts if you listen to their sales pitch. The resort was beautiful but we decided against buying a plot. Still we got free gifts, a set of golf clubs and a kindle. My sister is getting the kindle since I already have one.Radio interview I'm being interviewed for The Author's Show this Thursday. I'm not sure when it will be aired but I'm kind of nervous to do the interview.

Well, that's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Feeling the Need to Critique

I'm deep in the revision process right now and that always puts me in a critiquing mood. Weird, right? I mean I'm in the middle of revising my own WIP and I want to edit someone else's? Yes, that's exactly right.

Critiquing other people's work really helps me revise my own. I see things others do and it helps me identify strengths and weaknesses in my own writing. It has to do with having blinders when it comes to our own work. We can't always see what we could do better, but when you see ways to improve someone else's work, you sometimes realize that just maybe it would work for you too.

 

So, I thought it might be fun to see if anyone is looking to have something critiqued right now. I'm open to queries, first 250 of your current WIP, a scene that's bugging you... And to make it more interesting, if you are willing, I'll even post your work here so others can critique it. Of course if you just want to keep your work between you and me, I'll absolutely respect that.

If you want to send me something, you can contact me through the "contact me" button on the right side of the blog or by emailing me at khashway(at)hotmail(dot)com Since I don't know how many of you will take me up on this offer, I'm going to say that I need to have your work no later than Monday evening. And please specify in your email whether you want your work kept private or if I can post it here for others to critique as well.

Am I the only one who likes to critique others when I'm revising? How does critiquing the work of others help you?

 

Marking Favorite Passages

Yesterday my four-year-old daughter was walking around the house carrying my copy of Moby Dick. Now I have to admit that I've never read all of Moby Dick. I have most of the classics on my bookshelf but I haven't read them all cover to cover. But the real reason I'm bringing this up is because my daughter had scribbled and written her name on some post it notes and pressed them all throughout my copy of Moby Dick. Why? Because she sees me litter my books with post it notes.

When I was in college, my Lit. professors told me you can't read a book without a pen in your hand. All my novels from my many Lit. courses are marked up with red pen, dog eared, and paper clipped. Now when I read, I use post it notes and write on those instead. You can tell which books I love best because they have little yellow papers sticking out of them all over.

I mark passages I love and refer to when I'm writing a particular kind of scene, and I also mark my favorite lines--in many cases first lines. Usually it's just a place where the voice demands your attention. I thought I'd share some lines I really love with all of you. So here we go:

"The Friday before winter break, my mom packed me an overnight bag and a few deadly weapons and took me to a new boarding school." --The Titan's Curse

"There are things in life you can predict, and then there's my mother." --Sammy Keyes and the Psycho Kitty Queen

"I, Vanessa Rothrock, am sweating like a pig--do pigs sweat?--and wishing I could smell my pits, but the whole audience is looking at me."--As if Being 12 3/4 Isn't Bad Enough, My Mother is Running for President

"The end of the world started when a pegasus landed on the hood of my car. Up until then, I was having a great afternoon."--The Last Olympian

"Just when I thought my day couldn't get any worse I saw the dead guy standing next to my locker."--Marked

These are just a few of my favorites, and I return to them often just to hear what great voices sound like.

 

Do you mark your favorite passages in books? Have any favorites you'd like to share?

 

Monday Mishmash 6/6

It's Monday again! Mishmash time. Here's what's on my mind.

YALitChat If you aren't already a member of this amazing group, then you need to check it out. I was interviewed for this month's newsletter. They asked me all about how I got my amazing agent, Lauren Hammond, who also happens to be a member of this group.Fat lip Yesterday I was playing with my daughter on her slide and her head hit my lip. My tooth went right into my lip and now my lip is busted up and huge! Not pretty.Amazon ranking For a brief moment in time, May the Best Dog Win was number 14 in children's books. It's crazy how much this list changes though. In one hour you can be a best seller and then no where on the list at all. It's driving me insane.June is Adopt a Pet Month Since I'm promoting my dog book, I have to mention that this is National Adopt a Pet Month. There are plenty of pets looking for good homes. I dare you to walk into a pet adoption facility and leave empty-handed. Can't do, can you?The Hub Anyone else in love with this TV channel? They play repeats of cartoons I watched growing up. My daughter is now addicted to JEM. I can't blame her. JEM is truly outrageous.

Okay, that's it for me. What's on your mind today?

 

Let's Fight

Over the past few months, I've discovered that I really like to write fight scenes. Whether the fight is verbal or physical, it's just fun to write. You get to see how each character reacts to feeling threatened. You may not think a fight scene would be so telling since it's about action, right? But really it's a great opportunity to show another side of your character. Did your MC instigate the fight? Or is he/she the one being bullied? Mannerisms, quick thinking, and snappy comebacks can all reveal a lot about a character.

Aside from that, fight scenes let you play around with pacing. You can use short sentences to increase pace and tension. You can mimic the rhythm of a physical fight by matching words with punches. There are so many opportunities to really reach into your writing handbag and pull out a handful of tricks. And don't forget dialogue in your fight scenes. It's unlikely that your character will be silent through it all. What they say can be equally as important as what they do.

How about you? Do you like writing fight scenes? Do you have any tricks for pulling off a good fight scene?

Who Said That?

I've been reading a lot of blogs lately that are discussing the importance of dialogue. Show of hands, how many of you have--on occasion--skimmed a book's narration and just gotten to the good stuff... you know, the dialogue? *raises hand*

Well, I think that's proof that dialogue is a huge part of any book. Now I typically write in first person, which allows my MC's voice to come through in all parts of the story, but what about the other characters? And what about stories told in third person?

I'm currently revising my WIP and one of my many revisions involves reading dialogue to make sure the characters' voices shine through. I've been known to pick out random lines, read them aloud, and guess who said it. Why? If I know immediately who said it, then the character's voice is strong enough. If I have to guess who said it or I'm wrong, then I didn't do a good job.

Now, this doesn't work 100% of the time. There are some things that any character could say. For instance. "What?" That's pretty general and maybe I'd have to go to the next line or  see what the character does when he/she says "What?" to figure out who it is, but it shouldn't take "Holly said" for me to figure it out. In some cases, the next line of dialogue will clue me in. "What? Oh no, no, no, no. Not going to happen." (This is not an actual line from my WIP by the way. It's just off the top of my head.) Now, I get a feel for the character's voice. See what I mean?

How do you make sure your dialogue is working and your characters' voices are shining through?

Monday Mishmash 5/30

Happy Memorial Day! This is my first ever Memorial Day Monday Mishmash. Here I go:

Memorial Day Well, if you didn't know this would be number one, then you probably haven't had your morning coffee. Happy Memorial Day, everyone! I hope you are doing something special today.Yard Sales My neighbors on both sides have been doing a three-day Memorial Day yard sale with us. We almost sold out on day one! It's been crazy--in a good way.Big News! I have huge news. I'll share more details later, but I signed another picture book contract! It's with a different publisher than my first PB. I'm so excited to go through this journey to seeing a manuscript become a book all over again!94 degrees? That's how hot it's going to be today. Ugh! What happened to my beautiful 70-degree weather? I love in-between temperatures, not hold, not cold.Revisions Well, it's been over a week since I finished writing my WIP. I'm dying to get into round one of my revisions. I've been writing non-fiction in the meantime and I really miss working on fantasy.

Well, that's it for me. What's on your mind on this Memorial Day Monday?

Rule of Three

If you've ever taken a writing class then you've probably heard of the rule of three. Things that come in threes are more readily accepted. Need proof? The Three Little Pigs, Three Blind Mice, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, The Three Musketeers. Do I need to go on?

When I took writing courses (post college) I heard all about the rule of three. Characters should have three obstacles to face in the story. This is supposed to create tension and let it rise until the climax. But the rule of three can be even more basic than this. It applies to the form of every story: beginning, middle, and end. So every story has three components.

You've probably also noticed characters like to hang out in threes. Harry, Ron, and Hermione ring any bells? And what about love triangles?

Why is this rule of three on my mind today? Well, my WIP is a trilogy. Yup, three books. And my main characters are known as "The Three." I can't help but think about this rule that's supposedly the heart of every story.

How about you? Do you think about the rule of three when you're writing? Do you try to adhere to it?