Corrine Jackson's Blog, page 20

When Good Things Happen

On July 3 I flew off to Italy for my MFA residency and a much needed vacation. One of the lectures I attended while there was by my MFA mentor, Mary Yukari Waters. She spoke about "The Deceptively Simple Question" and challenged us as writers to steer from the obvious to keep our writing fresh and unexpected. The writers who give the readers what they expect are not the ones who will stand out.

I thought about that lecture a lot over the weekend. If one writer were to write about my experience in Italy, they might list the obvious facts. My car broke down on my house sitter while I was away. A centuries-old villa set off my asthma so I was on Prednisone a lot of the trip. I dropped a glass on my foot. I was stung by a bee – twice. I fell on the cobblestones in Rome, bruising my left knee. I tripped on a curb in Florence, deeply bruising my right knee, which caused me to limp the rest of my trip (and still hurts). And a couple days before we left, I got news that my father had passed away.

When you see the facts laid out that way, a reader would conclude that nothing good came of that trip. Even though it was difficult, I've forced myself to look beyond the simple answer, to be the writer and the PERSON, who digs deeper. Here's what I found.

A hundred comforting hugs from new friends who found out what I was going through so far away from home. Two friends who held me in a foreign kitchen when I received news my father had signed a DNR. A roommate and new dear friend who stayed with me when I received news he'd passed before I could say goodbye. A travel agent who did everything in her power to get me to the funeral. Dear, dear classmates who made it their mission to make me laugh when all I wanted to do was cry. A sister who centered me and gave me strength. A brother who walked through some difficult days with me and held my hand at the funeral. Siblings and cousins and an aunt I'd scarcely met who made me laugh and told me stories about my dad. Stepsisters and a stepmother who invited me to share in their grief and be part of their family. Coworkers and colleagues who made sure I could be away without worry. And so many messages of love from friends everywhere, including some very personal messages from those who have lost their own fathers.

By my admittedly bad math, I received a thousand blessings when I look beyond the obvious.

Now I have a favor to ask. I would love it if you would all share something good someone has done for you during a difficult time in your life.  It can be anonymous. I just want to read something good for the soul. Think of it as a way to give back to the person who gave to you in your time of need. Has something good come of a bad time in your life? Do you just want to thank someone who was there for you? Do it. Seriously. Life is too short to leave things unsaid.

I'm a PAID AUTHOR

After a weekend with my family in Southern California, I arrived home last night, opened my mailbox, and found *GASP* my very first author paycheck. After jumping around in the lobby of my building for a bit, I took a bunch of goofy pictures of it so I can relive that moment later. From the day I typed THE END on TOUCHED, I've been dreaming about what it would feel like to get that baby in the mail. I can honestly tell you, it felt every bit as good as I imagined. Better, actually, because nothing came as easy as I daydreamed it would. And I hope I feel just as grateful, just as humble with every paycheck I earn from my writing. Not everyone gets paid to do what they love, and I don't ever want to take that for granted.

So what am I going to do with this new windfall? Splurge and buy something completely impractical that I long for when I have a million other things I should be using the money for. THIS.

Also, I am going to buy myself a lovely gift on my Italian vacation. Because I can. And, boy am I grateful for that.

 

Veronica Roth and Divergent – A Bookanista Celebration

Today, the Bookanistas are celebrating. One of our own, Veronica Roth, debuted last month with her YA novel, Divergent. Oh, and guess what? It hit the New York Times Bestseller List. Here's a little video we put together, humiliating ourselves to show our love for her. Congrats, Vee!

Last July, Vee did a guest post for my blogiversary. She wrote about the greatest lessons she'd learned in the last year, and it is so loaded with wisdom that you should read it instantly.

Some of the other Bookanistas actually posted recommendations today, too. Be sure to check these out!

Elana Johnson and Stasia Ward Kehoe savor Bad Taste in Boys

LiLa Roecker celebrates The Summer of the Bear

Christine Fonseca has got a surprise for a Bookanista buddy (ooh—curious?)

Beth Revis interviews Blood Magic author Teresa Gratton

Carolina Valdez Miller enjoys a special celebration

Jessi Kirby and Megan Miranda gush about Imaginary Girls

Bethany Wiggins is crazy about Delirium

Shana Silver sings praises for Starcrossed

Jen Hayley applauds Possession

Veronica Rossi hails Hereafter

Carrie Harris glories in Texas Gothic

Editing and Pre-Birthday News!

Oh, hi, world. That's what you look like again. *blinks*

I know, I know. I'm slacking on the blog, but I have a good excuse. I've been editing, and last night I turned in my edits for IF I LIE, and my stomach kind of clenched after I hit send. I kept wondering if I did enough, too much, or was completely off base with what I did. Time will tell.

So what's next, you ask, now that I have all this free time on my hands? This is where I laugh hysterically. Next month, I'm going to Italy for two weeks for my MFA residency. Between now and then, I have lots of homework to do, including books to read and workshop pieces to crit. All things I love to do, which makes it less homework and more fun. On top of that, I am hard at work on the sequel to TOUCHED. I'm so glad I get to write this book and revisit these characters that I love, but man, oh man, am I going to torture them. *rubs hands*

With everything on my plate, I am in a conundrum with this blog. I'm not really sure how to fit writing posts in with everything else. For the near future, it looks like my posts are going to be infrequent at best.

In other news, today I get to send a huge shout out to Taryn Fagerness, my translation rights agent, and Laura Bradford, my agent, because my TOUCHED trilogy will be published in German, with TOUCHED set to debut in 2012. What can I say, ladies, except to express: Ein herzliches Dankeschön!

BTW, for those following along, I think it's important to note that the offer came in on my pre-birthday (which is a holiday in my family). That means that my holiday luck is holding, and every holiday is like my birthday.

Read Outside Your Comfort Zone

Like most writers, I LOVE reading. Voraciously. Cereal boxes, notes abandoned on a sidewalk, and book after book after book after…  You get it. Most of us read for pleasure or entertainment, but then there are those books that make us feel or think. Growing up, I wasn't a fan of the thinking books.  They were too hard. Too irritating to have to peel back the layers of what an author wanted me to understand when I wanted only to get lost in a new world or place. Yes, I read those damned thinking books, but I definitely didn't enjoy them and I really hated those blowhards who thumbed their nose at genre literature. Yet, even while I hated to have my reading tastes judged, once-upon-a-time I felt ashamed to say I was reading a romance novel or an adventure story instead of Charles Dickens or Faust.

It took a master's in English for me to discover that different types of literature spark different things in me—and that's a good thing. It's a very good thing to read a variety of literature. Especially if you are a writer. If you are a young adult writer, you should challenge yourself to read outside young adult literature. There is comfort in reading the same books as our friends and supporting our fellow authors. What an amazing thing it is to find a group of people – finally – who care about the same things we do. Man, I love getting together with other young adult writers and talking shop. I always find myself thinking, "These people get me."

The danger comes when we are reading and discussing the same things. Groupthink is a very real thing, and the water of our little young adult pond can become stagnant if a new stream is never introduced. Often, the really exciting books and ideas come from outside the group. People who have been off in the wild blue yonder experimenting and trying new things, while we may be writing to please the people in our group.

Whenever I am struggling with my story – when I think I'm saying something that's been said a thousand times before…and better – that's when it's time for me to take a break. Time for me to find a new author to love, or a new book unlike anything I've read before. Time for me to read a book that makes me think so maybe I can expand my horizons. That spark may come from a young adult novel, a non-fiction account of the war in Afghanistan, or a bawdy vampire bodice ripper. No judgments here.  The key is to find something different and new. Something that pushes you out of your comfort zone.

And when you come back to your work, you may find you have something new to say.

CRACKED Cover Reveal

My Simon Pulse editor-mate, K.M. Walton, has a cover! How amazingly striking is this baby? I'm in awe. Seriously, I can't wait to see what the talent at Simon Pulse comes up for my cover.

Be sure to check out her post about the cover here.

 

Dear Teen Me Post Live Today

DearTeenMe.com is the brainchild of authors E. Kristin Anderson and Miranda Kenneally. YA authors write heartfelt, funny, and sometimes embarrassing letters to their teen selves. I happily participated thinking it would be an easy thing to do. Instead, when I sat down to write the letter, I found the experience to be much harder than I expected. All my plans for writing a whimsical, lighthearted letter went out the window. Please click over and check out my contribution that went up today! You'll even get to see me as a teenager.

Bookanista Review: THE DUFF

I know, I know. I'm so late to the party. But I finally had the chance to read Kody Keplinger's THE DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend). Read below to see what I thought.

Here's the official blurb from the publisher:

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn't think she's the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her "the Duff," she throws her Coke in his face.

But things aren't so great at home right now, and Bianca is desperate for a distraction. She ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him.

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

I'm not adverse to sex in YA, but I'm not a big fan of sex for the sake of peaking reader interest or to create the shock factor. If it's essential to the story and the growth of the characters, then it belongs. If you're just doing it shock people, it's not my cup of tea.

This is the filter or frame of mind I had when I read THE DUFF. I'm not out to lecture teens, but I worried about the message Kody might be sending when her character, Bianca, enters into a purely sexual relationship with "man-slut" Wesley. I hated the idea of reading a light comedy where a girl lets herself be used. What I discovered was that this wasn't a comedy or even a story about romance; it's about a girl's journey to find out about herself.

Bianca uses Wesley to mask problems she has at home, but she learns that it's difficult to be intimate with someone without giving them a piece of yourself. I thought maybe Bianca would be this weak character that kissed Wesley's feet, but she's not that at all. She's strong, but she's also flawed and hides herself away from others. I loved seeing her try to reconcile those two sides of herself with her friends and her family.

Part of me did wish that Bianca stuck up for herself more and told Wesley off. That may be because we saw Bianca's transformation on the page, while Wesley's occurs more offstage. I'm not sure I really believed they would end up together once the book ended.

I think the strongest aspect of THE DUFF is the voice. Kody just nails a voice that sounds authentic, easy-to-read, and 100% relatable.  I ate this book up, and even with the minor things I wish I'd seen more of, I thought it was a fantastic read.

Check out the links below to see what the other Bookanistas are talking about!

Elana Johnson visits Dark and Hollow Places

LiLa Roecker gets silly over Spoiled

Christine Fonseca has a passion for Possession – with giveaway

Shannon Messenger marvels at Moonglass – with giveaway

Jamie Harrington adores Invincible Summer

Shelli Johannes-Wells is in the grip of Possession

Scott Tracey bathes in Blood Magic

Carolina Valdez Miller interviews Invincible Summer author Hannah Moskowitz

Jessi Kirby praises Playing Hurt

Bethany Wiggins delves into Divergent

Shana Silver presents a Guestanista gushing over Between Here and Forever

Carrie Harris sings out about Shift

Rosemary Clement-Moore applauds Abandon

Sarah Frances Hardy enjoys Me Jane

Matt Blackstone loves Like Mandarin

Stasia Ward Kehoe discusses Displacement

Beth Revis goes into Black Hole Sun

How I Use Scrivener

A few friends have asked me if I really like using Scrivener and what the point of it is, and my answer is that I really, really do like it because Scrivener has a ton of USEFUL functionality. I thought I would share how I'm using the program. FYI, I'm using the Windows version.

BREAKING YOUR NOVEL DOWN:

My mother taught me that a huge project is much more manageable when you break it down into smaller tasks. When you're using Word, chapters are my smaller pieces. If my chapters are longer, then scenes become my smaller pieces. YET, with Word, all of those pieces are compiled in one long document you have to scroll through. And I can see I'm on page 20 and feel the pressure of having hundreds of pages to go.

What Scrivener does:

In Scrivener, you decide how to manage your project and how to break it down within my project binder. I create folders for each chapter. Within each chapter folder, I create separate documents for each scene. I can do this as I write, OR (if you are an outliner like me) I can jump to my Corkboard view and type a few quick notes on the little "post-it" for each scene or chapter.  When I'm ready, it's easy to Compile the manuscript into a Word doc with the "Compile" feature in Scrivener.

 

OUTLINER HEAVEN:

As mentioned here, I'm an outliner. It's a skeleton at best, but my outline provides a few key points each chapter needs to hit on to keep my plot and emotional arcs on track.

What Scrivener does:

Scrivener is an outliner's dream. For each chapter or scene, I can include a few quick notes for the highlights it should include. I can do this in the Corkboard view where every chapter looks like a little post it note (that I can type on) or I can do it in a little sidebar box next to my document. Scrivener has several ways to view these notes, too. Aside from the Corkboard view, I can also use the outliner view. This lets me see my outline in neat rows similar to Excel. I prefer the Corkboard view, but it's great to have the flexibility.

RESEARCH, WHERE ART THOU FILE?:

I do a lot of research. Location research. Character name research. Medical research. Police procedure research. I find images to use as reference for describing settings and characters. I used to store all of this research into separate Word files. Then I'd have to go find them all each time I needed them and keep flipping back and forth between my manuscript and the pictures. And then I'd have a file of just URLs to reference in case I needed to find that website that told me how doctors treat punctured lungs. I'm organized, but I still had a hard time tracking things.

What Scrivener does:

There's a Research folder. I can import web pages. I can import photos. I can create a folder for a person or place and then drop whatever I like into that folder. Pictures, web pages, character notes. It's all there in one place WITH my manuscript. I never have to hunt for files. And get this… I can even have any of those files pulled up on my screen next to my manuscript as I type. What does my MC look like again? Oh, wait. Here's the photo of her. It's that easy.

EDITING MADE EASIER:

Have you ever deleted an entire scene or chapter? Say it's Chapter 2 of 40. What a nightmare to have to renumber every chapter and shift everything around. The same can happen if you have to add chapters. These kinds of edits are time consuming.

What Scrivener does:

Every scene is its own little unit in Scrivener. When you're in Binder view, every scene has its own icon that can be dragged and dropped in the binder. You can move it within a chapter or between chapters. You can select a bunch of scenes and move them around with a couple clicks.  It's SO convenient.

STAT CHECKERS:

Don't laugh at me. I have an Excel spreadsheet where I track overall and daily word counts. I track how many words I need to do each day in order to finish a book by X date. And I adjust those figures based on my daily actual word counts. I'd love to not have to do this, but if you're serious about writing, you better get serious about deadlines. Make them your friend.

What Scrivener does:

I know Word has that a total word count you can track at the bottom left corner of the screen. Scrivener does more. You can track scene and chapter word counts. Better yet, you can set daily word count goals within Project Targets. LOVE this. And, if you like to track which chapters you've edited, finished writing, etc., you can also do this in Scrivener. At a glance, I can see where I left off the last time I was working.

INTERFACE:

Okay, I'll admit it. When the first beta of Scrivener came out, I LOATHED the interface. It was single-spaced and kept putting weird returns between my paragraphs. I couldn't see the edges of my pages. I felt paralyzed by the interface. So I ditched the beta and went back to my cozy, comfortable Word world. When I decided to give Scrivener another shot, the beta had been updated to include much more functionality. I can do everything Word does, except see the edges of my pages (which I still kind of miss). BUT on the upside, Scrivener has a Full Screen view that grays out your background, including that distracting Twitter and email inbox.

 

So that's a very basic breakdown of why I'm in love with Scrivener and going to have its babies. I hope this helps some of you if you're sitting on the fence about what Scrivener can do. If you try it out, I recommend you watch the tutorial videos. They are short, easy to follow and will save you hours of floundering.

*All images are the property of Scrivener.

 

Bookanista Review: STARCROSSED

Recently I signed up for NetGalley, and the first ARC that caught my eye was STARCROSSED by Josephine Collins due out 5/31/11 from HarperCollins. Read below to see what I thought.

Here's the official blurb from the publisher:

How do you defy destiny?

Helen Hamilton has always known she's different from the other teens on tiny Nantucket, but it's not until Lucas Delos moves to town that she realizes just how special she is. Facing Lucas in the halls of high school, Helen's possessed by a powerful need to kill him–and she almost succeeds. But when their mutual hatred of each other transforms into desire, Helen and Lucas discover they are both Scions–descendants of Greek gods–and that their two families have for centuries been engaged in a deadly blood feud. As Lucas teaches Helen to use her powers, which include flying, controlling lightning, and an immunity to weapons (in addition to her gorgeous face, which she's inherited from a certain namesake whose own face "launched a thousand ships"), the two grow ever closer–but can never be together until they find a way around the curse that's destined to keep them apart.

I'm going to admit to a secret. A secret that many in the YA world now consider a DIRTY secret. Ready? Here goes. I LIKED THE TWILIGHT SERIES. You just fell over, right? Seriously, I don't know why it's become a pleasure sport to bash a series that millions upon millions of people loved. What does my Twilight love have to do with this review? A lot, actually.

Right on NetGalley, the publisher made a brave(?) move comparing the romance in STARCROSSED to that of TWILIGHT. I decided to read the novel anyway (not because of that description which gets overused WAY too much), but because something about the cover caught my imagination. And I was pleasantly surprised when I started reading.

Helen and Lucas are a lot of fun to read about. They are definitely similarities to TWILIGHT, including a cast of school friends and family members. Plus Helen lives with her father. Yes, this is a story about starcrossed lovers. BUT Stephenie Meyer wasn't the first writer to use those scenarios, so I'm putting a stick in the ground and saying that's where the similarities end.

Because while I didn't love Helen for the first couple of chapters (she seemed a wee bit negative), I grew to like her a lot as the story went on. She's a strong MC who makes up her own mind about things. Her choices get her in trouble sometimes, but she's definitely making choices that I can respect.

Put all of that aside, though, and I have to say that I love the action and the unique twists that Collins puts on the Greek mythology and paranormal powers of her characters. I read this book in a day and found myself thoroughly entertained. Thumbs up from me on this first novel from Collins and I can't wait to read the next in the series.

Check out the links below to see what the other Bookanistas are talking about!

LiLa Roecker adores Alice-Miranda at School

Christine Fonseca caws about Scrawl

Shannon Messenger gets passionate about Possession

Shelli Johannes-Wells takes a shine to Shimmer

Scott Tracey raves about Red Glove

Jessi Kirby feels The Pull of Gravity

Shana Silver delights in The Day Before

Carrie Harris takes The Goddess Test – with giveaway

Stasia Ward Kehoe is outspoken about Addie on the Inside

Sarah Frances Hardy celebrates The Best Birthday Party Ever

Kirsten Hubbard fawns over Family – with giveaway