Gabe Cole Novoa's Blog, page 63

Vlog: Genre vs. Category

Today I'm clarifying two frequently used pub/book world terms: genre and category. They're not the same!


RELATED LINKS: 

YA: It's Not a GenreOn Writing in Multiple Genres
What other differences between genre vs. category would you add to the list? 
Twitter-sized bites: 

Not sure what the difference is between genre and category? Writer @Ava_Jae breaks it down in her vlog. #pubtip (Click to tweet)  

In today's vlog, @Ava_Jae says genre and category are not the same. What do you think? (Click to tweet)

Guest Post: On the Writing Community

Note: Hey all! Today I've got a guest post from Kira Budge, the Associate Online Administrator for Chapter One Young Writer's Conference, which is a conference I'll be speaking at this summer! *confetti* I hope you enjoy (and enter the super awesome giveaway)! :) 



Hi guys! My name’s Kira Budge and I’m the Associate Online Administrator for the Chapter One Young Writer’s Conference (Ch1Con), a writing conference by young writers, for young writers. Today, as part of the Ch1Con 2015 Blog Tour, I’m doing a guest post on the importance of the writing community. There will be a giveaway too, so read to the end for that!

As an arts community, the writing world has a particularly vibrant sense of human connection. Both in real life and online, writers, readers, and industry professionals communicate about the stories they love and the ideas they’d like to see more of. Through these conversations, we all can have an immense effect on both individuals and on the world as a whole. I think this is one of the greatest rewards we get from our art.

As a widespread community and especially through the Internet, our industry has the chance to enact social change, such as in the We Need Diverse Books campaign. Through the expansion of our art to include more and more voices, we give readers the world over a chance to understand different perspectives. Discussions on important topics like these abound throughout our community and help us all to make a greater difference.

On a more personal level, the writing community helps people through the partnerships that writers establish with each other. With the assistance of other writers of all different experience levels, each of us can learn more about the industry, have guidance through the tough times that inevitably come, and gain useful critiques. One of the greatest tangible benefits for me in participating in the writing community has been the critique partners and beta readers I’ve been able to gain. With their help, I’ve improved the quality of my writing bit by little bit.

Our internet community has a way of connecting over funny topics as well as the more serious. Twitter is one of my favorite locales for this. The recent influx of parody accounts, which present real issues in the industry and common cliches in a way that everyone can enjoy, is one example. Another is the hashtags that pop up regularly in regards to the industry, like the #VeryRealisticYA tag created by Ch1Con partner John Hansen at Ava Jae’s serendipitous encouragement. Because we have similar interests, writers on the Internet enjoy a common understanding of what’s being expressed without even having to meet!

When you do meet, however, incredible things can happen. Almost eight years ago, as a young little munchkin with lots of big dreams (not much has changed there), I joined my first writing community, the Scholastic Write It! Boards online. There I met the girls who would eventually become some of my best friends, offering the critique, guidance, and, most especially, support that I’ve needed to make it as far as I have with both writing and regular life struggles. Five years later, after meeting each other on other social media platforms, the incredibly innovative and go-getting Julia Byers decided it was prime time that we all met in person. This experiment of a private writing conference blossomed into the Chapter One Young Writers Conference that I am proud to be a part of today!



Meeting these girls, and all of the other people who have attended and supported our conference thus far, has been one of the best experiences of my life. Something magical happens when you get together with people who have the same interests, shared dreams, and a similar life experience. Last year, while discussing the ins and outs of the industry, talking about high school and college life during lunch, and analyzing Harry Potter and the Hunger Games on the Chicago L, I loved being me so deeply and sincerely I can hardly express it. Through our conference, I’ve made many new friends, learned a hundred new skills, and found a thousand new ways to explore the wonders of storytelling. I wouldn’t give that up for anything.

This year, Ch1Con will take place on Saturday, August 8th in the suburbs of Chicago, IL, Arlington Heights. 2015 registration is currently open on the Ch1Con website for writers from a middle school to undergraduate level and at an early bird discount price of $39.99. Three speakers have been confirmed so far: headliner Kat Zhang, the bestselling author of the Hybrid Chronicles, Taryn Albright, better known as the Girl with the Green Pen, and our very own wonderful Ava Jae! As a special bonus, Ava Jae’s agent, Louise Fury, will open to queries only from conference attendees for up to thirty days after the event. Awesome, right? I am psyched.

Annnnnd I’d love to meet you there! With how great the writing community is, I’m always looking out for more writer friends like those on the Ch1Con team. So if you fall into our age range, take the chance to register ASAP! The early bird discount ends May 31st and there are only thirty slots open. You can sign up this link with adult registration for those 18+ and youth registration (with parental/guardian consent) for under 18s.

Even if you can’t attend in person, we’d love to meet you through the online platforms where our team originally met! Don’t ever let anyone tell you that online friends aren’t as good as real-life friends, because we’re proof of the opposite. We have Twitter chats and other events available for you guys! For more information, check out our website and social media platforms:

Website | Twitter | Tumblr | YouTube | Pinterest | Facebook
In the end, whatever way works best for you to participate in the writing community, with us, with others, online, in person, I promise you’ll find great benefits to the process and, even more importantly, develop friendships that can run soul-deep. I know because I’ve got some of my own.

Now for the promised giveaway! Here on Ava’s blog, we’re giving away a Trish Doller prize pack, which includes hardcovers of Something Like Normal and Where the Stars Still Shine as well as an ARC of The Devil You Know . Enter using the Rafflecopter below! Thanks, guys.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Review: SIMON VS. THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA by Becky Albertalli

Photo credit: GoodreadsSo as is my MO, before I begin gushing about Becky Albertalli’s adorable  Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda , here is the Goodreads summary: 

“Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised. 

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.”

So first and foremost, if you’re a YA author looking for an example of really spot-on boy POV, I can’t recommend Simon Vs. more. I was really really impressed with just how real Simon sounded, both in his head and in the dialogue—and the dialogue from the other characters was written just as perfectly. But don’t take my word for it. Both Adam Silvera and John Hansen said basically the same thing, and they have way more experience being a queer teen boy than I do. 
So awesome voice aside, Simon Vs. was just a really freaking adorable book. I connected to Simon immediately, it starts in the absolute perfect spot in the plot (another note to YA writer: this is how you start a book), and there were moments that were just so darn cute I was actually giggling and “aww”ing out loud. 
I don’t often pre-order books from authors I haven’t read before, but I made an exception with Simon Vs. and I’m so glad I did. I whipped through the pages quickly because I needed to know if I was right about who Blue was and I was dying to see Simon and Blue’s happily-ever-after, and I loved that all of the characters, including the minor ones, were complex, layered and realistic. I really don’t have any complaints about this book except, I suppose, that it’s a shame I won’t be able to read it for the first time again. 
If you’re looking for a happy, fun m/m YA romance, I couldn’t recommend Simon Vs. more. 5/5 stars to this one for sure, and I can’t wait to see what Albertalli comes up with next. 
Have you read any diverse YA recently? I’m always looking for recs! 
Twitter-sized bites: 

.@Ava_Jae gives 5/5 stars to SIMON VS. THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA by @BeckyAlbertalli. Have you read this cute m/m YA? (Click to tweet)     

Looking for an adorable m/m read w/ a great boy POV? Check out SIMON VS. THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA by Becky Albertalli. (Click to tweet)

Discussion: How Do You Decide Where to End a Chapter?

Photo credit: guzzphoto on FlickrEnding a chapter in the right (or wrong) spot can be the difference between unputdownable and “I guess I’ll get back to this tomorrow.” Every chapter ending turns the tables on the readers who now have to decide whether to read one more chapter or take a break. 
These chapter endings are opportunities, but they can easily become lost opportunities if you don’t make the most of them.
While you’re first drafting, however, deciding where to end a chapter can sometimes be tricky. And when someone on Twitter recently asked me how I decide, it occurred to me I hadn’t really written about it. 
I’d kind of glazed over this part largely because the answer is hard to explain—because while I’m first drafting at least, where to end a chapter, for me, is part instinctual and part planning. But even that has changed as my writing process has changed. 
When I first drafting in Word, where to end a chapter, for me, was 100% instinctual. When I wrote a line that sounded like it’d be a good hook, I’d hit enter a couple times and start a new chapter. Sometimes this was in the middle of a scene, sometimes at the end—it was a case-by-case basis but what they had in common was that they ended on lines that I hoped would be intriguing enough that readers would want to read on. 
When I switched to first drafting to Scrivener, however, my process changed slightly. Before I start drafting at all, I plan out just about every scene and write a quick sentence or two or three summary of what will happen for each scene. While first drafting, I think less about where the chapter will end and more about ending the scene in a way that is interesting and will make readers want to read on. Granted, with the way I have Scrivener set up, the “chapters” are automatically split up by scene, and I further split them up while revising, but it’s often less present in my mind than it was when I wrote in Word. 
However. 
Sometimes, I’ll write a line near the end of a scene and stop earlier than I expected because I hit a point that would make a perfect chapter ending. Or I’ll break mid-scene while writing because I've reached a great hook. And that stuff is still very much instinctual. 
That said, after drafting in Scrivener I’ve done a lot more chapter splitting while revising than I did before—which, actually, I don’t mind because it really forces me to pay attention to my chapter endings and decide where would be the best place to break. 
Deciding on chapter endings while first drafting, however, can be a really fluid process, so I’m curious: how do you decide where to end a chapter? 
Twitter-sized bite: 

How do you decide where to end a chapter? Join the discussion on @Ava_Jae's blog. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: Is Your Manuscript Query-Ready?

So you've worked with critique partners and revised your manuscript several times, but how do you know if your WIP is ready to query?

 
RELATED LINKS: 

Writing Tip: CPs vs. BetasHow to Edit: The CP TradeHow to Query: ResearchHow to Query: The Query LetterWhy You Need Critique Partners (Really) What signs do you look for when deciding if your MS is query-ready? 
Twitter-sized bite: 

How do you know if your WIP is query-ready? Writer @Ava_Jae discusses her process in today's vlog. (Click to tweet)

There Isn't One Way to Be a Girl

So I came across this tumblr post yesterday, and after chatting with one of my CPs about it, it got me thinking.
http://bethrevis.tumblr.com/post/116119181047/this-is-what-frustrates-me-people-dont-like
On one hand, I agree with the quote and the article it came from. I think oftentimes, in books and TV shows and movies, the women who are praised for being strong often do tend to be more masculine than the traditional “norm.” From Katniss to Arya, Mulan to Daenerys, Tris to Black Widow, the image of strong female characters almost always feature girls who (literally) kick ass, and hide their emotions, and rebel against gender conformity. Girls who, conversely, are more feminine tend to come under fire for being too passive, too “girly,” too emotional, too implicitly weak. 

But being feminine and being strong are not mutually exclusive, and I definitely agree with everything said about Sansa in that post. 

On the other hand, I don’t want to come down on gender nonconforming girls either, because they stand as a societal reminder that there’s no one way to be a girl. And that’s something that even now in my twenty-somethings, I’m still re-teaching myself.

Photo credit: Jemimus on FlickrAs a not-traditionally-feminine girl who grew up in a household with a very feminine mother and two very feminine sisters, it was, and still is, refreshing to me to see girls embracing themselves, even when that person doesn't necessarily conform to gender norms. I didn't until just recently ask myself why, for example, Mulan was hands-down my favorite Disney princess and the only one I ever identified with and I suspect it was because she was a strong princess who didn’t look or act like what you'd expect from a princess. She hated dresses (as a kid, so did I!), and rolled her eyes at her mother’s attempts to make her appear more girly (*cough*), and she did everything the guys did and no one could stop her (it will be a surprise to no one, I think, that my favorite sport has always been martial arts). 

It wasn’t until recently that I really began to embrace myself, even when that person wasn’t as girly as years of dresses, skirts, and frilly blouses insinuated I should be. It wasn’t until a year or so ago that I realized I could like makeup, and nail polish, and earrings and yes, even dresses, but also like (very) short hair, and hoodies, and jeans, and blazers, and graphic tees, and beanies. For years I had this idea in my head that being a girl meant liking all the girly, frilly things and because the clothes I often wanted to wear were decidedly less feminine, there must be something wrong with my taste and style. 

There isn’t one way to be a girl, and there isn’t a wrong way to be a girl, either. Girls can be feminine and masculine simultaneously. Girls can be emotional black belts, stoic fashionistas and make-up wearing sword-wielders. Girls can show strength in different ways—whether it’s through Sansa’s controlled political-savviness or Arya’s daring courage. Feminine, masculine and strong can all be used to describe girls—or even the same girl, and I want to see representation of them all. 

There are limitless varieties of girls, and every single one of us deserve to see ourselves as a heroine. We are complicated, and layered, and contradictory, and we are raw, and real, and here. 

What do you think? 

Twitter-sized bites:

"There are limitless varieties of girls, and every single one of us deserve to see ourselves as a heroine." (Click to tweet)  

.@Ava_Jae says there isn't one way to be a girl, or one way to be strong. What do you think? (Click to tweet)

My Favorite (Upcoming) Book Covers

As a bookish person who also loves artsy things, it’s probably no surprise that I love cover reveals. Book covers, to me, are totally fascinating, and lately the book covers just seem to be getting better and better.

I’ve been drooling on so many covers lately, that I wanted to share them with you guys. Specifically, covers for books that haven’t been released yet because there are so many gorgeous ones, I can’t even. 
So without further ado, here we go. 
Focus On Me by Megan Erickson:
Photo credit: GoodreadsWhy: The (literally) steamy, out of focus cover, the way the title itself is slightly out of focus, the rich colors, oh and those pecs and abs...


Walk on Earth a Stranger by Rae Carson:
Photo credit: GoodreadsWhy: The gorgeous colors, beautiful typography, shiny gold, stunning sunrise backdrop contrasting on the deep green foreground...what's not to love?


Cut Both Ways by Carrie Mesrobian:

Photo credit: GoodreadsWhy: The simple, but eye-catching design, the hand-painted typography, the clothes around the bed that tells me I'm probably going to like this book... ;)

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo:

Photo credit: GoodreadsWhy: This illustrated cover fits beautifully with the previous Grisha books, but is definitely it's own thing. I love the cool tones, the swirly typography, and the fact that the elongated feathers makes six towers is pretty awesome and probably important.

A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis:

Photo credit: GoodreadsWhy: The eerie moodiness, the movement in the cover model (and her hair!), the creepy hand grabbing her foot at the bottom of the cover, and the delicate and refined typography all work together to make this one stunning cover.

Dreamstrider by Lindsay Smith:

Photo credit: GoodreadsWhy: This cover is just so unique—I love the contrast of all the colors with the negative white space, the layers with tons of textures are gorgeous, and the more I look at it, the more I see.

Dreamland by Robert L. Anderson:

Photo credit: GoodreadsWhy: The atmospheric, Inception-like imagery with the city in the sky, the clouds with the sun poking through and creating the title, the darkness creeping in around the edges and the creepy shack and dirt road setting down below makes this one of my favorite covers this year.

Hello, I Love You by Katie M. Stout:

Photo credit: GoodreadsWhy: Hello, you're adorable. I mean, c'mon, how cute is this? I love the doodles, the light colors and the fact that they actually used a PoC model for a PoC character (as they always should, but unfortunately don't always) is a nice added bonus.

More Happy Than Not  by Adam Silvera:

Photo credit: GoodreadsWhy: This cover is so perfectly creepy and awesome. I love the texture of the cracked, flaking smiley face and the bold overlaid text and the fact that it's a closeup showing only have a smile just makes it even creepier to me.

We Are the Ants by Shaun Hutchinson

Photo credit: GoodreadsWhy: This is a simple, but lovely design that I really appreciate. I love how the title is centered down the middle and brings your eye back down to the tree at the bottom, which leads you back up into the cover again, and then the swirl of the stars and yeah. It's a deceptively clever design and I like it. 
Runner-ups: Made You Up by Francesca Zappia,  It’s a Wonderful Death by Sarah J. Schmitt,  The Tenderness of Thieves  by Donna Freitas, Even When You Lie to Me by Jessica Alcott, and All the Rage by Courtney Summers. 
What are some of your favorite upcoming book covers?
Twitter-sized bite: 

Writer @Ava_Jae shares her top ten favorite upcoming book covers. What would you add to the list? (Click to tweet) 

Classes I Never Thought Would Apply to My Writing Career (But Do)

Photo credit: CollegeDegrees360With finals two weeks away and projects and presentations and essays piling up like Mount Kilimanjaro in the back of my mind, I’ve been thinking, kind of understandably, about school.

Specifically, about those silly classes I thought totally didn’t apply to me and my writerly career goals until, um, they did.

So for fun, I thought I’d share with you some of those classes I totally thought were irrelevant and was totally wrong.

Those two HTML classes. I took an HTML class my senior year of high school just to fill an elective space, and my third year of college. By the latter class, I kind of knew it’d be good to pay attention, but in high school, I didn’t think learning html would matter to me at all.

And boy, was I wrong.

Between the blog here and tumblr, I open up HTML to fix formatting issues that are rage-inducing to try to fix in the WYSIWYG editor and save myself a ton of time. I know how to read it relatively well, and while I’m definitely not an expert, the little bit I do know has been completely invaluable through many years of blogging. The more you know. 
Those two dreaded public speaking classes. I took a public speaking class my senior year of high school and over the summer after my second year of college. I hated them both with a burning passion and I can’t begin to tell you how relieved I was when I walked out of there and thought thank god I’ll never have to do that again.

Except, you know, I’ll have to do that plenty because authors it turns out don’t just write books. (And my first real life application will be over the summer at a conference in Chicago for those who are interested.) 
Every math class ever. This will never apply to my life, groaned high school Ava in every math class. And to be fair, most of that stuff really never will. But I mean, I guess math is helpful sometimes, like with budgeting writer stuff and figuring out statistics for a post and fine math, you win. 
All those video editing classes. Fun fact: before I switched my major to English, I went to school for three years for video-related fields. I have an Associates in Digital Media/Film, and I went to a fancy art school where I learned about Visual Effects. It was pretty cool.

When I switched majors, though, I never really thought the film stuff I’d learned would come into play again. And then I started vlogging and I realized just how useful it was to know how to set up a camera and scene and edit stuff. Who knew?
Every design/color theory/art class ever. Unsurprisingly, another thing I did at Fancy Art School was take art classes! And I totally loved them and thought they were a blast, but again, I didn't really think much about how those classes would apply to my writing career.

But they totally do apply! Because I've designed my own business cards, and this blog, and I'll probably be designing future promo materials and it's all very helpful to have those basics I learned in my head. 
What non-writing skills have you unexpectedly used in your writing career?

Twitter-sized bite:

What non-writing skills have you unexpectedly used in your writing career? Join the discussion on @Ava_Jae's blog. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: How to Get Traditionally Published

In which I give the super quick version of how to get traditionally published in under four minutes.

   

RELATED VLOGS: 

How to Edit: The CP TradeHow to Query: ResearchHow to Query: The Query Letter5 Things to Know Before Getting an AgentFrom Contest to Book DealWhy You Need Critique Partners (Really)Why Writers Must Read
Twitter-sized bite: 

How do you get traditionally published? @Ava_Jae breaks down the process in under 4 minutes in today's vlog. (Click to tweet)

Book Review: TRUST THE FOCUS by Megan Erickson

Photo credit: GoodreadsAs I like to do with book reviews before I talk about my feels, here is the Goodreads summary:

“With his college graduation gown expertly pitched into the trash, Justin Akron is ready for the road trip he planned with his best friend Landry— and ready for one last summer of escape from his mother’s controlling grip. Climbing into the Winnebago his father left him, they set out across America in search of the sites his father had captured through the lens of his Nikon. 

As an aspiring photographer, Justin can think of no better way to honor his father’s memory than to scatter his ashes at the sites he held sacred. And there’s no one Justin would rather share the experience with more than Landry. 

But Justin knows he can’t escape forever. Eventually he’ll have to return home and join his mother’s Senate campaign. Nor can he escape the truth of who he is, and the fact that he’s in love with his out-and-proud travel companion. 

Admitting what he wants could hurt his mother’s conservative political career. But with every click of his shutter and every sprinkle of ash, Justin can’t resist Landry’s pull. And when the truth comes into focus, neither is prepared for the secrets the other is hiding.”

Okay, so. Megan is a super lovely person, and I really enjoyed Make it Count, which was released last year, so when I heard she was writing a m/m NA, I basically freaked out with uncontained excitement.

Super quick note: this is, indeed NA (not YA), so everything you would expect from NA is here. I, obviously, did not have a problem with it, but I figure it’s good to mention because sometimes people get confused when I say NA. It is not the same as YA. Okay.

As for Trust the Focus ! Generally, when I read Erickson’s romances, I expect sweet and sexy NA. This was exactly that. Justin and Landry go on a road trip to honor Justin’s dad with no plans of making anything happen romantically between them (Justin isn’t even openly gay, so there doesn’t at first even seem to be a possibility of anything happening between them), but the more time they spend together, the more they begin to realize ignoring their feelings for each other isn’t going to work for much longer.

Trust the Focus had me smiling, awww-ing, laughing, internally raging and getting teary-eyed—which is to say, making me feel all the things a good romance should. I absolutely loved Justin and Landry’s chemistry, and while Justin frustrated me (as any good flawed romance hero should), I was rooting for them from the first page and loved seeing their relationship pull together.

If you’re looking for some sweet and fun diverse NA, I absolutely recommend Trust the Focus. I’ve already added the next in the series, Focus on Me , to my TBR shelf, and I can’t wait to continue to diversify my collection of NA novels!

Do you have any diverse NA recommendations? 

.@Ava_Jae gives 5/5 stars to TRUST THE FOCUS by @MeganErickson_. Have you read this sweet m/m NA romance? (Click to tweet)    

Looking for a sweet and sexy diverse NA? Check out TRUST THE FOCUS by Megan Erickson. (Click to tweet)