Advice for Writers from Author Sarah Skilton

Friends, we have a special treat today. My good buddy and amazing author, Sarah Skilton, is here to answer a few questions. Sarah is the author of HIGH AND DRY and BRUISED. If you'd like to read about my writing lessons learned from Sarah's books, click here for HIGH AND DRY and here for BRUISED.

And now, a Q and A session with Sarah Skilton:

1) What sparked the idea for HIGH AND DRY?

The idea for High and Dry came about because I love mysteries, and I love 1940s hardboiled movies such as Double Indemnity and In a Lonely Place. I also liked the show Veronica Mars (a mystery series set in high school that was recently revived by Kickstarter), and I wanted to try my hand at writing a boy narrator point of view. High and Dry is quite different from Bruised, my first novel, in that it takes place during a single week rather than over several months' time. It was great challenging myself to write a completely different style of book and I really enjoyed the process!

2) You used to be a script reader. How did that experience help you when it came to writing your own fiction?

I used to be a professional script reader for the company that puts out the casting Breakdowns. Basically that entailed reading scripts for TV shows and films that were casting, and writing up character descriptions so the talent agents and managers would know which of their actors to send out on auditions for which projects. I read hundreds of screenplays a year and it was fantastic for learning about pacing, dialogue, characterization, and tone. Another rule in screenwriting (besides "show, don't tell") is "enter the scene late and get out early," and I try to take that to heart when I'm writing my novels. 

3) Tell us a bit about your writing process. Plotter? Pantser? Somewhere in between?

As a complete cliche, I carry around a small notebook in my purse that I use to jot down ideas whenever I get them. I definitely like to have a sense for where the story's going before I begin. I know the ending very early on even if it changes in some specifics once I get there. I keep one document for notes/vague outline, and another document for the actual manuscript, and the two don't always end up matching. However, to sit down each morning and write, I have to know the direction of at least one chapter in advance or I'll panic. I call it the cushion.

4) What's the best writing advice you've ever received? Why did it resonate with you?

The best writing advice I ever received was to write the story you most wish to read. If you're writing something to please somebody else, or because you think it will be popular, but it's not something you're passionate about or excited to do, I think it will show in the writing.

5) Any additional advice you can offer writers who are seeking an agent or pursuing publication?

I would say don't beat yourself up if you have days where the writing doesn't come easily or you fear that everything you've written is junk. Give yourself a day or two off. Your brain will continue working on the story, and it'll come up with answers you didn't know you had.

As for seeking an agent or pursuing publication, follow all the directions posted on an agent's website to the letter. That'll already put you ahead of 85% of the other people who are sending queries! No joke :) Also, check out @SaraMegibow "10 queries in 10 tweets" series on Thursdays for more hints and help.

Sarah, thanks so much for the valuable information! And I love the advice about writing the book you most wish to read. Kristin Hannah, author of one of my favorite books--Firefly Lane--said something similar. She was frustrated by the lack of "friendship novels" for women. Her mom said, "Then write one."

Are you a fan of hardboiled movies? Are you a plotter or pantser? When submitting to an agent or publisher, do you study and follow their guidelines? Any tips you'd like to add?

Writing lessons learned from HIGH AND DRY

I recently read High and Dry, a noir YA novel by Sarah Skilton. It was a fun, dark, gritty read. Full disclosure: Sarah Skilton is a buddy of mine. But believe me, I'm not saying nice things about the book because Sarah's my friend. I speaketh kind words because they're the truth.

First, a quick look at High and Dry (from Amazon):

Framed for a stranger's near-fatal overdose at a party, blackmailed into finding a mysterious flash drive everyone in school seems anxious to suppress, and pressured by his shady best friend to throw an upcoming match, high school soccer player Charlie Dixon is juggling more than his share of drama. Add in a broken heart and the drinking he's been doing to soothe it, and he's near the breaking point. In this fast-paced, layered mystery, Charlie spends a frantic week trying to clear his name, win back the girl of his dreams, and escape a past friendship that may be responsible for all his current problems. 

Now on to the writing lessons learned. Warning: if you haven't read the book yet, and don't want to know any plot points, read no further!

• Begin with voice and character: Skilton's novel begins with a great first line. "I wasn't invited, but I showed up to the party anyway so I could talk to Ellie Chen and find out why she dumped me two weeks ago." Already we know the main character has attitude, and that he doesn't mind breaking rules.
• Create empathy for the anti-hero: Charlie Dixon's internal dialogue makes readers care for him. Yes, he's drinking. Yes, he crashed a party. But we know why--his heart is broken because of a bad break up. Teens (and most adults) can totally relate.
• Motive for blackmail: Blackmail happens, and in fiction, it has to be totally believable. Why would someone blackmail Charlie Dixon? His mom was tasked with school reform and become Enemy #1 in their small desert town. This may or may not be the real reason why Charlie is blackmailed, but he assumes it has something to do with his current predicament.
• Fun slang for only this story: Skilton came up with fun terms used by kids at the high school. Cliques within the school were known as Song Birds (girls' choir), Dot Govs (student council), and Beckhams (soccer players), to name a few. Skilton wrote a great post over at Janice Hardy's blog about Slinging Slang: The Case for Made-Up Words.
• Believable reason to do the wrong thing: Charlie Dixon does many questionable things, but these actions make sense in context. Characters do bad things all the time, and if the reasons are believable, the reader will forgive them--and even root for them.
• Create a cast of suspects: Sheesh, Skilton's book was packed with suspects. Even walk-on characters had dirt under their nails, which kept things interesting.

Have you read High and Dry yet? What's your opinion on these writing lessons? Have you used any of these tips before? Any you'd like to add?

Writing lessons learned from BRUISED

BREAKING NEWS!! Lisa Gail Green's debut novel, The Binding Stone, released yesterday! She's my writing buddy, and I'm super excited for her. Click here to grab your own copy of this awesome YA book.

And now on to my regular post...

I recently finished reading BRUISED, by Sarah Skilton. Bruised was a great book with an amazing voice and many powerful moments. Sarah is a friend of mine, but this isn't friendship talking--this is a reader praising a worthy book.

From Goodreads:

When Imogen, a sixteen-year-old black belt in Tae Kwon Do, freezes during a holdup at a local diner, the gunman is shot and killed by the police, and she blames herself for his death. Before the shooting, she believed that her black belt made her stronger than everyone else--more responsible, more capable. But now her sense of self has been challenged and she must rebuild her life, a process that includes redefining her relationship with her family and navigating first love with the boy who was at the diner with her during the shootout. With action, romance, and a complex heroine, Bruised introduces a vibrant new voice to the young adult world--full of dark humor and hard truths.

Here are some of the writing lessons I learned from this powerful book:

• Open with a snapshot of the major incident--When the book begins, the shootout had already happened. It didn't give a blow by blow of the shootout, only glimpses from Imogen's broken memory. Details of the shootout are dispersed throughout the book. Then Imogen describes the hard work that went into earning a black belt, ending the chapter with this powerful line: "My black belt represents everything I could've done and everything I didn't do, the only time it really mattered."
• Connect love interest through tragedy--We meet Ricky, the love interest, right away. Like Imogen, he hid under a table while the shootout happened. He understands her fears and her struggle to merge back into real life. Ricky wants to learn how to fight, and Imogen teaches him. This connects them beyond school and family.
• Use humor to lighten a dark subject--The author does a great job of injecting humor in unlikely places. It's not just humor for shock value, it's embedded in the character. There's a line in there about a weed whacker that still cracks me up. This wasn't a funny book, but the character's way of looking at life made me smile.
• Sprinkle in unanswered questions--Some questions are answered right away, but there are questions about the shootout that linger on until later chapters. I'd forget about these missing details until the author strategically reminded me. It kept me wondering what I didn't know yet.
• Forgotten past--When characters suffer a traumatic experience, authors can use this to create more mystery. Imogen thinks she cowered under a table during the entire robbery, but then she wonders, why was there blood all over my clothes? It's a mystery, and the author allows the reader and Imogen to discover the truth together. 

Miranda Kenneally, author of Catching Jordan, said this about Bruised: "Raw and real, Bruised is an important read for all teens, especially those who feel they've lost their way. This beautiful book shows the true power of sports."

I couldn't have said it better myself.

Have you read Bruised? What's your opinion of these writing lessons? Have you used them in your own work?