Summer Vacay

Friends, I'll be on vacation with my family for a few days. I'll return to the blog on July 31st. Enjoy the summer sun. Or the shade. Better yet...a hammock in the shade :)

photo credit

Writing lessons learned from CROSSED

I recently read CROSSED, by Ally Condie, book two in her MATCHED trilogy. If you want to read my writing lessons learned from book one, click here. Like I mentioned in that earlier post, I absolutely love Condie's writing style. Mmm, mmm, good.

From Goodreads:

In search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky--taken by the Society to his certain death--only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake. Cassia's quest leads her to question much of what she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a different life across the border. But as Cassia nears resolve and certainty about her future with Ky, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander--who may hold the key to the uprising and, still, to Cassia's heart--change the game once again. Nothing is as expected on the edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses make the path more twisted than ever.

Did I learn writing lesson from this book? You bet! Here they are (Warning! Avert your eyes if you haven't read this book yet and don't want to know any plot points):

• Brief references to important moments from book one--I've never written a sequel, but I recognized a great technique in Crossed. Condie weaved snippets of book one into this story. She didn't linger there for long. Just a reference, and a brief connection to how it mattered in book 2. For more help on writing a sequel, visit Janice Hardy's blog and type "sequel" into her search bar. Treasure trove.
• Add new characters--In Crossed, the main players remained the same: Cassia and Ky. But adding new players organically, with new goals and conflict, made book two fresh.
• Simple story goals become bigger--Cassia and Ky were forced apart at the end of book one. In book two, their goals started simple: find each other, and survive doing it. Bits of the story hint at a larger purpose for the two main characters. There was talk of a Rising, and the Pilot who would lead the Rising. It made me wonder how these two characters would fit into that storyline. Which brings me to my next lesson...
• Reluctant leaders--Cassia and Ky thought they were regular people, and for a while, I thought that too. Although they don't think of themselves as a leaders, other people look to them for guidance and information. The reader knew there was more to them than originally thought. I liked that it wasn't an "I'm a leader, so listen to everything I say" sort of thing.
• Bring on the love--For teen girls, and women like me who love love, the romance angle is huge. Yes, the characters were escaping a totalitarian government. Yes, they were fighting for survival. But the love story made reading about all that other stuff more meaningful. Who were they willing to fight for? That was what I wanted to read about.

Have you read CROSSED? MATCHED? What was your opinion? And what do you think of the writing lessons learned. Ever used any of these yourself? Please share!

Selflessness #IWSG

Welcome, Insecure Writer's Support Group!

When I was growing up, my mom used to say, "Many hands make light work." So true.

Something else my mom used to say? "Good things come to those who wait."

I thought of those words when news was released that our blogging buddy, Martina Boone, signed a three book deal with Simon Pulse. SIMON PULSE!!!

Most of you have probably heard this news. And most of you probably already know Martina. But if you don't, please, PLEASE do your writerly self a favor and follow the blog she runs with other writers.

So, why did I title this post "Selflessness?" Because that's the word that comes to mind when I think of Martina. I mean jeez, she even included giveaway winners in her book deal announcement! I didn't even tell her I was featuring her here today, because she'd probably want to turn the whole thing around to make it about everyone else. Nope. Not today. Today I'll focus on how selfless she's been while pursuing her own dreams.

Here's what you can find on her blog:

Contests and Workshops
Craft Tips.
WOW Wednesday Inspiration
And book giveaways...always book giveaways!

And that's just a small sampling. All of this while she was writing her own books, honing her craft, and submitting.

She's one of us. She had a dream. She was rejected. She worked hard. She was rejected again. She helped others along the way. Now it's her turn.

I think Susan Sipal, who writes the Harry Potter for Writers blog, summed it up best when she left this comment on Martina's blog regarding the awesome book deal:

"Martina, you are such an inspiration to me for showing where extremely hard work, tons of discipline, incredible amounts of talent, and dogged determination can get you. I am sooooo happy for you and can't wait for the whole world to read your glorious story."

Hard work.
Discipline.
Talent.
Determination.

And I'd add Selflessness.

Want to be inspired? Read Martina's post The Heroic Journey Every Writers Has to Face. You'll recognize each of the steps in your own writing journey. You'll be ready to kick down doors, do a karate chop to Rejection, and help others along the way.

I'm so excited for Martina. I love it when great things happen to great people.

Have you heard Martina's news? Do you follow her blog? Do you get super excited when one of our peeps hits the literary jackpot? Please share!

Scene Details From a Football Camp

My 16-year-old son recently spent some time at football camps. While waiting in the stands, the writer in me came out and I began scribbling down scene details on the back of my son's schedule. Well, I watched him and took photos too! But hey, as a YA writer, I never know when I'll need these details.

In case you're curious about how these camps work, or if you ever need scene details involving a football camp, I thought I'd share what I noticed.

The Location

• College campuses: USC, UCLA and Cerritos College. Large, beige buildings surrounding a football field. 
• Artificial turf on the football fields, with tiny black rubber bits scattered all over the ground (from the turf)
• Powerade station with organizers filling cups for the players
• Foggy L.A. mornings, but once the clouds burn off, hot afternoons

The People

• Hundreds of teen boys, all races, all sizes. Not only big, burly guys, but smaller guys who haven't finished growing yet
• Boys wearing school gym shorts--black, red, yellow, purple--with high school logos on the right leg
• All boys wearing matching athletic shirts provided by camp organizers. White box in the center where boys wrote their names (some first names, some last names) with a black Sharpie
• Hair: buzz cuts, curly, long hair held back in bands
• Moms and dads in the stands, watching, taking photos, reading, looking at their phones
• Some boys standing alone; some making small talk with other boys
• Lone (brave) girl running laps around the track (there's a story there, right?)
• Burly coaches with "Staff" written on the backs of their shirts

The Activities

• Boys separated in groups on the field, stretching, warming up, jumping
• Running the 40 yard dash
• One on one drills
• 7 on 7 drills
• Grouped in rooms by position, watching film of their technique & receiving tips on how to improve

The Sounds

• Coaches yelling instructions
• Clapping
• Whistles blowing
• Chants at the end of claps, like "SC!"
• At USC--nearby construction noise
• One huge coach on the sidelines screaming at the players, "Come on Beyonce! Let's see what you've got, Beyonce!" (Not even joking)

What do you think of these scene details? Ever been to a football camp? Do you jot down scene details when you're out and about?

Writing Short Stories--Interview with Author Leslie S. Rose

Friends, today I'm excited to have my friend and writing partner, Leslie S. Rose, share her wisdom about writing and publishing short stories. Her tale "The Shimmer in the Woods" recently published in Paramourtal, Volume 2 from Cliffhanger Books.

The Shimmer in the Woods by Leslie S. Rose

Out to avenge his sister Gretel's death, a grown Hansel encounters a luminous female spirit. She offers to help him vanquish the witch, but she demands a terrible price in return.

1. Where did you get the idea for "Shimmer in the Woods?" Please tell us the journey from idea to final draft.

Thank you so much, Julie for giving me the opportunity to chat with you and your wonderful followers. *waves*

My favorite assignment in playwriting class back at UCLA was to turn a fairy tale into a one-act play. That fond memory coupled with my obsession for fairy tale retells and a ridiculous sweet tooth, lead me back to Hansel and Gretel. *hands out sugary roof shingles* 

We all know childhood trauma colors the rest of your life. I played the “what if” game and wondered how screwed up Hansel would be if he’d escaped the witch, but Gretel hadn’t. SPOILER ALERT – I killed Gretel.

The Shimmer creature was born from my days as a lighting designer. I always loved playing and painting with light. I just took its energy and power one step further and added personality.

As for the process, my first draft was drastically over the word count limit set in the submission guidelines. I took a deep breath and sharpened my editing knife. Two revisions and a flurry of slashes later, I met the limit – to the word. The story went out to my solid gold critique partners. *take a bow, Julie and Lisa* More slashing and haggling down to individual word choice ensued. I was at the San Diego State Writer’s Conference when I got the happy news from Cliffhanger Books that “Shimmer” had been accepted into the Paramourtal 2 Anthology. We danced through two more drafts together until “Shimmer” was ready to rock and roll. 

Who knew during the road to pubbing there would be a slew of Hansel and Gretel revisits popping up. The series ONCE UPON A TIME brought the bro and sis back, as did the film HANSEL AND GRETEL WITCH HUNTERS. I was trending and didn’t even know it.

2. How has writing short stories strengthened your novel writing skills?

I went to a seminar on short story writing where an author on the panel characterized the form as a one-act tragedy. So true. You have to smush story arcs, world building, characters, plot, and conflict into a very tight package. It’s essential to grab your audience in the blink of an eye and send your character on a complete journey while a very loud clock is ticking next to your ear. 

Working in the shorter format sharpened all the story aspects in my novels. It forced me to define each element with heightened clarity in my planning phases. In fact, writing short stories morphed me from a pantser to a plotter. I had a tendency to meander in my storytelling and there’s no room for that in a short story. My latest long-form writing has a crisper dynamic that developed from the challenge of writing short stories.

3. When I read your work, your design background shines through in scene details and mood. What can writers do to improve that part of storytelling?

Ah, thanks for the kind words. The task of visualizing a world/setting is my happy place. I need to know what sensory rich – visceral environment exists before I plop the characters into it. 

That harkens back to my theatrical design process. Create the scenery and lighting that allows the actors to enter the world of the play. It’s also a wonderful way to monkey with subtext and imagery.

My advice would be to create a concrete visualization board. You can collage in the abstract or represent specific scenes or transitions.

Sketch or paint if you have those in your bag of talents. Collect or create pictures representing:

• Scenery/Setting - physical reality of environment – geography/climate
• Characters – who would play them in the movie
• Textures
• Character clothing
• Architectural treatments
• Natural world
• Aromas/Odors
• Colors – evoking mood from your reader (I’ve been known to raid the paint chips at Home Depot to create a color palette that maps scenes or overall arc progressions. Light to dark/warm to cool/contrast vs. harmony)
• Facial expressions
• Thematic images/symbols

It’s a rush when your imagination springboards off the concrete visuals you lay out. 

Try making a PowerPoint or iMovie, coupling images with music that expresses the mood of a particular scene or punctuates a dramatic moment. Liken it to storyboarding or the pre-viz phase of movie production - a book trailer for your pre-writing phase.

4. What advice can you give us for writing and publishing short stories?

As far as publishing goes…

Be a cyber hunter or huntress to ferret out opportunities. Hit Bloglandia (my term of endearment for the world of writing and publishing blogs), search short story anthologies on Amazon then research the publishers, and network with other writers for recommendations.

As far as writing goes…

Run, don’t walk to the book Ron Carlson Writes a Story. He takes you through his process of writing a short story. Brilliant teaching.

My humble advice would be to think of your entire story as a climax scene. Hit your reader with quick stakes, quick character investment, and then drop a bomb on their world.

And don’t be afraid to kill Gretel.

Isn't she awesome?

Leslie, thanks so much for sharing your wisdom with us! Folks, Leslie is giving away a print copy of her anthology to one lucky commenter (U.S. residents only). Leaving a comment automatically enters you in the drawing!

Story blurbs on Cliffhanger Site

Leslie's blog

Amazon link

Writing lessons learned from A NOBLE GROOM

I tore through Jody Hedlund's A NOBLE GROOM in just a couple days. It was the weekend and I had time by the pool! I loved this inspirational romance.

From Jody's web site:

Recently widowed Annalisa Werner has the feeling her husband was murdered but can't prove it. 

Alone with her younger daughter in 1881 Michigan, she has six months left to finish raising the money needed to pay back the land contract her husband purchased, and the land is difficult to toll by herself. She needs a husband. With unmarried men scarce, her father sends a letter to his brother in the Old Country, asking him to find Annalisa a groom.

For nobleman Carl von Reichart, the blade of the guillotine is his fate. He's been accused and convicted of a serious crime he didn't commit, and his only escape is to flee to a small German community in Michigan where he'll be safe. He secures a job on Annalisa's farm but bumbles through learning about farming and manual labor.

Annalisa senses that Carl is harboring a secret about his past, yet she finds herself drawn to him anyway. He's gentle, kind, and romantic--unlike any of the men she's ever known. He begins to restore her faith in the ability to love--but her true groom is still on his way. And time is running out on them all.

Of course I learned writing lessons from this book! Here are my top seven (Warning! Avert your eyes if you haven't read this book yet, and don't want to know any plot points):

1. Don't start the story too late: We know we're supposed to start the story as late as possible, to avoid boring the reader with too much up front information. I appreciated that this story started before Annalisa's husband died. It gave me a glimpse into her troubled life with him without the need for a flashback. Plus, it readied me for how his loss would impact Annalisa's life.
2. Binding goals: In Plot & Structure, James Scott Bell reminds us to give our main characters goals that bind them together during the story. Hedlund did a great job of this. Annalisa's goal was to pay off her debt and keep her farm out of the greedy hands of big shot, Ward. Carl's goal was to survive a death sentence and hide from his enemies. Their goals bound them together and kept them close.
3. Fighting families: Annalisa's family used to serve under Carl's noble father, and felt betrayed by him. But Annalisa didn't know this at first. Conflict simmered because the reader knew how angry and hurt she'd be when she learned Carl's true identity. Family loyalty can create a huge crack between couples in love.
4. Sympathetic characters: From the beginning, Annalisa had it bad--dead hubby, looming threat of losing her farm, a two year old child, losing her freedom to the next groom, plus she was pregnant with her dead husband's child. All that made me sympathize with her before Carl even entered the picture.
5. Fish out of water: We've heard we should drop our characters into unfamiliar territory and see how they handle it. Hedlund did this well. Carl was a nobleman, and not used to manual labor. One of the worst places to drop him? A farm in Michigan. His bumbling attempts at plowing a field and tending to animals was endearing to the reader and Annalisa.
6. Looming clouds: Early on, the reader knew that Carl would only help on the farm temporarily, until Annalisa's real groom arrived. As the story progressed, I remembered that Carl and Annalisa's time together would be short. This gave me the "hurry up and get together" feeling throughout the book.
7. Bring them together, then rip them apart: Another great device for a love story is to bring the love birds together, but have something--or someone--rip them apart. Carl's deception came to light, and he was forced to leave the farming community he'd grown to love. Carl and Annalisa were both crushed by the separation.

There you have it--my writing lessons learned from A NOBLE GROOM. Have you read this book yet? Are you a fan of inspirational historical fiction? Can you share a writing lesson you learned from a great book?

How to Handle Close Calls #IWSG

Welcome, Insecure Writer's Support Group friends!

Tell me if this sounds familiar:

An agent or editor replies to your submission, saying, "We love the story, but..." or "We love your characters, but..." or "We love your writing, but..." or "We came close to saying yes, but..."

You hyperventilate and want to shout, "If you like this, this and this, WHY ARE YOU SAYING NO?"

*bang head on wall*

*take a deep breath*

*pick drywall chunks and paint chips off forehead*

If you've been at this writing thing for a while, you've probably had some close calls. And if you haven't had any yet, you will.

I've had close calls. At first I was frustrated, thinking OMG, I can't believe how close I was. I sulked because my "almost" became a "no, thanks." But then a lightbulb snapped on over my head and I realized, OMG, I just had a close call!

It's all about attitude. How can close calls work in our favor? How can we handle them without frustration? Here are my thoughts:

• Recognize close calls as signs you're on the right path. Your work is getting read. It's been noticed. Something about it sparked interest. No, it wasn't right for a particular agent or editor, but that doesn't mean it's not good. A close call reminds you that your manuscript has merit. You just haven't found the right love match yet.
• Use close calls to fuel your dedication. Were you feeling defeated before your close call? Did the close call make you feel worse? Please, please turn that around. Use the close call as motivation to dig back in and keep sending out your work. Repeat after me: it came close, it came close, it came close. You have no idea how close you really are. Seriously. Need more rah rah? Check out my post, Don't Quit at the One Yard Line.
• Use close calls as opportunities to sharpen your submission. If the agent or editor gave you specific reasons why they said no, hooray! Consider using those notes to beef up your query, pitch, or manuscript. Tired of reading your own story? Set it aside, read a great book, then come back to your manuscript with fresh eyes and perspective. You'll fall in love with it all over again. 

One agent, editor, or contest will not break your book. However, one agent, editor or contest can make your book. If we let close calls get us down, and stop sending out the work, how will we ever know what could've been?

Remember: it came close, it came close, it came close.

Have you had close calls yet? Did they frustrate you or inspire you? If you're published, how many close calls did you have before you got the call?