Secret Weapons

I have a secret weapon when it comes to writing: my boys.

Since I write for children, my kids are deep wells of quirks and inspiration. When they ask questions such as "How did a butterfly get its name?" I write it down. When my son told me he wanted to be an astronaut and a singer when he grows up, I wrote it down. After a long day at Disneyland, my sister asked my son, "What was your favorite part?" His answer? "The fun inside my head."

Before I took writing seriously, these moments were lodged in my memory, but that's it. Now they're fodder for stories or nonfiction manuscripts. If nothing else, my notes are a sort of journal, recording this stage in their lives -- what my sons are curious about, what worries them, and what makes them laugh. No matter what, that's priceless.

Do you have a secret weapon for your writing? Sweet or quirky children? A funny grandparent? A creepy uncle? Wacky students? Do tell!

Spicing Up The Middle

My main character and I are holding hands as we leap into the middle of my work in progress. After a brief panic attack, I opened up my trusty book, Plot & Structure by James Scott Bell (I heart you Mr. Bell...seriously).

Bell offers these suggestions to spice up our middles:

1. Analyze the stakes. What will our main character lose if she doesn't achieve her objective? Unless it's major, our readers won't care.
2. Strengthen the adhesive. What ties the protagonist and the antagonist together? Keep it strong.
3. Add another level of complication. Our poor little protagonists must be tortured by us heartless writers. We should think what's the worst that can happen? Then do it.
4. Add another character. Someone from the past who makes things miserable for Ms. Protag? Hmmm.
5. Add another subplot. Bell suggests we use this one sparingly, as the subplots must be organic.
6. Push on through the wall. At this point, our confidence level may drop. We might feel as if our book is headed straight for the bottom of the bird cage. This is the wall, and Bell reminds us that most novelists hit it at some point in their first drafts.

By the time I'm done, my main character might want to slap me in the face instead of holding my hand. I can live with that. My job is to make my book as strong as possible.

How do you tackle your middles? Please share your secrets!

photo credit: Barnes & Noble

Passion vs. Obsession

Passion is universal humanity. Without it religion, history, romance and art would be useless. ~Honoré de Balzac

'Mad' is a term we use to describe a man who is obsessed with one idea and nothing else. ~Ugo Betti

When I think of obsession, I imagine Glenn Close boiling a bunny on the stove. She thinks of Michael Douglas every waking moment, and her life has lost all joy.

It's safe to say that most of us don't write for the money. We write because we love it and we're passionate about it. Sometimes I feel myself slipping from passionate to obsessive.

For me, it's important to remember why I write. When slipping from passion to obsession, it's important to hang on to the joy.

What's your opinion on passion vs. obsession?

Follow your passion, and success will follow you. ~Terri Guillemets

photo credit

The Roller Coaster Ride of Writing

I don't know about you, but the writing profession is the wildest roller coaster I've ever been on. I live near Six Flags in southern California, so I've ridden some doozies (do people still say doozies?)

Thanks to the generous founders and participants at writeoncon, we soaked up a lot of greatness this past week. The awesome information blew me away. I was up.

Once it was over, I had the strangest reaction: I got the blues. Not the "I'm so sad it's over" blues. They were the "Who am I kidding? There's so much talent out there, how can I compete?" kind of blues. I was down. (I'm already over that, btw. Of course I can compete!)

Then I learned that my article was published in Scholastic Math Magazine's September issue--page 8. I was up.

Whew! Yes, it's a wild ride, but one worth taking. If I have to, I'll even wait in the long line in order to ride in the front seat. I'm strapped in and ready to go.

How about you? How's it going on your roller coaster?

photo credit: flickr

Author Interview

Writer and blogger Lindsey Sablowski interviewed me on her blog. You can check out the interview and follow Lindsey here.

Thanks, Lindsey!

Let Write On Con Begin!

It's official! Write On Con begins tomorrow. If you haven't already heard about this free conference, check out the details here. If you're on Twitter, you can find their tweets at #writeoncon.

The schedule of events can be viewed here. Many generous writers, editors and agents are donating their time, and I am truly grateful.

If you haven't already registered, quick, do it now. Will I see you there?

13 Reasons Why

I recently read Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. Barnes and Noble summarizes the book this way:

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker-his classmate and crush-who committed suicide two weeks earlier.

Thirteen Reasons Why was a great reminder of the strong impact books can have on readers. It was touching, heartbreaking, and dramatic.

To watch an interview with the author, click here. Later in the video, teens said the book reminded them that our comments and actions have an impact on others, even if we don't realize it. Asher didn't pound this message home. Instead, he sprinkled it lightly, allowing the reader to connect with these characters. We join Clay in his wish that he could turn back time.

I thought Thirteen Reasons Why was a powerful story. Have your read this book? If so, what was your impression?

photo credit: Barnes & Noble