Choices

For Americans, today is election day. Rest assured, this is not a political post. Instead, I'd like to focus on the wonderful reality of choice.

My family lives in a small, rural town, and our son is a sophomore in the local high school. There are only about 110 students in his class, and over 400 teens in the entire school. Some parents have chosen to pull their kids from our small school and enroll their kids in large high schools in neighboring cities. We chose to leave our son in his small school close to home. He's doing great there, and he loves it. For us, an easy choice.

As writers, sometimes our choices are not so clear...

Publishing Choices

Do we go the agent/big publisher route? Do we go the small publisher route? Do we leap over the gatekeepers and take the self-publishing route?

I don't know about you, but I'm glad the traditional vs. indie battle has died down a bit. There are plenty of successful authors on both sides, and lots of authors who choose an all-of-the-above approach.

Me, I'm just thankful for the choice.

Artistic Choices

Setting? First person? Third person? Past tense? Present tense? Light and flirty mood? Dark and chilling? Who's the narrator?

A slight shift in any of these questions alters the story completely. I sometimes struggle with these choices because I want to make the right decisions up front.

But again, I'm thankful for the choice.

The Choice to Persevere

I don't know about you, but sometimes rejections or bad news is like a sucker punch that makes me doubt everything. If you've ever wondered why in the heck you continue to do something that brings such joy, but also such heartache, believe me, I know how you feel.

Thankfully, we don't allow those moments to last very long. After a bit of time, we come back. And if we choose to, we use those disappointments to fuel our desire to become better. No one holds a Nerf gun to our heads and forces us to create and polish and lay our hearts bare. Perseverance is a choice.

Whether it's leadership, publishing, artistic choices, or the decision to persevere, it's a beautiful thing to have a choice.

Are you intimidated by the amount of choices available to writers today? Do you regret any of the choices you've made as a writer? What's the best writing related choice you've made so far?

How Writers Can Help Victims of Hurricane Sandy

(photo credit: livescience.com)

We've all heard about the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy. We've seen haunting images of boats washed ashore, houses knocked off their foundations, and entire neighborhoods burned to the ground.

How can writers help?

Here are a few opportunities...

1. Kate Messner and Kid-Lit Cares: Superstorm Sandy Relief Effort

From Kate's web site:

What is KidLit Cares?

It’s an online talent auction to benefit the Red Cross relief effort for Sandy. Agents, editors, authors, and illustrators have donated various services to be auctioned off to the highest bidder, with donations being made directly to the Red Cross disaster relief fund.

Click here for more details, and for a list of all the amazing items up for auction. Guys, there's a lot of great stuff there for writers.

2. Not that we're geeks or anything, but Wired.com/GeekMom had 6 Ways for Geeks to Help with Hurricane Sandy Relief.

3. Donate directly to the Red Cross--Click here to donate online, or you can text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.

The full damage, physical and emotional, has yet to be tallied, and it's heartbreaking to see these folks suffering. For those of you who were affected by the storm, just know that a whole lot of people are praying for you.

Were you, or anyone you know, affected by Hurricane Sandy? Do you know of other ways we can help? Please share in the comments, and if possible, add links. Thank you!

Author Interview with Melissa Buell

Friends, today we have author Melissa Buell here to discuss the writing life, and to chat with us about her YA book, "The Seventh Blessing."

First, a quick blurb about her book:

Unlike most royal eighteen-year-old girls, Samantha finds it difficult to be a prim and proper princess. When she discovers her seven fairy blessings that were bestowed at her birth are a lie, her entire world is turned upside down. Although she can forgive the feuding fairies who made this large error on her behalf, she must find a way to control her real blessings--which may be more trouble than it is worth. 

Things start to become complicated when her best friend's brother becomes seriously injured just weeks before the annual knight competition. Samantha realizes the only way to help him and his family is to enter the competition by disguising her true identity. Balancing her mandatory princess lessons while hiding her secret blessings on top of this becomes difficult, but things begin to get challenging when Prince Nolan, a childhood friend, reenters her life. Samantha, bitter about their constant bickering relationship, suddenly begins to see Nolan in a new, and often confusing, light. 

But when she finds out her seventh blessing has yet to be decoded from the ancient tongue, Samantha's most dangerous quest of all is discovering the true power her real blessings hold. Now, the fate of herself, her future, and her kingdom lie in her hands.

1. From idea to final product, how did The Seventh Blessing come to be?

When I was finishing up with THE SEVENTH BLESSING, book 1 in the series, my CP asked me what the sequel was going to be about. I hadn’t thought about writing a sequel at that point. I sat down and asked myself, “What other adventures could happen in this land? What characters do I want to highlight?” I decided to write about Samantha’s daughter, Emma, for book 2. She was a fresh, new character that I could do so much with. I outlined my idea for Emma’s story and then started writing it. After several edits, it came to be the story it is now.

2. Can you give us a brief summary of your writing process? Plotter? Pantser? Somewhere in between?

I am definitely a plotter. I need to know where the story is headed from the beginning. I outline the entire story, then start writing descriptions and dialogue into the outline and then start writing. Sometimes (okay, every time) the characters take over and the final product does not look exactly like my outline. I’m good with that.

3. The Seventh Blessing is published by The Little Things Publishing Co. Can you tell us a bit about your experience with a small publisher?

It’s been great working with TLT. I have been able to have input about the cover art and have a close relationship with my editor. Not many authors have that.

4. Can you offer us any advice about book promotion? What's working for you and what isn't?

Book promotion is very important. I do most of the marketing myself. I organized a blog tour, book signings, school visits, maintain a website and a blog. I love to do these things and it doesn’t cost me very much money. What works is contacting book bloggers in a friendly, non-aggressive manner. Bloggers love to read books and I love to share my books. What hasn’t worked is getting into big bookstores. Being a newer author, it’s hard to get into big bookstores. I am so appreciative of the indie bookstores out there.

5. Is there any writing or publishing advice you'd like to share with us?

If you like to write, keep writing. Don’t be afraid to show someone else your work. Find a critique partner that you trust and respect. It’s hard to gauge your own writing at times. That’s why you need to share your work with others. Get honest feedback but don’t let it break your writing spirit.

Thanks so much for stopping by Melissa, and for sharing your publishing experience with us.

Writer buddies, what do you think about small publishers, book promotion, and trusted critique partners? Please share!

Melissa Buell's Young Adult fantasy series The Tales of Gymandrol, includes Book One, THE SEVENTH BLESSING, and Book Two, THE HIDDEN BLESSING. Published by The Little Things Publishing Co., the books are available through Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and other bookstores in paperback. It is also available for your Kindle/Kindle reading app. 

Her children’s picture book, SOMETIMES MY BROTHER BUGS ME, was published September 2012 by MeeGenius Publishing Co. as an e-book.

NaNoWriMo Boot Camp

Before we get to the NaNo boot camp, I wanted to share something cool. Jody Hedlund, bestselling author and Super Blogger, reposted my post about "Writing lessons learned from UNENDING DEVOTION." She added her own thoughts about each point, and of course, we get to absorb more of Jody's wisdom. Be sure to check out "9 Tips for Creating a Compelling Novel."

Now, on to NaNoWriMo Boot Camp. For those of you who don't know, November is National Novel Writing Month, when ambitious writers around the world set out to write a 50k-word novel in 30 days. Totally crazy. Totally fun.

If you want to write a novel and haven't yet plotted or planned, fear not. There's still time to prepare. And if you never plan before writing your novels? Maybe these ideas will help you as your pants your way through November.

I hope the following links help!

Janice Hardy wrote a great series of posts about planning your NaNo novel:

NaNoWriMo Prep: Planning Your Novel's Beginning

NaNoWriMo Prep: Planning Your Novel's Middle

NaNoWriMo Prep: Planning Your Novel's Ending

And she wrote this really cool post--Query First? The Query as a Plotting Tool (love this idea, and tried it myself)

And she has great advice about creating characters in this post--Who is That Guy? Discovering Your Characters

And in The Bookshelf Muse Writing Resource Newsletter, Angela Ackerman offers lots of great tips (WHAT? You don't subscribe? YOU SHOULD!! Sign up here):

From the newsletter:

Write Or Die Hardcore incentive to write. Achieve a set Word Count by a certain time, or it will unwrite itself.
HiveWord An online writing tool that lets you keep all your brainstorming & writing organized and in one place. It's free, and you can write from anywhere.
Handy-Dandy Nano Story Outline Roz Morris nails out an excellent path of questions to ask about your story before you write!
Worksheets For Writers Jami Gold has put together a delicious mix of worksheets to help you plot. To avoid a snag or two in your plot, take the time to plan. Even Pantsers will find some brainstorming helpful!
Rainy Mood I can't write to music, but I can write to white noise. Rainy Mood is perfect for drafting & shutting out the distractions.
Plotting With Note Cards Want structure, but not too much structure? Try this plotting method and get the basics down before D day.
Listology: Character Archtypes This is the biggest list I've found of Character Archtypes. It is sure to get you started on building your cast!
The Character Trait Thesaurus Heck yes I will use my own blog tool for Nano! I want to build a credible hero and scanning character traits will help me on my way. And if I get stuck on settings, I'll browse The Setting Thesaurus, too. :)

And Angela offered these additional tips for the November madness:

Set firm rules for Social Media and Email. This is a MUST. Don't break the flow by checking what's going on every 5 seconds.
Prepare food in advance. If you are a Mom or Dad, you don't want your kids turning feral from Hunger. Likewise if you are married, etc. Plan meals, freeze, buy easy-cook items, whatever your fancy.
Find your routine. Busy schedules make writing a challenge. Get into a schedule before Nano starts so you'll know what works for you.
Create rewards. Pick up some of your favorite chocolate noms, or candy, special coffees...whatever will make reaching a set WC your goal.
Visit the Nano site. There is a ton of knowledge, support and people willing to brainstorm when you hit a wall. Get to know other Nanoers!

GUESS WHAT ELSE??? Angela and Becca, of the fabulous and ever-helpful The Bookshelf Muse, are giving away TEN COPIES of their amazing Emotion Thesaurus to NaNo winners. Have you seen their amazing book pasted everywhere? And everyone is talking about it? And darn, you wish you had a copy? Clicky clicky at super speed over there and enter to win. Deets and form are here. Even if you own a copy, if you win, you can give your prize away. How cool is that?

So? What do you think? Are you in? Have you ever done NaNo before? Are you doing it this year?

Author Interview With Nancy S. Thompson

Today I'm super excited to have fellow blogger buddy, Nancy S. Thompson, here to share some wisdom about publishing her book, THE MISTAKEN. Here we go...

Thanks for having me over, Julie! 

1. From idea to final product, how did The Mistaken come to be?

The idea came from a song, 30 Seconds To Mars’ Hurricane.  The lyrics—“Tell me, would you kill to save a life?  Would you kill to prove you’re right?”—intrigued me, and really got me thinking:  I wondered, what could drive a good man to commit a violent crime, and could he redeem himself afterwards?  Though I added many layers to the story, and the characters’ motivation evolved, the heart of the story never changed.  In the end, the story’s theme of forgiveness emerged.  

2. Can you give us a brief summary of your writing process? Plotter? Pantser? Somewhere in between?

I sat down each evening while watching TV and handwrote what I thought was an outline, so that would make me a plotter, right?  But now I’m thinking that outline was really a first draft, sans dialogue and setting.  After all, it was fully detailed.  So maybe I’m actually a pantser since I wrote that first draft off the top of my head.   

3. The Mistaken is published by Sapphire Star Publishing. Can you tell us a bit about your experience with a small publisher?

After querying fifty or so agents, I decided to submit directly to a new small press I’d been hearing about.  Shortly thereafter, SSP offered me a contract contingent on one major revision.  Once I agreed, the deal was done, and I’ve been very happy.  SSP owners Amy Lichtenhan and Katie Henson are both knowledgeable and work hard, promoting each book and author.  They gave me a great deal of control over cover design and promotion, and support me like I’m a member of the family, because that’s what we are at SSP.  And a happy family at that!    

4. Can you offer us any advice about book promotion? What's working for you and what isn't?

It’s early, but so far Twitter and Facebook are working well.  Even more effective is blogging.  Besides my own blog tour, my publisher has an extensive tour set up with a slew of book bloggers and reviewers.  They’ve also sent my book out to all the well-known, major book reviewers.  I’ve also had a great response from the successfully published authors I’ve requested blurbs from.  Amazon will prove to be a great resource, as is Goodreads, both of which publish ratings and reviews for The Mistaken.  I’ve been fortunate enough to have great preliminary feedback well before my launch date.  

5. Is there any writing or publishing advice you'd like to share with us?

Oh, I have tons, but I’d say the most important things to remember are to always be true to yourself and write what you love most; finish your first draft before trying to revise it; find and utilize as many critique partners—not beta readers—as you can, especially the really tough ones; query widely; and, as Winston Churchill famously said, “Never quit!”

Thanks again, Julie!   

Thank you Nancy for stopping by and sharing your experience with us :)

Visit Nancy’s blog, follow, and leave a comment during her book tour for a chance to win an ARC of The Mistaken.  Plus, 5 runner-up winners will each receive an ebook.  

You can also find her on her publisher’s website, Goodreads, Twitter, and Facebook.  

Purchase here:

Amazon

Kindle

Barnes and Noble

Nook

Also available at Sony, Kobo, iBooks, Diesel Bookstore, and Baker & Taylor in 2-3 weeks

Praise for The Mistaken:

“A deliciously slow burn that builds to a ferocious crescendo, Nancy S. Thompson's THE MISTAKEN kept me riveted until the very last page. Tyler Karras is a complex and flawed protagonist, and his redemptive journey makes him the perfect anti-hero. This psychological suspense is a standout, and I can't wait for Thompson's next book.”

~ Jennifer Hillier, author of CREEP and FREAK

“Nancy S. Thompson's debut novel, The Mistaken, is a first-rate thriller full of hair-raising twists and turns.  Pursued by the police and the Russian mafia in San Francisco, brothers Tyler and Nick Karras are fascinating, fully-drawn, desperate characters.  The action is non-stop.  Thompson's taut, intriguing tale of revenge, mistaken identity, kidnapping and murder will keep you enthralled and entertained.” 

~Kevin O’Brien, New York Times Bestselling Author of DISTURBED and TERRIFIED

“Fast-paced and emotionally gripping - once the ride begins, you won't stop reading until it ends."  ~Alex J. Cavanaugh, author of CASSAFIRE and CASSASTAR

The Mistaken Blog tour:

10/18:  Mark Koopmans & Nancy S. Thompson

10/19:  Alex J. Cavanaugh & Arlee Bird

10/22:  Carrie Butler & Jeff O’Handley

10/23:  Julie Musil

10/24:  Donna Weaver, Melissa Maygrove & Hope Roberson

10/25:  Matthew MacNish

10/26:  LG Smith

10/27:  Aimee Jodoin

10/29:  Heather M. Gardner

10/30:  Lisa Regan & Falling For Fiction

10/31:  Jennifer Hillier

11/1:    Angela Peart & Livia Peterson

11/19:  Arlee Bird

The Benefits of Clunkers

My hubby and I both come from large families, five kids each, and when it was our turn to drive, we drove the cars that had been handed down from older brothers and sisters. I was grateful for the car because it allowed me to putt around town on my own, and gave me some independence at 16.

My car wasn't bad at all. It was a cute little VW Bug my older sister had bought and my parents then bought from her. But it wasn't my dream car, and it wasn't mine.

My now hubby, but boyfriend at the time? His cars deserved their own special names. An old Cougar was called the "Bondo Mobile," because there were bondo patches all over the body. We named an old El Camino the "Leak Mobile," because water dripped through when it rained. And another car of undetermined make was affectionately named the "Kitty Litter Mobile" because it smelled like kitty litter. Let's just say I didn't fall in love with my hubby because of his slick cars. 

At the time I would've loved a brand new fancy car. What teen wouldn't? But I'm so glad my parents weren't in a position to give that to me. If we're given something without working hard for it, or given something brand new without realizing how lucky we are, then we miss an opportunity for ambition and gratitude.

Buying my own car was the very first thing I worked toward once I had a job. I scrimped and saved, and felt such pride when I plunked down my own hard-earned money and drove that new car off the lot. Nothing like it. And I babied that car, washing it once a week and putting the car cover on it each night. 

I compare clunker cars to the early stages of our writing journeys. Our firsts attempts at writing may deserve their own quirky names, and probably didn't garner much success. In my opinion, that's a good thing. Those clunkers made us ambitious, and hungry to learn more and become better at our craft. And with each new manuscript we write, we're better than before. And for that we can be grateful.

If awesome writers were awesome from the start, then what would they learn? When they reached success, would they value it as much? Would they be as thankful? Probably not. From what I've seen, awesome writers are so grateful they've reached their goals, knowing it took a lot of hard work to get there. 

When I look back on my early work, I cringe. Oh, the things I didn't know. And then I think about what I still don't know, and how I'm going to move to the next step. But instead of being frustrated by those early attempts, we can be thankful our successes are built on a mound of clunkers. Those clunkers can give us an attitude of gratitude as we move from one achievement to the next.

Do you cringe when you look back on your early work? Are you thankful for those clunkers, knowing they brought you to where you are today? And what was the first car you drove? Any funny breakdown stories you'd like to share?

photo credit

Writing lessons learned from UNENDING DEVOTION

"Unending Devotion" by Jody Hedlund was a compelling book, and I blew through it in no time. It was a deliciously romantic and inspirational story. For a brief book blurb and more about Jody, click here.

Of course there's always plenty to learn from reading great books, and here are the lessons I learned from "Unending Devotion:"

• Open with character-revealing action: Lily, the main character, is devoted to rescuing young girls from a life of prostitution. But we aren't told this. We're shown through the opening scene, where Lily orchestrates an escape.
• Unanswered questions, stat: On page two we already have unanswered questions. Why is Lily's sister suffering? And where is she? Why are the sisters separated?
• Introduce the love interest early: We meet Connell McCormick on page 15. Sparks fly right away, and we know we're in for a great love story.
• Give the MC more than one enemy: Lily not only fights an evil bully in a small town, she also fights the woman who runs the brothel. Lily makes enemies of both characters, and they later work together to hurt her.
• Explain why the MC can't run to the police to solve her story problem: Lily soon learns that the logging town of Harrison is lawless because the villain has paid off the sheriff. This explains why she doesn't arrive on the sheriff's doorstep and ask for help.
• In a romance, tether the couple together to create a bond: Lily and Connell are caught in a snowstorm, and forced to survive the elements together. A great opportunity to fall in love, yes? Or kill each other, depending on the story :)
• Think of the worst thing that can happen to the MC, then make it happen: Connell loves Lily, and the town bully knows this. When he wants to exact revenge on Connell, he knows capturing Lily gets to the heart of the matter.
• Give the MC a physical and moral battle: Lily's main objective, or her surface story problem, is to find her sister. But there's also a larger moral objective--to rescue young girls from lives of prostitution, and erase evil from a lawless town. These multiple goals kept the pacing tight.
• Use a symbol to reflect a character's journey: In this case, a quilt. Lily reflects on all the mis-shaped pieces, and the seemingly ugly patterns. But those pieces, just like the imperfect pieces of our lives, come together to make something beautiful.

Have you read "Unending Devotion" yet? Is there another book you've read lately that taught you important writing lessons? Please share!