WriteOnCon hiatus

No, I'm definitely not taking a hiatus from WriteOnCon, but from blogging. Sorry it's been so long. I have at least one thought provoking post planned, but this week is entirely devoted to the amazing people putting on WriteOnCon.

If you haven't checked out their site, go do it now! And to wet your pallet, here is a link to my most favorite post yet:

Literary Agent Weronika Janczuk talks about 'Compactness' in writing. This is a timely post for me since I have been about to begin edits/revisions for my current WIP, I AM THE SECRET. What I love about this post are all the wonderful examples (some by award winning authors) she gives that really captures how to make compact sentences, gain great focus in each scene, and not waste any time or space doing so.

After reading this post and 'listening in' on live agent and editor talks, I went right over to Amazon and ordered two books. One of which is on Weronika's list of good examples of writing and also talked about by several agents and one incredibly awesome editor. Won't drop names (too tired presently), but head over there. There is one day left, but all of the talks will remain on site for further future use.

And for fun... Here is a great video to get you pumped, or just entertained...or maybe confused. But I like it =).






Here is another video that is a great illustration on how to build suspense, or tension in a scene. Or maybe it's just creepy...you be the judge...





And just because this is my favorite, a classic, and more than relevant...







The End. Or not.

Revision TIP #2394873985720371-84-192481-29

Now THAT is a very melodramatic post title. Am I right? Okay, so I can't remember how many times I've posted on revision, but I'm thinking you can never have enough little (or big blunt) helpers in that arena. At some point we all have to do it.

REVISE REVISE REVISE they say. And 'they' are right. Those queen (or KING) bees sitting up in the cosmos with their irretrievable pointer fingers, pointing straight at me (or you...when they are finished with me...which basically never happens), telling us'all to keep revisin'. 'Cause your book will suck--really it will--until you are done with this part of the pig-killin' process. (or chickens, if you don't like pig. Or vegis if you don't eat meat... but why wouldn't you?).

What I want to talk about today is: EMOTION.

It's my thought that a book isn't complete unless there is some thought provoking or emotion stirring experience in each and every scene. In my revision notes I tell myself to go back specifically looking for these in every chapter. Be it ultra-rainbow brite happiness,

link

devil-may-care giving up attitudes,

scared pant-less, shocked spineless (does that even make sense? *hits self over the head with fists*),

or in the depths of your soul-searching liners that get you to deeply think.

Yes, this is really thought provoking =)

 
OH yeah, and general weepiness (why does my computer say that isn't a word?! It is now, bwahahaa).

Don't ask me why the pics today are generally colorless. That's not right. All emotions should be color-coded in my opinion.

Now there is this deep dark secret that helps writers capture the essence of emotion on paper, er computer screens. I'm going to give you that secret right now. Be patient. I'm thinking. Oh yeah...
It's called....





DRUM ROLL....


LIFE EXPERIENCE.

Yeah, that's not hard is it? We've all felt a galaxy of sparkling, nice smelling emotions, or if we haven't we have been inspired by others who have captured these emotions. I can't tell you what each emotion should feel like. That is something you have to come up with yourself. (And shouldn't every book be unique to us?) But we can all think up times when we've felt certain ways. Even if those feelings weren't justified (I felt a lot of silly things as a teen and admit now that I wasn't justified in over half of them). And the best way to give your story a high mark on the readability scale is to meld these emotions into your book.

Think of your surroundings at the time of heightened emotion. Did the place you were in affect your feelings? Was it something someone said? The person, or type of people you were with? The tension that had built to that perfect/ultimate moment? Maybe it was a combination of all these things plus a tall cup of hot chocolate with the perfect amount of mountainous whipped cream and candy cane to stir it all together with sprinkles on top.  (Everyone is obsessed with sprinkles on the internet these days, so I couldn't very well be biased).

Ya think?

I think: therefore I can add emotion to my story.

Sometimes this requires you to dig deep, rifle through your high school journal or diaries (depending on if you are male or female and whether or not you relied on a diary as a best friend of sorts since you were most likely a loser like me if you did... jk), study books/movies/tv(blech) specifically for these emotional traits. Watch to see how or why they work, or why they struck a spot on your rosy pink heart shell. Then see how you can effectively add elements of this to your own WIP.

Go to it. (yeah, that's my catch phrase now).

Any other emotions I'm missing out here? (make sure to list their color-code in the comments). How do you achieve heightened emotion in your WIP? Do you have techniques? Or do you even think about it?

*added later:

Disclaimer: You cannot have the same emotion back to back in your story. In fact I think it's a great practice to change emotions mid-scene (seeing as how each chapter should be it's own story complete with climax). So, count that: TWO emotions per scene. Probably not more, unless you count confusion. But be careful with confusion. If your character is confused, your reader will be likewise. (something I'm currently working on fixing in my WIP). 

No one actually wants to be happy constantly. It's true. Without other emotions to switch things up for us, we get bored. And we can't have bored people out there. It tends to sway them to laziness or idolatry. Which is a sin. If you are Christian. If you are not, then by all means, be bored =). But I caution, this isn't a fun state to be in. I'd rather be in the state of Utah...or Nebraska for instance. ('cause there're really cool people in NE).

Revising check-list

I think writing is a science. Put the correct elements into a story, and you have something that people want to read.

Well, This week as I have been writing I've thought of several things I need to jot down on paper before I forget when it comes to what I'm working on at the moment, and thought I might as well make a post out of it in case it helps anyone else. I think I've made a pretty good list in an earlier post, but I've learned a little something since then. So, here's what I've got so far:

• Keep the reader up-to-date on what is at stake in the story. (It's always important to remember what may go wrong as you read a novel. When I read THE HUNGER GAMES, Suzanne Colins was a great example of this, letting us each step of the way what could go wrong. This always kept the tension fresh in my mind.)
• Make sure to build character profile and show character growth as story developes. (Something I am trying to remember this time around is making sure to develop my character over time. Just like keeping the reader involved in the stakes, it's important to let the reader into my MC's head and let them know what kind of person they are and how they've changed over the course of the storyline. For example, my wonderful beta pointed out that I tell the reader how much my MC loves to paint, but I don't bring that into any of her insites later on. I guess I expected the reader to remember, but it's nice sometimes to hold your reader by the hand and take them through some of these thoughts, to keep the MC real, and remind them what the MC thinks of things through their own special 'rose-colored-glasses' .)
• Tie up any lose ends/make sure all questions are answered. (This should be obvious, but sometimes we miss things that we think we've looked at really well. This is why everyone should have at least three people look at their story. Everyone will see something different and pick up on things that you have overlooked. Betas are invaluable here.)
• Work on Syntax/Tighten up prose. (This again is obvious and something I didn't put on my own list because it is always on my mind. But it's nice to put in as a reminder. I like to think that anything I write (not matter how brilliant I think it is at the time) can always be improved. This was hard for me in the beginning of revising my very first book. I had a hard time letting go of certain phrases. But thankfully I am past that. Mary Kole had a great article yesterday on this.)   
• Make sure each chapter has its own plot. (This time around, this book, I am really paying closer attention to this one. That is why I outlined. So far it is working almost perfectly for me, though I just hit a chapter that isn't as cut and dry, I still think it will work well. I heard somewhere (wish I had a link) where they said every chapter should be it's own story. We know that there should be a beginning, middle, and end, just like the entire book, butg I guess I never thought of a chapter as its own story. That's a good thing to keep in mind. Especially since each should be gripping, have specific business, and propell the story forward.)

Now, I know there are a million things you need to think about while revising, ticks, adverb use, making sure you build to the climax and keep the reader excited, but these are the things I've been thinking about lately (plus some). Now I'm not going to ask for your list of edits you normally go through, since I did it in another post, but I want to know from you, as a reader, what do you see as a common mistake in published work that you wish the author had noticed beforehand? For me, this is something to watch out for. Since we all know we want our work to be the absolute best it can be. I don't simply want to reach to that stage where my book will be acceptable to an agent, I want to shoot past that. (when in reality if I do that maybe I will hit the ready-for-agent stage at most).

What are your thoughts dear readers?

This month Neal Shusterman is my literary hero...

Okay, so I'm breaking my hiatus of all things bloging to write this post on a book I read and something I learned from it.

Something that I have noticed when my beta readers come back to me is that the beginning of my book was just plain slow. I felt like I had all the neccessary plot developments, I even worked on those, yet still something lacked. Luster? Life? Loveability?

There were elements every reader was sure to like, so I added those like spices.

Then....

I decided to read again, get some inspiration, study the pros.

One book I picked out for myself (to help me with my male protag's voice) was a book with a YA male MC written by a male (to totally emerse myself in testosterone...or maleness, or whatever). First off...Neal Shusteman rocks!! He is brilliant! If you haven't read one of his books, READ ONE. He is amazing. He takes a super creative out-of-the-box story premise and adds, not just a pinch, but a barrel-full of creative word play, humor, anicdotal whatknots. It's great!

As soon as I was finished with Neal's masterpeice, BRUISER, I went right back to my MS and re-wrote the first chapter. Let me just say I am well pleased with myself. I contacted my inner boy voice and got to work created boy-isms galore. I couldn't help but giggle my girlish giggle at the wonderful silliness of it all.

After this revision I had my brother (also a writer) take a look at it. It FINALLY GRABBED HIM! Yeah! (hopefully he wasn't just being nice...but that's what beta readers are for, right?)

So, here are my TIPS for spicing things up in your writing:  (AKA, what I learned)

• If your writing is lackluster (and you are even bored when you read it), try taking one sentence or a whole paragraph and make it a mountain of wit. (or just more interesting =)...

  EX.

 #1 - The food in the cafeteria was seriously greesy. Christian chose a hamburger, it being the safest choice by far.


  #2 - Christian chose a delightful looking concoction known as ‘Cheeseburger and Fries’, though it looked more like a swamp land of hydrogenated vegetable oil with bits of grain and potato doing the backstroke in its glossy surface. 

Better 1 or better 2? You tell me?

Here's another...

  #1 -  His dad, who began studying paperwork the moment he sat down, wouldn’t even glance Christian’s way until the flight was over.

 #2 - Major Lewis looked like a modern-day Napoleon pouring over maps and plotting battle strategies, only there were no maps, just paperwork; and, as far as Christian knew the only battles his dad was plotting were with his son, not the world.

Here is an example of Herr Shusterman's writing. #1 is what I would have written, (borrrrrriiiing) #2 is what he wrote... (BRILLIANT!!!)


  #1 - Bronte said, "Excuse me, but I can take care of myself." To which I merely responded, "I think not."

  #2 - (and I quote) 'My sister, Bronte, gives me a look that says Excuse me, but I can take care of myself, and she says, "Excuse me, but I can take care of myself." She learned that look from our mother, God rest her soul. I give Bronte back a look that says I think not, and say, "You gonna eat that piece of pizza?"

Yeah, I love that book. I may have to leave my husband for that book. Okay, maybe not, but it's totally superb.

I am also working on making my scary (or even just barely iffy) scenes more tense. I added elements, physical feelings, sounds, built the emotional plank, so to speak. RAISE THOSE STAKES!!!


Hope this helps all of you out in Wunderland. (Yes I meant to spell it that way). Maybe you are now inspired and will write a million times better than me. Well, maybe not, I know I am preeeettty amazing! =)

How do I love thee...Nathan Bransford???

Okay.

Prepare yourself.

I am totally in love--in-a-very-non-commital-non-threatening-notreallythatsortoflove-type of way--with Nathan Bransford. You know who he is. That wonderful literary agent over at Curtis Brown. The one who has us hanging on his every word, whose blog is tatooed with many a shiny award sticker saying how great he is.

ANYWAY...he had a totally awesome (NO, another one) post today. All about the errors we (I) make while writing. It was so in depth. So perfect. Shiny (yes I used that word before). I can only write like him when I am hopped up on goofballs...figuratively speaking of course. (No, I haven't edited this post).


To give you a clue I will quote said post:


"Description Overload: Upon this page there is a period. It is not just any period, it is a period following a sentence. It follows this sentence in a way befitting a period of its kind, possessing a roundness that is pleasing to the eye and hearty to the soul. This period has the bearing of a regal tennis ball combined with the utility of a used spoon. It is an unpretentious period, just like any other, the result of hundreds of years of typesetting innovations that allows it to be used, almost forgotten, like oxygen to the sentence only darker, more visible. And it is after this period, which will neither reappear nor matter in any sense whatsoever to the rest of the novel, that our story begins."

Yes folks, pure poetry. This was my favorite one, BTW.


Click on Nathan's name above for a link to the whole post. There is many a nugget in them thar hills.


It's totally awesome

and so are you!

The name of the game: EDITS

I decided today I would post a list of revisions I wanted to do on my book, or check to see if they were needed as I read through my MS. I hope you find these helpful. They are things that every writer should check for in their MS.

EDIT LIST:


· Vary sentance length (use small, or super long sentences for impact, and longer ones for quieting the scene)

· Create hooks within opening and closing paragraphs to each chapter.

· Seperate sentences to create a question (in first sentence) and answer (in second sentence)

· ADD CRISES. Adding conflicts, when realistic, or more twists is always good. Check to see if you can fit in more.

· Make sure every scene has movement. Each scene should tell its own story and leave you wanting more.

· Catch your Clichés. Use a reversal so that your story (cliche) becomes unpretictable.

· Add more subtext (create tention or feeling with body language, not just dialogue).

· See if there are places where you can create more tention by not giving answers right away.

· Break up your work by putting in appropriate flash backs. Or flash forward to the next scene of action if your current scene is dragging or isn't important to the story.

· Don't add prose just to add prose, use it when needed to enhance the story. (make utilitarian)

· take out repeated scenes, places you use, or language (ticks)

· Balance your MC's inner and outer conflict. Too much thinking drags the story down, while none at all makes it hard to connect to them.

· Study each character's diction. What words would they use as apposed to another character. Change each person's dialogue to match their personality. (also remember clichés are ok in dialogue)

· take out words and phrases that have no meaning.

· Use strong verbs and better nouns (ex: instead of car = red minivan, tree = oak, flower = violets)



Some of these things may be obvious, but I think most are good reminders. It can definitely be added to. If you have more suggestions please post them in the comments.

Again, these are ideas I got from the revising books I have read. Check out my list below, they are great resources, and have helped me a ton in my MS.

First Chapter Blues or Manuscript Mayhem?

If the plot is the skeleton or framework of the story, the story the meat or mortar, then the first chapter must be the foundation … right? (well, and other things)

Taking a look at my lovely MS I found a FEW cracks in the mortar, a few places to be smoothed, maybe an appendage or two that needed trimming…and then…I look down. My first chapter. Is. In. Ruin. It’s crumbled. It’s distorted. It’s a blundering mess. What happens then? If the first chapter, THE BASE, of your novel is crumbling, is the rest salvageable? Can I grease up the mortar, water it down, shove the pieces together, hold it in place until it has hardened into the beautiful shape I am hoping it will take?


This is my dilemma. But I’m working on it. Silly that such a ‘little’ thing as a foundation should cause so much upheaval in my brain today that I just couldn’t let it alone…I had to blog about it. Hahaha. Yes, craziness is a part of genius. (or is it?)


Please tell me your horror stories of writing. I would love to hear them!

Yes, this about sums it up. The caption here would read : NO, Please! Not another revision!!

First Page Dos and Don'ts

I had a humbling experience today. For months (okay, maybe years), I have struggled getting my first page/chapter down to a perfect form. This has been frustrating. I write an inspiring opening scene, add beautiful prose and voila!

A MESS!


Why is it a mess? Because the scene I just wrote belongs in the middle of the book, or no where at all.


Did I give up? No, of course not. I kept revising, editing, taking out, putting something new in. Then...my cousin Andrea Pearson, author of The Key of Kilenya sent me a 'Tweat' of a very helpful website. Granted, I have found several (see side panel), but this one came at just the exact moment I needed it. The website, How to Get Published, had a post today called : How to Grab Them on Page One. I read it, took notes and then skipped back to another even more helpful post called: Garlic Breath, or What Not to Do on Your Opening Page


Very insiteful. Very helpful, and yet everything I should have known before.


Note: I was breaking all but ONE of the rules! 


Plan: Completely re-write my first chapter(s)


Now, aren't you glad you can learn from my mistakes? I'm sure I am *giggle* Stay Tuned for--THE AMAZING BLUNDERS OF KATHRYN ROBERTS!

Out of the best books...

Okay, here we go. My first real informative blog post on writing. 

As I have been reading other blogs (mainly agent blogs) I have been thinking about all the resources that have helped me make my book function and progress. Most of what has helped me, especially in revising, has come about in just the last few months. Aside from the agent blogs that I have been following (listed on my sidebar), there have been several books that I have read that have given me that little extra 'oomph' to crisp up my MS and give it a polished glow. =)

So, without further ado, here is the list of books I recommend for anyone wanting to become a better writer:

Revision & Self Editing by James Scott
The Shortest Distance Between You and a Published Book by Susan Page
Jeff Herman's Guide (which comes out annually)
The Successful Novelist by David Morrell
Manuscript Makeover by Elizabeth Lyon

I would also like to add, though I haven't read it yet, Stephen King's On Writing. That is one that I will be purchasing asap. I have heard really great things about it. You can read a sample of it on Amazon.com that gives you a good intro to what he talks about.  One of the things I like about Stephen King (even though I am not a huge horror fan), is that he can make you want to read on. He hooks you right from the very first sentance and keeps you interested until the end.

Now, just a few words about why I chose the above books. These were all suggested to me by various sources. The first ones I read were Susan Page's and Jeff Herman's guide.  Those really helped, but I would suggest reading those AFTER you have a completed MS. Though they do have sections that help with the whole process of writing, they are a better help to preparing for/finding an agent.

The third book that I read was the first one on my list by James Scott.  It is an excellent book, brief and to the point.  It actually didn't help me as much as I thought though because I already got most of the tips from the agents I follow. But still great info.

David Morrell is an excellent source. He has been in the writing 'biz' for literally decades and has all the war wounds to prove it. Interesting read. Incidentally, did you know that he wrote Rambo?

Elizabeth Lyon's book, in my opinion, was the best! If you don't buy any other book, buy Manuscript Makeover. She does tend to go over some things more than once (but hey, maybe she does this on purpose for people like me who need these things hammered into our brains). This book is really in depth and goes over EVERY single little to big thing in the writing process. Writing is a science. Even down to the very line.  Heck, even down to the punctuation.  I learned things from her that I never thought about before, for example: how fragment sentances cause drama (and are valid in writing fiction, even if your computer tells you not to use them),how periods create 'stop signs' in people's minds, how to use a coma, and the list goes on and on. Also, did you know that the 'two space' rule when starting a new sentance is no longer 'the thing' to do? (If I still use two spaces instead of one it is because my English teachers in school really made it hard to break the habbit). And another thing that publishers do is un-indenting the first paragraph of a new chapter. Just some little tidbits for y'all.

Loads of info was learned from these books, to say the least. Anyway, I hope you appreciated that, dear void. Tune in next time...for...well, whatever I decide to write. If I am in a silly mood, maybe I will tell a story. =)