Awards Make Me Happy

Novice Writer Anonymous at Chronicles of a Novice Writer and Quixotic over at Step: 1 Write, Edit, And Revise have passed along this super cute award to me. Thanks you guys! If you're not following the two of them, you're missing out. Go follow, go on. I'll wait. Okay, now about the award:

Here are the rules:
1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.
5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they have been nominated.

Seven things about me:
1. I have career schizophrenia. I have a MSW to be a social worker, a PHR certification to be an HR professional, and am certified to teach K-8th (any subject) and high school english. I've done the first two in actual jobs, I have not taught as of yet.
2. I ♥ college football--go LSU Tigers! (my alma mater)
3. I'm going to turn thirty in a few months and am a little freaked out about it
4. I've ridden on a Mardi Gras float with a bunch of drunk firemen.
5. I'm terrified of all bugs. I once stripped off my shirt in the middle of the street when a friend told me there was a caterpillar on me.
6. Both my dad and stepdad are named Earl
7. I'm allergic to coke (the drink, not the drug--although I haven't tried the drug, I could be allergic to that too, who knows)

And now for those I would like to pass the award to. It's so hard to pick just seven of you guys!

1. Susan at Lazy Writer (I know she already has one of these, but she always has great posts, so she gets doubly awarded)

2. Jenna Alexander at Turn the Page

3. Megan at Megan Rebekah Blogs

4. Jody at On the Path

5. Kate at the lovers, the dreamers and me

6. Lianna at Lianna Brooks

7. Tess at Tess Hilmo

That's it! Have a great weekend everyone.

Testing, one, two, is this thing on?

Blogger is being mean today and not showing new blog posts in the reader. I'm posting this in hopes of it showing up. If you got here, today's actual post is below.

Face Off Friday: Adverbs

The votes are in. You guys have chosen Face Off for the weekly Friday theme. Thanks to those of you who voted!

So, first a quick update, since I have been absent for most of this week. I have spent the last four days in a manic state of revising. The manuscript, thankfully, is now on its way to the agent's hands. She estimates she'll get back to me within eight weeks.

Word of warning to anyone out there: Say (as a completely hypothetical example) you are querying, and you've gotten a few rejections, some with feedback about your manuscript. Based on this you decide, you need to change the story arc, rewrite the ending, and change some of the mythology in your book. But you figure, you haven't heard from the rest of your queries and it's been three months or so since you've sent them, so they must be rejections. In fact, you even blog about the death of your first novel and start working on a second book. Then, out of the blue, another full request comes in and now you have to do a month's worth of work in a week. What an idiot you would be. Don't be me  one of those people.

Okay, moving on.

For Face Off Friday, I will be selecting a topic that people have opposing opinions on. I will give both sides and then ask you, as commenters, to give you own opinion.

First in the ring: ADVERBS

On the Adverbs are Satan's spawn side:

The adverb is one of the most talked about parts of speech amongst writers. Pick up most writing books, and it will tell you that using adverbs should be avoided like the plague. Stephen King goes as far as saying that the road to hell is paved with adverbs.

The argument consist of the following:

-Adverbs are the sign of weak writing, particularly weak verbs. Why speak loudly when you should just yell?

-They tell instead of show.

-It's the lazy way. Ex.) He gazed at her tenderly vs. He gazed at her, brushing a wisp of hair off her face.

-They provide redundant information. Ex.) He yelled loudly. She ran quickly.

-They make the prose sound purple.

On the Adverbs are unfairly maligned side:

This side claims that murdering adverbs is just part of the current trend of our fast-moving, text-messaging, tweeting society. We want writing to be as succinct as possible. We don't have time to read all the flowery prose that the 1940s writers employed.

Their argument:

-Sometimes the adverb might be the absolute right work for the situation. Ex.)What would "through a glass, darkly" be without the adverb?

-Without adverbs and the other redheaded step child (dialogue tags), we're reduced to said, asked, and stated. Snore.

-Sometimes its hard to find a verb that fits what you're trying to say. Ex.) whispered loudly--you could say "said in a loud whisper" but if we're trying to be brief, what's better

-The general reading public are not bothered by them. Some of the bestsellers (most notably Twilight and Harry Potter) are notorious adverb abusers.

Case in point:

Unexpectedly, he was on his feet, bounding away, instantly out of sight, onlyto appear beneath the same tree as before, having circled the meadow in a half second.

“As if you could outrun me,” he laughed bitterly.

He reached up with one hand and, with a deafening crack, effortlessly ripped a two-foot-thick branch from the trunk of the spruce.

… I’d never seen him so completely freed of that carefully cultivated facade. … His lovely eyes seemed to glow with rash excitement. Then, as the seconds passed, they dimmed. His expression slowly folded into a mask of ancient sadness.

“Don’t be afraid,” he murmured, his velvet voice unintentionally seductive.

… He sat sinuously, with deliberately unhurried movements, till our faces were on the same level, just a foot apart.

– Excerpted from Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, pages, 264-265 (source)

I'll admit that I struggle with no adverb rule when I'm writing. A large chunk of my editing goes into finding these and figuring out a better way to say whatever I was trying to say. (Tip: do a Find/Search on "ly" in your document to unearth the little buggers.)

The first run through my novel, I wasn't aware of this rule. Wow. When I started reading on the craft and discovered this, I wanted to bang my head against the computer. Adverb (and dialogue tag) abuse didn't even begin to describe the first version of my novel.

So how about you? Do you struggle with this? Are there ever times where you think the adverb is needed? Are we being too hard on this lonely part of speech?

Something for Everyone: Reviews

It's been a while since my last book review. Why is that? Well, as you can see from my right sidebar, I am currently reading Outlander. This is the first book I've read on my brand spanking new Kindle. So, having no actual book in my hand, I had no idea the sheer size of the book. I'm the kind of girl who can get through a normal sized book in a few days (if not in one day), so when I kept reading and reading and the percentage meter on the Kindle wasn't increasing very much, I looked up the page count. The paperback comes in at 650 pages! Okay, so needless to say it's taking me a while. I hope to be done by the end of this week.

So instead of one detailed review like normal, I decided to select my top non-YA picks from my last few months of reading. If you want to check out my YA picks, I have an earlier post on those.

Romance:

Fantasy Lover (Dark-Hunter, Book 1)

by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Back Cover:

Dear Reader, Being trapped in a bedroom with a woman is a grand thing. Being trapped in hundreds of bedrooms over two thousand years isn't. And being cursed into a book as a love-slave for eternity can ruin even a Spartan warrior's day. As a love-slave, I knew everything about women. How to touch them, how to savor them, and most of all how to pleasure them. But when I was summoned to fulfill Grace Alexander's sexual fantasies, I found the first woman in history who saw me as a man with a tormented past. She, alone, bothered to take me out of the bedroom and into the world. She taught me to love again. But I was not born to know love. I was cursed to walk eternity alone. As a general, I had long ago accepted my sentence. Yet now I have found Grace-the one thing my wounded heart cannot survive without. Sure, love can heal all wounds, but can it break a two thousand year old curse? Julian of Macedon

Review: I know most avid readers will look at this selection and say "well, duh." This book is a classic in paranormal romance and has spawned a long running series by Sherrilyn Kenyon. But as I talked about last week, I didn't read straight romance for a long time, so this was new to me. This book is a great example of why I was such an idiot to avoid romance for so long. The story was funny, touching, and romantic. Add in the paranormal element and greek gods, and I was sold. ★★★★

Freudian Slip

by Erica Orloff

Back Cover:

Everyone loves shock jock Julian Shaw…except the guy who shot him.

The raunchy radio DJ expects the dark tunnel, white lights—even his late grandmother greeting him at the pearly gates. Instead, he gets a coma, a spirit guide named Gus and a pushy demon with a deal. His assignment: Katie Darby.

Katie Darby's best friend just stole her guy! Now she's losing her mind.

All she really wants to do is stay in mope mode, but it feels as if someone is watching her, whispering strange thoughts into her head, making her say and do things she would never normally consider. And it's actually making her life better!

Now Julian wants another chance to prove he's a good guy. But he just might have to sell his soul to the devil to get

Review: This book was so much fun. Think Howard Stern (but good-looking) gets assigned to be a woman's guardian angel. There are angels and demons and Albert Einstein and ABBA music (which scrambles God's listening in ability, ha). Plus, the love story is very touching underneath all the humor. Great beach read. ★★★★

Suspense/Psychological Thriller (with a literary bent):

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Back Cover:

Richard Papen arrived at Hampden College in New England and was quickly seduced by an elite group of five students, all Greek scholars, all worldly, self-assured, and, at first glance, all highly unapproachable. As Richard is drawn into their inner circle, he learns a terrifying secret that binds them to one another...a secret about an incident in the woods in the dead of night where an ancient rite was brought to brutal life...and led to a gruesome death. And that was just the beginning....

Review: This book has been described as a murder mystery in reverse. This novel was a bestseller a few years ago, but I missed it at the time. So on a trip to the used book store one day, I picked it up. I have to say that this book was one of those that I didn't know how to feel about it after I read it. It is not a light read. I was utterly engaged throughout the book (which is quote long) and felt drawn in to the setting and characters. And after it was done, it kept me thinking about it. That is what I'm basing my ratingon. ★★★1/2

Suspense/Mystery:

Killer Takes All by Erica Spindler

Back Cover:

The White Rabbit beckons you to follow him, down the rabbit hole, into his world. He's a deceiver, a trickster. You won't know what is truth and what is a lie. He aims to best you. Beat you. And when he does, you die.

A friend's brutal murder turns former homicide detective Stacy Killian's life upside down. Unwilling to trust Spencer Malone, the overconfident New Orleans detective assigned to the case, Stacy is compelled to return to the investigative role she had fled.

The investigation leads Stacy and Spencer to White Rabbit, a cultish fantasy role-playing game. White Rabbit is dark, violent -- and addictive. As the body count mounts, they find themselves trapped in a terrifying game that's more real than life and death. Because anyone can die before the final moment when White Rabbit is over . . . and the killer takes all.

Review: I discoverd Erica Spindler when I was in college after hearing she was a local author (I was still living in Louisiana at the time). I haven't read a book by her that I haven't enjoyed. Fast-paced suspense stories, sometimes with a dash of romance, that keep you reading into the night. This one was the last I read, but you can't go wrong with any of hers. ★★★★

Horror:

Nazareth Hill by Ramsey Campbell

Back Cover:

A rebellious teenager's tense relationship with her father liberates fearsome monsters of English history. Amy Priestly has always dreaded 'the spider house, ' as she privately calls the abandoned Nazareth Hill monastery. When she and her father, Oswald, move into an apartment in the newly gentrified 'Nazarill, ' her fears are reinforced by the building's gloom--crawly things seem to crouch in its shadowy hallways. Worse, her father is becoming increasingly tyrannical

Review: I found a recommendation for this book somewhere and decided to give it a try. It is no longer in print, but Amazon has used copies. I love a good horror story. I'm not the type of girl who avoids the scary movies, I seek them out. So know that this is the perspective I'm coming from. If you don't like to be scared, then this probably isn't for you.

This story isn't an in your face monsters and murderers kind of thing. The story builds tension slowly, giving an overall sense of dread and creepiness. The house is a character in and of itself. The book is not a happy one and didn't end with sunshine and butterflies, but it stayed with me for a while after I finished it. ★★★1/2

Urban Fantasy/Paranormal Romance:

Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood Boxed Set by Charlaine Harris

Back Cover (Dead Until Dark):

Sookie Stackhouse is just a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. Until the vampire of her dreams walks into her life-and one of her coworkers checks out....

Maybe having a vampire for a boyfriend isn't such a bright idea.

Review: Okay, so everyone and their mama has probably reviewed these, but I had to mention them. These books are great: vampires, were-animals, shapeshifters, fairies, maenads, witches! Plus, super hot romance mixed in with the murder mysteries. I ♥ these books and I ♥ True Blood (the tv version of the books). If you haven't read these, you're missing out. Don't just watch the show.★★★★★

There you go. Hope you check some of these out. Let me know what you think of my picks.

!!!Reminder!!! The poll for selecting Friday's theme is still open (top right side of page). Please vote. There are only 6 votes so far and I know more than 6 people read this blog (hopefully!). Even if you're not one to comment, you can vote (it's anomymous.) If you need to review what the choices are click here. Thanks!

Subjecting Myself to Public Opinion (cringe)

Today's post at Public Query Slushpile is my query letter for my first novel Shadow Falls. I am feeling a little self-conscious about subjecting myself to public opinion, but I figure it can only help me improve.

Come over and give your opinion. I'd love your feedback (good, bad, or ugly).

Also, Blogger was having issues yesterday, so if you haven't voted in my poll from yesterday, please do. It's located in the right sidebar at the top ----->

Tell me what you want to see for Friday's theme.

Thanks and have a great weekend!

(Insert Cool Title) Friday: You Decide!

I love a Friday. And I love a theme. So I was thinking, my Friday blogging needs a theme. Other bloggers have already started some: Follow Friday, Friday Funnies, that type of thing. Those are great and are under consideration, but I thought maybe I would look at a few other possibilities.

Then, I want you, the readers, to decide which you would prefer to see.

Here are the few I've come up with:

1.) Nonfiction Friday--I would depart from fiction and do a review of a non-fiction book. Based on what I read, these would probably most often be writing books, cookbooks, anything I've read for story research, or parenting books.

2.) Fictional Crush Friday--Author Gena Showalter does Beefcake Monday where she provides a hot guy pic. This would be similar, except I would feature a character from a book that I think is crushworthy.

3.) Film Friday--This one's pretty self-explanatory.

4.) Face-off Friday--I'll pick some debatable topic in writing or some cardinal rule, give the opposing opinions, then let commenters chime in. (i.e. Adverbs--Maligned or The Devil's spawn)

5.) Feedback Friday--I would ask readers to submit 250-500 word excerpts (or queries or synopses) for public critiquing and feature one each week. There would of course be rules put in place so that people are constructive and not rude. I think this could be helpful not only for the writer, but for us to practice critiquing others. However, this would require you guys to be open to submitting writing excerpts to me.

Okay, that's all I have for now. Please vote in the poll on the sidebar and let me know what you would like to see. -------------------->

Also, if you have a completely different suggestion, please comment. I'm open to other ideas!

Thanks! I'm excited to hear what everyone thinks.

************************************************************************************

And on a completely different note. I was saddened to hear about the passing of John Hughes. His movies ruled my childhood. In honor of him, I'll leave you with some of my favorite movie quotes of his (care of imdb.com)

Pretty in Pink

Duckie: [as he is leaving Andies' room with a juice box in hand] Drinking and driving don't mix.
Duckie: That's why I ride a bike.

The Breakfast Club

Bender: Remember how you said your parents use you to get back at each other?
Claire Standish: [nods]
Bender: Wouldn't I be OUTSTANDING in that capacity?

Claire Standish: So academic clubs aren't the same as other kinds of clubs.
John Bender: Ah... but to dorks like him, they are. What do you guys do in your club?
Brian Johnson: Well, in physics we... we talk about physics, properties of physics.
John Bender: So it's sorta social, demented and sad, but social. Right?

Weird Science

Wyatt: Hi Chet.
Chet: [Grabs Wyatt] What the hell is going on around here?
Wyatt: It was an accident Chet.
Chet: An accident? An accident? Do you realize it's snowing in my room goddammit!

Garry: Maybe it was a dream, you know, a very weird, bizarre, vivid, erotic, wet, detailed dream. Maybe we have malaria.

Lisa: If you ever get the chance, shower with them. I did. Mmm, it's a mindscrambler.

Wyatt: Garry, don't you feel like a chicken?
Garry: Wyatt, if I could shoot an egg out my ass right now, I would! Look we can deal with shame, death is a much deeper issue.

National Lampoons Vacation

[after driving off the road]
Ellen Griswold: I think I broke my nose.
Rusty Griswold: I stabbed my brain.
Audrey Griswold: I just got my period.

Sixteen Candles (my all-time favorite)

Samantha: Donger's here for five hours, and he's got somebody. I live here my whole life, and I'm like a disease.

The Geek: This information cannot leave this room. Ok? It would devastate my reputation as a dude.

The Geek: Relax, would you? We have seventy dollars and a pair of girls underpants. We're safe as kittens.

[on the phone to the police]
Howard: What was he wearing? Well, uh, let's see, he was wearing a red argyle sweater, and tan trousers, and red shoes... No, he's not retarded.

Have a great Friday! And don't forget to vote. :)

Work In Progress Wednesday #2

It's that time of week again. Like a Weight Watchers weigh in where I admit that I used all my points on brownies that week instead of sticking to the plan, I am holding myself accountable to you guys.

First things first, I got 4000 words completed this week. Not as much as I wanted, but better than last week. I'm am roughly 9k-15k words away from category romance length, so the end is in sight. Unfortunately, these last few chapters have been so much more difficult to write than the first two thirds of the book. I know how I want it to end, but I feel like I'm swimming through peanut butter to get there.

I stare at the blank screen, I start a scene, then question myself, hit delete, start the scene at a different place, stare at the screen some more. Grr. I'm trying to do the "just write, it's a rough draft, and fix later" thing, but my internal editor is being completely obnoxious. And don't even get me started on my muse. I think she's somewhere in the corner painting her toenails and watching reruns of The Hills. Because she's definitely not helping me out any.

Perhaps I should jump to the end, write than part, then come back to the part I'm struggling with. I'm a chronological writer, so that would push me out of my comfort zone, but it might be worth a shot.

How is your WIP going? Is your muse being nice to you? And are you a chronological writer or a jump to the scene that inspires you person?

I ♥ Free: Writing Workshops From the Pros

So if the Romance Writers of America didn't rock enough already, I found out recently that they offer most of the worksheets from their last two years of conferences for download--FREE (in case you didn't catch on to that part from the obnoxious picture above).

The worksheets are chock full of information on such helpful topics as:

All Kinds of Alphas

What differentiates YA from adult fiction

Chemistry

Creating 3-D characters

Mastering POV and tense

Research and Development for the Paranormal World

The 15-minute synopsis

The Critique Relationship

Writing Dark Love Stories

The list continues on. Then, as if those weren't enough, they have the 2008 worksheets available as well. The topics, although related to romance, would be helpful for any writer, especially if you have any romantic elements in your story.

Check them out here:

RWA Conference Handouts and Recordings

If you have money to burn (shyeah, like any of us do), they also offer the audio recordings of all the workshops for $129--technically a deal considering how much it would have cost to actually attend the conference.

Let me know what you think of the offerings. Enjoy!

The Opening Scene: A Litmus Test

 

Friday I blogged about opening lines and pages and their importance. (Thanks for those who gave feedback on my lines, btw!) Based on the comments I received, I am clearly not the only one who freaks out over openings. This, of course, sent me to my piles of writing books to see what the pros had to say about the opening scene.

One of my favorite writing books Make a Scene: Crafting a Powerful Story One Scene at a Time by Jordan Rosenfeld (If you don't have it, get it. The book breaks down the elements of a scene and also goes over types of scenes--dramatic/contemplative/action/flashback etc.) Anyway, the book also has a great litmus test for what needs to be present in an opening scene.

Below are the basic components. I'll put my completed novel to the test as an example and see how it goes.

1. A challenge to your protagonist's status quo.

Ex.) My MC (Willow) finds out that she's received a scholarship to a stuck-up private school out of state. She doesn't want to go. She's found her safe niche at her current school and doesn't want to mess things up.

Thoughts: I think this works. A new school and state would threaten any teen's status quo.

2. An antagonist for your character to encounter. (Doesn't have to be THE antagonist.)

Ex.) Willow's mother wants her to take the scholarship and argues with her.

Thoughts: Perhaps my antagonist and conflict could be stronger. She loves her mother, so although they argue, Willow holds back a lot.

3. Introduce your protagonist's immediate intentions.

ex.) Willow likes to blend in, to play things low key. She has to figure out a way to talk her mom out of moving her to a new school.

Thoughts: I think her intentions are pretty obvious, so this probably works.

4. A glimpse into your MC's history/personality/motivation.

ex.) Willow responses to her mother show her to be sarcastic, smart, and self-deprecating. But also loving and concerned about making her mother happy. In many ways, we see that she has taken on an adult role to offset her mother's flightiness.

Thoughts: I could probably add more heft in my opening for this component to clarify my MC's motivation

5. The protagonist makes a decision that leads immediately to more complications.

ex.) Willow decides to accept the scholarship, which of course leads to the whole rest of the story.

Thoughts: This decision changes everything in her life, so I think this works.

Okay, so putting my scene to these standards definitely shows me some holes I could work on.

What do you think? Are these components a good summary of what you like to read/write in an opening scene? Think back to your favorite books, do they follow these guidelines? Can you think of any other "must haves" in an opening?

Work In Progress Wednesday #1

So I've noticed that a number of my bloggy friends participate in WIP Wednesday, where they report on their writing status. I enjoy reading others updates, so I thought I may give it a shot as well. This week has not been productive in word count. I've managed to get 2000 words done, which is less than I had hoped. However, I had been stuck at one point in the book for a while, and was not sure how I wanted to proceed for the final five chapters. (This is the plight of my pantser plan instead of the well organized plotter way. I know where my characters need to get to, but not sure how I want them to get there.) But luckily, yesterday, I had a breakthrough and finally know what I want to do with them. Woo-hoo! So, I'm going to count this week as a success.

Here is an excerpt from my very rough draft:

(redacted)--oops you missed it! Only posted temporarily.

That's it for now. How's your WIP going?

The Paramour in the Pages

I found myself in a conversation this weekend with my sister and her boyfriend about "crushes", i.e. who do each of us have crushes on in the movies/music/tv/etc. Don't ask how this silly topic came up, I don't remember. (Wine may have been involved.) But, I will say a light, fun chat turned tense quickly when names started to be named. My sister (who is in a new relationship) became highly annoyed when her boyfriend offered his own crush picks.

My husband and I have been together for ten years now, and we're not bothered by this kind of talk. He got used to me mentioning who I thought was hot a long time ago, lol. He knows that these are simple, fictional crushes. I mean, half the time my crushes are on characters in books, who don't even exist in real life. He's secure in the fact that I love him and want to spend forever with no one else but him. I also don't flinch if he volleys the conversation back by mentioning who he thinks is attractive.

However, I'm starting to realize that this may not be the norm. It reminded me of what I've heard at conferences and online from other writers. I've heard so many writers (especially romance writers) say that they don't let their spouses read their work. When asked why, they usually say that it would be weird or that the the spouse isn't interested in reading it. At first, this shocked me. It had never occurred to me not to let my husband read what I was writing. But now, I'm starting to think that this is a popular sentiment. And thinking through my sister's reaction to the conversation this weekend, I'm beginning to understand where people are coming from.

When your partner reads your story, he can't help hearing your voice in that of the main character. Therefore, if your MC is jonesing for some character that looks/acts/talks nothing like your spouse, then he could start to wonder if that's what you secretly want in real life. Then, if it's a romance and there are loves scenes, well, maybe it's like reading about your partner with someone else. I don't know. I'm theorizing.

Regardless, I've let my husband read my work (including romance with steamy scenes.) He seems to have handled it well, although he did give me a few raised eyebrows. But now, I'm wondering if I'm torturing him in some way. Note to self: ask him : )

So what's your opinion? Do you let your spouse read your writing or do you keep it to yourself? If so, what are your reasons?

Who me? Thanks!

I had family in town all weekend and was behind on my blog reading. So this morning, when I went about catching up, I was so excited and surprised to see that both Novice Writer Anonymous and Quixotic of Step 1: Write, Edit, and Revise passed along the Superior Scribbler Award to me after they (deservedly so) received it themselves. Thanks ladies!

The rules for this award are as follows:

1. Each Superior Scribbler must in turn pass The Award on to 5 most-deserving Bloggy Friends.

2. Each Superior Scribbler must link to the author & the name of the blog from whom he/she has received The Award.

3. Each Superior Scribbler must display The Award on his/her blog, and link to This Post, which explains The Award.

4. Each Blogger who wins The Superior Scribbler Award must visitThis Post and add his/her name to the Mr. Linky List. That way, we’ll be able to keep up-to-date on everyone who receives This Prestigious Honor!

5. Each Superior Scribbler must post these rules on his/her blog.

So here is who I would like to pass the award to:

Warrior Writer because the info is always helpful

Laura Best because it's nice to hear a perspective from an author going through publishing for the first time

Fumbling with Fiction because her story reminds me that landing an agent doesn't mean the struggle is over

As the Plot Thickens because I love hearing a teen writer's point of view

Booknapped just because I like her posts

Book Covers and Race

Okay, so this just totally shocked me. Author Justine Larbalestier blogged about book covers and protagonists of color. Apparently, her book Liar has a black protagonist, but the publisher insisted on this cover (supposedly for marketing purposes) in the U.S., which clearly features a white girl. (The cover behind it is the Australian version.)

Seriously? I really have my mouth hanging open. What were they thinking? First of all, let me just say that I'm not a fan of faces on covers anyway. I hate when the cover tries to force me into an image of what the character looks like. I'd rather create my own image in my head. However, I'd be super pissed if I picked up a book and the cover image was completely unrelated to the book. It's a betrayal to the author, to the character, and to the reader. Plus, there are so few YA books with protagonists of color to begin with, shouldn't they promoting that this is one? Craziness.

The Mortal Instruments Series: Review

Titles: City of Bones (Mortal Instruments) , City of Ashes, City of Glass

Author: Cassandra Clare

Genre: YA Urban Fantasy

Rating: ★★★★★

Back Cover: Their hidden world is about to be revealed....

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder -- much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Clary knows she should call the police, but it's hard to explain a murder when the body disappears into thin air and the murderers are invisible to everyone but Clary.

Equally startled by her ability to see them, the murderers explain themselves as Shadowhunters: a secret tribe of warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. Within twenty-four hours, Clary's mother disappears and Clary herself is almost killed by a grotesque demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know....

Things that made me happy:

-Jace (the male protagonist/romantic interest) made the series worth reading for me. He was super sarcastic, overconfident, passionate, and tortured. A great combination of the "I've always been pretty" and the "wounded soul" bad boy that I spoke about in a previous post. I would take Jace over Edward Cullen of Twilight any day.

--Romantic tension was kept taut throughout the book. When a book has me on edge just anticipating a simple kiss, that's awesome.

--Great secondary characters, especially Simon and Magnus Bane

--Funny dialogue with laugh out loud moments

--creative world building

--the middle book didn't sag like some other trilogies I've read.

Things that I didn't love:

--There were many similarities to Harry Potter that were hard to overlook

--There was A LOT of description, some great at giving a sense of place, some completely unnecessary and tedious. There also were a number of backstories that were not needed. (This may be because the author is writing a prequel trilogy and needed to plant seeds for that.) I found myself skimming a lot of paragraphs to get to the action.

Favorite Quotes:

"Jace reminds me of an old boyfriend. Some guys look at you like they want sex. Jace looks at you like you've already had sex, it was great, and now you're just friends--even though you want more. Drives girls crazy." --Maia, City of Ashes

"You had to make a crazy jail friend, didn't you? You couldn't just count ceiling tiles or tame a pet mouse like normal prisoners do?" --Jace, City of Glass

Overall:

Despite some flaws, I based my rating on my all-consuming need to finish the books as soon as possible and my love for the Jace character. I am a mom with a child who isn't a great sleeper. Therefore, sleep is a precious commodity in my household. I stayed up last night until 2am because I couldn't put City of Glass down. That should tell you all you need to know.

The Top Ten Things You Need to Know About Fiction Groupie

Novice Writer tagged her followers yesterday (after being tagged herself) to blog about the top ten things. So, since this will save me the trouble of having to create a whole new idea (and give me more time to work on WIP) for a blog post, here goes:

10. My taste in music is a bit schizophrenic. For example, concerts I've been to in past few years: Fall Out Boy, Motley Crue, Chicago, Foo Fighters, Britney Spears, Marilyn Manson, NKOTB, Weezer, Nine Inch Nails, All-American Rejects, Bowling for Soup, The Offspring, Def Lepard, No Doubt, Cinderella, Journey, AC/DC. I'm usually one of the youngest people at the concerts (Chicago) or one of the oldest (Fall Out Boy.) This makes me wonder what people my age are listening to. Maybe I'll see more of my peers at the upcoming Kelly Clarkson and Pink concerts.

9. I can spin a basketball on my finger and recite the names of all the books in the New Testament. Skills leftover from basketball camp and bible school when I was a kid.

8. I know it's the unpopular thing amongst writers because of all the writing/story flaws, but I ♥ Twilight. There I said it. :)

7. I met my husband on AOL ten years ago (before internet dating was the thing to do) when he was looking for someone to chat with about LSU. A few months after we met, he picked up his life, moved to Louisiana, and we've been together ever since. Who knew I'd get to experience a romance novel premise in my own life?

6. I can recite all the words in Dirty Dancing, about 90% of Sixteen Candles, and most of the series Dawson's Creek and Friends. I'm nothing, if not cheesy.

5. I love to cook and rarely cook the same thing twice. I could start a whole new site called Cookbook Groupie (but will refrain from doing so).

4. In my past life as an adoption social worker, part of my job was transporting two day old infants in planes, trains, and automobiles alone (okay, so there were no trains unless you count the monorail at the airport) to get the babies to their new parents. Scary stuff when, at the time, I had no experience with babies.

3. I prefer beer (the darker the better) to wine.

2. I'm a perfectionist, but a terrible housekeeper.

1. I wear my heart on my sleeve, but have a great poker face from my days of being a therapist. I only fall apart in front of a very select few.

Questions: Do we have anything in common? Does anything surprise you?Would you like to play along on your blog? If so, consider yourself tagged!

For Love of the Bad Boy

I just recently finished reading Motley Crue: The Dirt - Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band . Even though I usually stick to fiction, I picked up the book for a few reasons. One, I'm a big fan of the band. Two, my current WIP's male protagonist is a lead singer in a rock band, so this was helpful research. I'm not going to go into a detailed review. But I'll say that I really enjoyed the book. It was an unapologetic look into the proverbial world of "sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll." So, if you like rock music, don't mind an r-rated (nc-17?) book, and can handle the overuse of the word "dude" in the Tommy Lee chapters, then I would say go for it.

But in addition to being a fun read, this book also got me to thinking about bad boys. They show up all the time in fiction, especially in romance and YA. It's one of our favorite alpha male types both in books (and for some of us, real life). After reading this true life account of four seriously bad boys, I started to wonder why we're so drawn to them and why certain bad boys are appealing and others appalling.

The Motley members were drug addicts, womanizers, and, at times, criminals. Yet women flocked to them even before they were famous or rich. Therefore, something about them was inherently appealing.

Then there are guys like Wes on the current season of The Bachelorette. He's considered the bad boy of the show. And based on last night's reunion show, he was wildly unpopular with the female viewing audience (including me.)

So what's the difference? Where is the line between uber hot and uber jerk? What traits make a bad boy sexy instead of scary? When writing, how do we create that delicious bad boy that will make our reader not just swoon but fall in love in with the character?

I think the key probably lies in the character's motivation. Your bad boy can't just be bad for the hell of it, just because he thinks it's cool. (Yes, Wes, I'm looking at you.) You have to explore the reasons why he is the way he is with your back story. He also has to have some crack in the armor that the heroine can pry into and heal. Because, otherwise, why are we reading?

Since the Motley Crue guys maintained their appeal (in my mind) even after wildly egregious acts, I'll use them as an example of some appealing types of bad boys. (I'm leaving Mick out because he is not an alpha male.)

The "I've always been pretty" bad boy (Vince Neil, lead singer): This is the bad boy who knows he's hot. Girls have always liked him. Attention has come easily. He can get whomever he wants, which can make things boring for him. It can also lead to going through girls like they're disposable. He's not used to being told no.

Crack: He ain't that confident. Sure, he knows he looks good, but he's not convinced the person underneath the looks is all that great.

Other Examples: Eric in the Sookie Stackhouse books (a personal fave of mine), Keenan in Wicked Lovely, Jordan Catalano on My So-Called Life (to pull out an old 90s reference)

What he needs: A heroine that isn't afraid to knock him down off that pedestal and challenge him.

 

The "Up for anything" wild child (Tommy Lee): This guy appears to have no fear or impulse control. Seeks thrills and fun at all times. He's ruled by the Id. Doesn't take anything seriously including silly things like rules, laws, or social mores. Sees relationships as something that would hold him back from thrill-seeking.

Examples: Jules in Erica Orloff's Freudian Slip (who is basically a good-looking version of Howard Stern), Barney on How I Met Your Mother (although his thrill seeking is limited to women)

Crack: He's actually a sucker for long-term relationships. He's so passionate about everything in his life, that when he finds the right girl, he will give himself over completely to love. Tommy Lee turned lovesick both with Heather Locklear and Pamela Anderson.

What he needs: Someone that can keep up with him, but is also a calming force. A heroine who incites enough passion in him that he seeks thrills with her instead of separate from her.

 

The Wounded Soul (Nikki Sixx): This is my favorite to write and read about. This guy's motto is "get them before they get me". He's been hurt deeply somewhere along the way, and now has locked away all true feelings from others. He's easily angered and shuts down when anyone gets close. He can be the most formidable of bad boys because he doesn't care enough about himself to avoid danger.

Examples: Julian in Sherrilyn Kenyon's Fantasy Lover, Edward in Twilight, Jace in City of Bones, Wrath in J.R. Ward's Dark Lover, Johnny Castle in Dirty Dancing

 

Crack: He feels unworthy of genuine love. Nikki Sixx was abandoned by both his parents early on. So later, when people in his life showed him love, he didn't believe them. He'd push them away before he had a chance to care.

What he needs: A super tough girl that can push through that seemingly impenetrable wall. A woman that will call him out on his crap and not be intimidated by his flashes of anger. A woman that will love him fiercely.

So there's my theory. The only bad boys worth writing are the ones that offer a challenge, but that can ultimately evolve. We don't just want to read about the bad boy being bad, we want to see his character heal and reform so that he can keep the good parts (fun, attitude, touch of danger, daring) while taming the undesirable parts (lying, cheating, illegal behavior, etc.).

So, what's your opinion? Do you like a bad boy character or do you think they're overused? What makes you like one better over the other? Who's your favorite bad boy?

Wordle--A Unexpected Tool for Revisions

A while back, someone mentioned wordle.net in the comment section of a blog I read (I can't remember which one.) This tool creates a word cloud of any text you paste in the program. Aside from being fun to do, it lets you paste your whole novel in the box. The resulting word cloud will tell you which words you overuse (those will be the largest words in the cloud) in your novel. Great for getting the big picture. I realized after I ran my first novel through it that my characters were sighing a whole lot. :) Here's an example using the text from this blog. Click on the box and it will bring you to the wordle site. Enjoy!

Channeling Your Inner Teenager

So when writing YA, one of the most important aspects of developing your story is creating an authentic teen voice. Every article you read about writing in this genre puts emphasis on that. If you sound like an adult, the teen readers will cry foul--you poser, you faker, you parent in disguise!

So how does one develop an authentic teen voice? For some of us, that voice comes easy, maybe we aren't that far from those years or we never grew up in the first place. For others, the teen voice is buried deep under the years of experience, grammar lessons, vocabulary expansion, and life lessons. But the truth of the matter is, we all have one under there. I confirmed this for myself last night.

Last night I went to the New Kids on the Block concert. To give you a little background, as a preteen I was totally obsessed (like most others my age) with the band. My room was plastered (walls and ceiling) with their pictures. I had the comforter set, complete with Joe and Jordan pillowcases. I wrote to Oprah begging to meet them. My wardrobe consisted solely of New kids t-shirts, a jean jacket, and oversized buttons with pics of them. My birthday parties were NKOTB themed. You get the picture.

So, last night when I attended the concert, I was excited--in my mature, adult kind of way. :) The concert was going well. I was enjoying myself. Clapping and singing like a normal 29-year-old person. Then suddenly, the venue staff started setting up a little platform in the aisle near my seats. My husband pointed it out to me and pushed me in that direction to get a spot for whatever was going to happen. I did, landing a spot right in front of the security guard. People started piling in. I figured something was going to happen, and I knew I would be cool about it. Then, the lights went out and who stepped on to the platform a mere two feet in front of me? The Jordan Knight. Right there, in the flesh, within touching distance. So much for being cool. I lost my freaking mind.

Gone was the wife, mom, quiet-natured person. I was suddenly possessed by the 12-year-old version of myself. I couldn't stop screaming and jumping. I almost got into my first girl fight when some chick rudely (using her fake boobs as a battering ram) tried to shove her way through those of us who had already established position. (She didn't get past me. I may have cussed her out and pushed back. I'm not sure. ;) ) I felt more frantic then I can ever remember feeling in my life. Pure, unadulterated, childlike joy filled me. I touched Jordan's shoulder, he smiled at me. My preteen dreams come true.

This proved to me that the preteen/teen is still inside me, she just needs to be channeled. And oh how fun it was to be back in her shoes, if even for a few moments. So, when I'm struggling with finding my YA voice, trying to find that right level of emotion or angst or internal drama, I'm going to recall this moment and let "teen me" answer the question.

So, what gets you into the right mindset to write the YA voice? Music? Memories? Observing your own teenage children? Leave a comment and let me know.

Mourning the Death of the First Novel

So I finished my first novel, Shadow Falls (paranormal YA) a few months ago. (Well, my first one that counts. The one in high school, well, a novel it was not.) I toiled and tweaked and edited and obsessed. I wrote and rewrote my query, frantically checking query shark to make sure I didn't make any well-known mistakes. I went through a crisis of self-esteem before hitting send on my first agent query--the oh so attractive, sweaty, shaky, I-obviously-can't-put-two-words-together-so-why-am-I-even-bothering stage. This stage was quickly followed by the "is my email working? is my spam filter too strong? why is it not dinging with new emails from agents?" phase. Yes, I know they say to expect a response no sooner than a few weeks or months, but I plugged my ears and sang show tunes to avoid accepting that knowledge.

To my surprise, many responded within two weeks, which made the immediate gratification monster inside me very happy indeed. Unfortunately, most of those responses were form rejections. However, to my great delight (and surprise), I received two request for partials and two requests for fulls pretty quickly from biggie, dream agents. Of course, I was already picturing my book on the shelf despite knowing my chances were still slim. After a few weeks (two months was the longest), I received three form rejections. Total bummer. Looped back to low self-esteem phase.

Then, this week, I received my rejection on the final full I had out. However, this time the agent personalized it. The lovely note contained the words "you are clearly a very talented writer" (woo-hoo) and that my story "had lots of teen appeal" (kickass). However, the story wasn't different enough from what was out there in a now saturated teen paranormal market. (sigh) Then, she asked that if I didn't find an agent this time around, she hoped I would query her on my next project. (Backing away from the ledge).

So, I'm considering the rejection a victory. I still have a few queries floating around, but my hope meter for this first book is definitely on low. I am mourning it's gentle death and will be burying it in the drawer soon. Perhaps it can be resurrected another day with some rewrites. In the meantime, onward and upward. I'm halfway through writing the first draft of a romance novel.

Lessons learned from novel #1: a) I don't totally suck b) I can write a query letter and c) I can handle rejection (mostly)

My Top YA Picks from the last 6 months

My plan is to review one book per post so that I can give each book proper attention. However, as I work through finishing the first book I plan to officially review, I thought I would touch on my favorites from my past six months. Because there were some great ones. I'll tackle my YA picks first and cover the "grown-up" genres another day. These are the ones that stood out amongst the pile (i.e. garnered a 4 or 5 star rating on the groupie scale):

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Back cover: 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.

On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list.

Okay, so for a girl who loves a happy ending, this didn't have one. BUT you know that this novel is about suicide upfront, so you're prepared for it, which makes all the difference. This story drew me in immediately and never let me go. Having worked with teens who were considering suicide, this novel was especially poignant for me. It reminded me how a few little missteps, comments from peers, turns in the wrong direction, and misunderstandings can sent a vulnerable teen spiraling downward. Great read for adults and teens. ★★★★★

Wake

and Fade (Wake, Book 2) by Lisa McMann

Back cover:

Not all dreams are sweet.

For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people's dreams is getting old. Especially the falling dreams, the naked-but-nobody-notices dreams, and the sex-crazed dreams. Janie's seen enough fantasy booty to last her a lifetime.

She can't tell anybody about what she does -- they'd never believe her, or worse, they'd think she's a freak. So Janie lives on the fringe, cursed with an ability she doesn't want and can't control.

Then she falls into a gruesome nightmare, one that chills her to the bone. For the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else's twisted psyche. She is a participant....

As a reader (and writer) I'm not a huge fan of long, drawn out descriptions. I don't need to know every detail of the room. Only tell me about the curtains if they're going to be used later to wrap up a body or something. I find myself skimming those passages in many novels. But, I also want to get a sense of place in a story. So, I often find myself struggling in my own writing on how much descriptive detail to provide. This is why I am so impressed with Lisa McMann's novels. The book is chunked into small time dated passages that contain hardly any detailed descriptions, but somehow she provides exactly what you need. I have a crystal clear picture of the action in my head and the action is constantly moving forward. No stopping to smell the roses. Prepare to read these in a single sitting. They are hard to put down. ★★★★★

Marked (House of Night, Book 1)

by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

Product Description (Amazon.com):

The House of Night series is set in a world very much like our own, except in 16-year-old Zoey Redbird's world, vampyres have always existed. In this first book in the series, Zoey enters the House of Night, a school where, after having undergone the Change, she will train to become an adult vampire--that is, if she makes it through the Change. Not all of those who are chosen do. It’s tough to begin a new life, away from her parents and friends, and on top of that, Zoey finds she is no average fledgling. She has been Marked as special by the vampyre Goddess, Nyx. But she is not the only fledgling at the House of Night with special powers. When she discovers that the leader of the Dark Daughters, the school's most elite club, is misusing her Goddess-given gifts, Zoey must look deep within herself for the courage to embrace her destiny--with a little help from her new vampyre friends.

I love this series. It's bestselling and on every Target shelf, so I won't go into a long review. Just know that if you like fun, sexy, dark, vampy books, you won't be disappointed with these. ★★★★★

Prom Dates from Hell (Maggie Quinn: Girl vs Evil, Book 1) series by Rosemary Clement-Moore

Back cover: Maggie Quinn, Girl reporter. Honors student, newspaper staffer, yearbook photographer. Six weeks from graduation and all she wants to do is get out of Avalon High in one piece. Fate seems to have different plans for her.

High school may be a natural breeding ground for evil, but the scent of fire and brimstone is still a little out of the ordinary. It's the distinct smell of sulfur that makes Maggie suspect that something's a bit off. And when realTwilight Zone stuff starts happening to the school's ruling clique—the athletic elite and the head cheerleader and her minions, all of whom happen to be named Jessica—Maggie realizes it's up to her to get in touch with her inner Nancy Drew and ferret out who unleashed the ancient evil before all hell breaks loose.

Maggie has always suspected that prom is the work of the devil, but it looks like her attendance will be mandatory. Sometimes a girl's got to do some pretty undesirable things if she wants to save her town from soul-crushing demons from hell and the cheerleading squad.

Maggie Quinn is the girl I'd want to be if I were ever forced to attend high school again--the girl who always has the best sarcastic remark for the moment. The writing is laugh out loud funny and fast-paced. There's even a little dash of romance (which further develops in book two Hell Week) for those of us who like that kind of thing. :) Added bonus: the monsters/demons are actually bad, not the love interest! Imagine that. ★★★★

Uglies (Uglies Trilogy, Book 1) by Scott Westerfeld

Back Cover: Everybody gets to be supermodel gorgeous. What could be wrong with that?

Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. Not for her license -- for turning pretty. In Tally's world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. In just a few weeks Tally will be there.

But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to be pretty. She'd rather risk life on the outside. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world -- and it isn't very pretty. The authorities offer Tally the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. The choice Tally makes changes her world forever.

Westerfeld creates a dystopian world that seems on many levels frighteningly possible--a

world where everyone is surgically changed to be "pretty" when they turn sixteen so that all are

equal. This series has a little bit of everything: sci-fi, adventure, romance, and warnings about

the direction our current society is headed in. Although, for me, the series dragged a little in the

middle with a bit too much hoverboarding descriptions for my tastes, the journey was well

worth it. ★★★★

That's my list. What's yours? I would love to hear some of your recommendations or

opinions on my choices. Drop a comment and let me know.