Whoseywhatsit Thursday: TAGLINES

Taglines are another alleyway authors utilize to attract the interest of agents, editors, publishers, and readers to their stories. They give a glimpse into storyworld and character, but just enough to tug at the heartstrings of intrigue and curiosity.

Here are a few examples from books and movies I'm sure you'll recognize:

• A 17th Century tale of adventure on the Caribbean Sea where the roguish yet charming Captain Jack Sparrow joins forces with a young blacksmith in a gallant attempt to rescue the Governor of England's daughter and reclaim his ship. (Pirates of the Caribbean)
• When seventeen-year-old Bella leaves Phoenix to live with her father in Forks, Washington, she meets an exquisitely handsome boy at school for whom she feels an overwhelming attraction and who she comes to realize is not human. (Twilight)
• Having fallen for a human boy, a beautiful teenage werewolf must battle both her packmates and the fear of the townspeople to decide where she belongs and with whom. (Of Blood and Chocolate)

Find these little puppies difficult to create? Need some insight into one of your taglines, or want help starting? Then mark your calendars for our next Whoseywhatsit Thursday, December 6th, where you can simply leave your tagline of one or two sentences in the comments and we'll give you a critique as a response. 

So, how does one condense an 80,000 word work into one to two sentences? I won't tell you it's easy. But if you adopted a simple view of the process, you will find success. Find the skeleton of your story:

• Who is the main character?
• What does he/she want? What is the goal?
• What are the inner and outer obstacles blocking their way?
• What makes this unique? 

There, that should at least give you a headstart. And don't forget to tell your friends about next Thursday!! 

Writer Wednesday: Taking a Break

I recently finished the first draft of yet another WIP.  The goal was to take a couple of weeks off and then do an edit. But I've already opened up the document a week into the break. 

I know, I know ... Many people say to throw your draft in a drawer for a month (or more) before digging it out again, but I just can't do that ... for a variety of reasons!

1. My characters are still talking to me, sharing their story, and I want to add those pieces in before I forget.
2. I know there are a couple of spots that need clean up (eye color that changed, home layout that somehow got altered halfway through!)
3. It's not yet clean enough for me to hand to my critique partners. I'd like to clean up the spelling/grammar, and fix a couple of other errors I know I have.

This will be the first of several rounds of edits, so I'm not concerned about shelving it for a bit. Most likely that will happen when my CPs are editing and I'm anxiously awaiting their feedback.

But I'm curious to know ... what do you do when it comes to edits? Do you do a first edit as you write (going back over your writing from the previous session before moving forward)? Do you send your beta readers your first draft, knowing there will be problems but seeing what they come up with too? How long of a break do you take between drafts? 

Image Source: SXC

TBR Tuesday: OPAL by Jennifer L. Armentrout

I LOVED the first two books in this series, and I am SO EXCITED that the third one comes out soon!

From Goodreads:

No one is like Daemon Black.

When he set out to prove his feelings for me, he wasn’t fooling around. Doubting him isn’t something I’ll do again, and now that we’ve made it through the rough patches, well... There’s a lot of spontaneous combustion going on.

But even he can’t protect his family from the danger of trying to free those they love.

After everything, I’m no longer the same Katy. I’m different... And I’m not sure what that will mean in the end. When each step we take in discovering the truth puts us in the path of the secret organization responsible for torturing and testing hybrids, the more I realize there is no end to what I’m capable of. The death of someone close still lingers, help comes from the most unlikely source, and friends will become the deadliest of enemies, but we won’t turn back. Even if the outcome will shatter our worlds forever.

Together we’re stronger... and they know it.
  
Jennifer L. Armentrout's website.

Also, I'm giving away a copy of our own J.A. Souders's debut RENEGADE on my personal blog, so stop by and enter!
 

Whoseywhatsit Thursday--Happy Thanksgiving

For those of you not in the know, today is Thanksgiving.

Time for being thankful, family and friends, turkey eating, mashed potatoes, and pumpkin pie.

On this day, I would like to share with you three things I'm thankful for. And if you would like, please share in the comments anything you are thankful for.

Top of my list is my loving family. I'm thankful for each and everyone of them, and for all of them being so supportive on my writing adventure.

I'm thankful for all my sisters at Oasis for YA. I love you all!

I'm thankful for all the awesome people at Spencer Hill Press and for my agent Lauren Hammond! They are all just super awesome!

I have so much more that I am thankful for, but I'd be here forever (or a good majority of the day), and I would rather join in the festivities.

So, from the Oasis for YA girls....

 

Writer's Wednesday: What's Your MC Thankful For?

Since we're coming up on Thanksgiving, I thought we might try a little exercise to force you to peer more closely inside your main character and ask: what is she thankful for?

*photo by Phamster on Wanna Commons*

I know my own list of blessings this year includes my family, my health, my job and my Oasis sisters.  But I imagine my teen characters would have quite a different sounding list.

For instance (and Nikki, you can correct me if I'm wrong), our main character in Beneath the Surface - Wren - would probably be thankful for these things:

* her BFF, Andi
* her iPhone
* being elected captain of the tennis team for her senior year
* speed boats
* her parents' extended vacation
* a hot new boyfriend, whose sweet personality makes up for his untamed Greek eyebrows and over-sensitive nose

What about your main character? Is she thankful to make it through a day without a ghost bothering her?  Is she thankful her dad survived a car accident?  Or is it something more shallow, like being thankful she was homecoming queen?

Whatever it is, knowing what sorts of things your character appreciates in life will help you understand her better.  Feel free to share your list below, or leave a list of things your thankful for this year.  Either way, we're thankful for YOU!!

Wishing you a blessed and abundant Thanksgiving!

Whoseywhatsit Thursday: Writer Rollercoaster

It was many moons ago when I had first tried my hand at writing. Like on a roller coaster, I've been up; I've been down. But along the way I've learned so many things. One of the biggest things I've learned is writing is a never ending process of learning.

I would like to share with you three of the most beneficial things I do, or have done, which I feel has helped me along the journey.

1) Reading:

I'm sure you've heard, Read what you write. I'm going to agree with this but also disagree.

You should read what you write, but don't just read...study.

Study the way other authors write, their voice, the way they describe things, how they use dialogue tags, facial expressions, when a character really needs to be described and when one just needs a glossing over, their quirks, how they talk, the way they touch, their physical and emotional feelings, so forth and so on.

The same as above: You should read what you write but don't limit yourself there.

Read everything from adult to YA, from epic fantasy to urban fantasy and all the genres in-between, first person and third person. Read, read, read.

For you to truly study the techniques of writing, you must explore as many different writing styles out there as you possibly can, all the different voices, what captures your attention and took you for the ride to what bored the hell out of you.

Reading this way will help you to find your very own unique voice and give you ideas of how to express yourself in your own unique way.

Because bottom line, the job of an author is to capture the reader's interest and make them care!

2) Critique other people's work...

I'll be the first one to tell you that this is not only time consuming, and it's not always fun. On the flip side, I've read some gems--a couple from my sisters here on Oasis for YA.

Critiquing has helped me tremendously by letting me see first hand how others write, how they describe, if they are being repetitive, if one scene smoothly transfers to the next scene, is the timetable right, and so on. By finding these in others writing, it's helped me find them in my own writing.

Find yourself a small group or even just a single friend and pass around chapters or finished manuscripts. But don't just read it and tell them whether you like it or not.

Actually critique it.

Not only should you look for grammar and punctuation errors but rewrite clunky parts or maybe parts that didn't sit well with you.

This is a great writing exercise for you, and it helps the person that you're critiquing. It shows them specifically what you didn't like, how you might have reworded it differently, as well as open the idea box. Also, it will start conversations for you to discuss and brainstorm together.    

Just be sure when you do this not to be mean about it. It's supposed to be used for learning, not hurting.

3) Edit your own work...

Not just once or twice, but four or five times--or as many times as you see fit--before you send it off to your crit partners or your readers.

I can guarantee you that while you are editing your own work you will think of ways to better describe your scene or maybe see things that don't line up right or whatever.

Also, this will help you clean up your own manuscript a bit, which in turn makes the critiquing part a bit easier for your partner and the read more enjoyable. 


Thanks for reading!
 

TBR Tuesday: Days of Blood and Starlight

It's Tuesday - time to talk about a book in our To Be Read stack.

I know this novel is out already, but I'm desperately trying to wrap up the first draft of my new WIP this week and THEN as a gift to myself, I get to read Days of Blood and Starlight by Lainey Taylor!

I'm beyond excited as I adored Daughter of Smoke and Bone - and I can't wait to immerse myself in Lainey's amazing world and learn the fate of Karou and Akiva.

Goodreads Synopsis:

Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a world free of bloodshed and war.

This is not that world.

Art student and monster's apprentice Karou finally has the answers she has always sought. She knows who she is—and what she is. But with this knowledge comes another truth she would give anything to undo: She loved the enemy and he betrayed her, and a world suffered for it.

In this stunning sequel to the highly acclaimed Daughter of Smoke & Bone, Karou must decide how far she'll go to avenge her people. Filled with heartbreak and beauty, secrets and impossible choices, Days of Blood & Starlight finds Karou and Akiva on opposing sides as an age-old war stirs back to life.

While Karou and her allies build a monstrous army in a land of dust and starlight, Akiva wages a different sort of battle: a battle for redemption. For hope.

But can any hope be salvaged from the ashes of their broken dream?

Whoseywhatsit Thursday: The Critique

Congrats and thank you to Rhiann for entering and sharing her first 250 words for critique.

Here is her first 250:

Sporadic blasts of the foghorn heralded our arrival at the lighthouse. The headlights illuminated the mist shrouding the island but couldn’t penetrate it. Once we were out of the car, fog clung to my skin like a veil. The air was thick with the smell of sea creatures, both living and dead.

Aunt Laura and I followed Uncle Ned into the lightkeeper’s cottage. He lumbered up the narrow staircase and carried my suitcase into one of the two bedrooms on the second floor. Laura began to unpack, setting my folded clothes on the narrow white bed.

“Darling, shouldn’t you start making dinner?” Ned asked. He was slightly out of breath.

“Yes, of course.” Laura scurried away.

Ned stepped towards me. I grabbed an armful of sweaters and held them to my chest as if their soft wool could protect me, like an armored breastplate.  

“When is Pearl’s funeral?” The words scraped past the clump of grief damming my throat.

“Tomorrow at ten thirty. Just a private service with the two of us, and your Aunt Laura. A friend of mine will officiate.” He went on to mention my father’s other siblings whom I’d never met. “Bartholomew is in Kiev with his circus and Rowena is somewhere in Africa doing God’s work. Neither can make the trip on such short notice. Needless to say, your father won’t be attending. It will be a difficult day, but we’ll be a great comfort to each other.”

“I’ll be fine,” I whispered, then gathered my quivering lip between my teeth.

And our thoughts:

Sporadic blasts of the a foghorn heralded our arrival at the lighthouse. The headlights illuminated the mist shrouding the island but couldn’t penetrate it. [THE WORD CHOICES HERE SIGNIFY A VERY FORMAL VOICE ... PERHAPS SOMETHING HISTORICAL. IF THAT'S YOUR INTENTION, GOOD! IF NOT, BE CAUTIOUS.] Once we were out of the car, fog clung to my skin like a veil. The air was thick with the smell of sea creatures, both living and dead.

Aunt Laura and I followed Uncle Ned into the lightkeeper’s cottage. He lumbered up the narrow staircase and carried my suitcase into one of the two bedrooms on the second floor. Laura began to unpack, setting my folded clothes on the narrow white bed. [This is all lovely, but I get no sense of your main character here. From the end of this sample, she’s clearly full of emotions. Show us some of them to help us connect to her right from the start.]

“Darling, shouldn’t you start making dinner?” Ned asked. He was slightly out of breath.

“Yes, of course.” Laura scurried away.

Ned stepped towards me. I grabbed an armful of sweaters and held them to my chest as if their soft wool could protect me, like an armored breastplate.  

“When is Pearl’s funeral?” The words scraped past the clump of grief damming my throat. [AT THIS POINT I'M WONDERING WHO PEARL IS TO HER? IS THERE A REASON YOU KEEP IT A SECRET?]

“Tomorrow at ten thirty. Just a private service with the two of us, and your Aunt Laura. A friend of mine will officiate.” He went on to mention my father’s other siblings whom I’d never met. “Bartholomew is in Kiev with his circus and Rowena is somewhere in Africa doing God’s work. Neither can make the trip on such short notice. Needless to say, your father won’t be attending. It will be a difficult day, but we’ll be a great comfort to each other.”

“I’ll be fine,” I whispered, then gathered my quivering lip between my teeth.

Ned is clearly a scary dude, and your main character (no sense of age or gender yet) clearly has reason to be afraid of him. I really love your last sentence about pulling the quivering lip between her teeth. I think you have a wonderful flair for describing. Just punch this up with some emotional connection for the reader, and I think you have a nice opening here.


How did we do? Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments!

Keeping Your Creative HEART In The Publishing Business

Here on the Oasis, Wednesdays are for sharing writerly wisdom. And what better wisdom to share then how to stay your creative course, protecting your heart from the business of publishing.

I've done just that, today, over on Adventures in YA & Children's Publishing. Take a hop over and tell me what you think.

For those who don't know, WOW Wednesday Posts are their regular author to writer feature. Authors share their most important pieces of advice from their writing journeys, how they made the leap from writer to author. Click HERE to check out what I had to share!! Psst....make sure to leave a comment and I'll comment back.

TBR Tuesday: RENEGADE by our very own J.A. Souders

Can you believe it?  In one week - seven short days - our very own J.A. Souders will see her debut YA novel available in print in the US!  Cue the confetti!

 I'm sure Jess can hardly believe this dream is about be reality, but for anyone who has read RENEGADE, it's no mystery to us why her book got picked up by Tor Teen - it's freakin' awesome!  And look at that cover - amazing.

Since the age of three, sixteen-year-old Evelyn Winters has been trained to be Daughter of the People in the underwater utopia known as Elysium. Selected from hundreds of children for her ideal genes, all her life she’s thought that everything was perfect; her world. Her people. The Law.

But when Gavin Hunter, a Surface Dweller, accidentally stumbles into their secluded little world, she’s forced to come to a startling realization: everything she knows is a lie. Her memories have been altered. Her mind and body aren’t under her own control. And the person she knows as Mother is a monster.

Together with Gavin she plans her escape, only to learn that her own mind is a ticking time bomb... and Mother has one last secret that will destroy them all.

If you want to get in on the goodness too, add RENEGADE to your TBR list on Goodreads.  You won't be sorry!  But before you go, be sure to tell Jess congrats.  :)  AND WHILE WE'RE CELEBRATING, TODAY IS LARISSA'S BIRTHDAY!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ONE VERY SWEET AND TALENTED OASIS SISTER!