What's My Next Line?

For this edition of Whoseywhatsit Thursday, I thought we could play a little game.

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You've all heard of that campfire game where someone starts a story and with each consecutive person the story grows, right? Sure you have. It always amazed me what stories came out of that silly game. In actuality, it wasn't silly, but creative. We were all inspired and didn't even realize it.

So, want to play? *You are very important to us here at the Oasis.* Okay, I'll go first, then each of you can add the next line in the comments. Can't wait to see what we come up with! And if we write enough, I'll put it all together and post it back here. :)

START:

The splintered deck railing pressed into his chest.

Your up!

Dissecting a Bestselling Novelist's First Chapter

Readers suffer from instant gratification. Don't they? I know I do as a reader. But as a writer, how do I curb the appetites of my readers without giving away too much or gooping up my openings with backstory and exposition?

In Meg Cabot's ABANDON, there is a small chapter to open the story. Seeing how this story is based off the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone, Cabot uses this page to give some facts about that story through her MC’s eyes. I decided to use this story as an outline because a lot of authors will use this technique. But for this exercise, we’ll skip it and start where Cabot’s story truly begins.

~CHAPTER ONE~

Cabot introduces the main character to her readers by telling one significant fact that the entire story will hinge upon, which has to do with the MC. Then the reader is thrust into the here and now of the character’s current world.

**For instance: Let's say you have a boy who has a fear of heights. You could open the story anywhere with him doing anything, but somewhere in there SHOW, don't tell, that fear. Later...at the story's climax, the reader is gripping his/her pillow fearful the boy won't be able to save the long, lost dog from the edge of the cliff because the reader is already aware of the boy's fear. The reader also knows the boy must save this dog because there is a secret hidden in the dog's collar which can help him save the universe.

{Lame, but you get my point. Don't over do it. Just SHOW by a brief mention.}

Moving on - Cabot chooses to use a conversation next. She lets her MC sprinkle information about the where and why of what’s going on around her. In this case, it’s a family gathering. As the conversation progresses, the MC sprinkles more thoughts about her family, friends, observations of her world, and what brought her to this place and time. It’s a mix of showing (through the conversation) and subtle telling which always seems to be twined within the MC’s pain/thoughts/emotions. The reader also gets a solid feel for who the MC is: her disposition, likes & dislikes, even hopes and dreams.

Cabot is able to share her MC’s feelings about family members through subtle glances or gestures (shifting in chairs etc…) during the conversation. The MC doesn't have to be obvious or come right out and tell the reader. It's there through her subtle actions and reactions to her world around her.

Finally, the MC has one major reactions to her surroundings, changing the scene, it's mood, and purpose. This setup gives just enough and moves the reader to chapter two, where action will take place and some of the questions left unanswered by chapter one are then answered.

So what did we learn?

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!! 

YA Novels: Person? Tense?

For this edition of Whoseywhatsit Thursday, I've decided to pose a question to you all.

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• What tense do you write your YA in?
• Do you believe one tense is better than the other?
• What about marketing, from an editor or agent's standpoint? Is past tense easier to sell or present tense?

• What person do you write in mostly? First, Second, Third person close, Third person omniscient? 

Okay, so I had more than just one question. 

I've heard a lot of chatter around the blogosphere lately, about these exact questions. Some folks believe YA written in present tense brings the reader closer to the main character, makes for a more intimate relationship, it's the near and now. This, for the most part, is totally true.  And from the stats on YA first person novels purchased, it's obvious that some readers love that.

But is it the tense of the story or the story itself which a reader falls in love with? We've argued many times that tense and person can make or break a story. 

Before a writer even begins writing the first chapter, he/she must decide who is going to tell that particular story (person) and how it's going to be told (tense). Person can give a writer the freedom to give the reader views and information from many different angles of a story - Third Person Omniscient. Then there's Third Person Close, which can lead to more intimacy between a main character and the audience - limiting, but more freeing than  First Person, which, as we know, limits the writer's options. Vital information must be delved out to the reader from the view of only one character and said character might not have full access to all the information the reader will need to follow the story line(s). But there are ways around that, which we won't get into today. We won't touch upon second person, either.

Recently, I've heard that a first person present tense debut YA novel could possibly be too hard a sell. Editors shy away from first person as well as present tense, with the exception of established and well-read authors. What if you are a debut YA author with a great story written in first person present tense? Should you change it, knowing that if you were already that established and well-read YA author your story would probably be accepted as is by an editor?

What do you do? 

The Silver Lining with Flaws

There's definitely a difference between unfinished business at the end of a scene, chapter, or novel and a cliffhanger with no closure.

Life doesn't come complete with smooth edges. The events of our lives that mold and change us (and our characters as realistic and relatable) don't have neat endings. But life does come with balance. There are always new questions and answers forming in each event, bringing some closure, filling a void, or motivating changes - the silver lining. 


That's what we as writers need to do.

We all want to write an un-put-downable story, want the reader to ache at the thought of putting our books down. Leaving the reader with a sense of desire at the end of each scene and chapter is key, all with keeping it plausible - sometimes subtle, sometimes dramatic. How do we create such a draw within a reader that makes them peek ahead into the next chapter even though it's 2:00 AM? What makes that step irresistible?


Each scene and chapter must end on a note of character intrigue; whether physical or emotional, it does not matter. Accomplishing this from the end of the first scene will slowly create that inner desire in a reader to know your character and care. This will influence a more natural forward movement of your story, creating escalating tension - almost like mini climaxes. Now, that doesn't mean dragging the reader through tiny information dumps, because that's just boring. Show (don't tell) your creation by actively sprinkling important elements about your plot and subplots, your story world and characters to close out scenes and chapters. 


Present the reader with tidbits of new information, peeling the flawed layers of your characters' and their world in interesting ways. Your readers will become part of the silver lining of your story. Your characters' desires will become theirs. The world you create will slowly become real.  


In Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl, they use a subtle way to end the initial chapter.

That's what actually happened this summer.
We'd seen the last of hamburger soup and peach pie and tire swings. But we'd seen the start of something, too.
The beginning of the End of Days.

Now, that could mean anything. Just anything. So I had to read ahead. I could give more examples, ones containing more drama, but I think you understand my meaning here.

Use the spices of your overall story at the end of each scene and chapter to flavor the silver lining, flaws and all. 

Writer's Wednesday: MC Goal Checklist (+ contest)

Self-portrait by AlkieBiter

I've been reading The Plot Whisperer by Martha Alderson and I'm getting some great information out of it.  So I thought I'd share the goal checklist with all of you.  I found this checklist particularly difficult before starting my novel, but I think forcing myself to answer these questions will make my main character stronger right from the get-go.

By the way, MC = main character.

*  What does the MC most desire?
*  What does she care about?
*  What strongly motivates her?
*  What is the MC moving toward?
*  What keeps her going, focus, committed when the going gets rough?
*  What needs to be done, saved, protected, solved, fixed, achieved, figured out, helped that she and only she can do?
*  What is her plan to accomplish that?

The question in bold I think is particularly important.  It made me realize that it's not enough simply for your MC to push through, but that she has to have a reason for doing so.

Working on answering these questions helped me more clearly define my next novel before I got started.  Have you ever done a checklist like this before starting to write?  Do you think this one will be useful to you?  Anything else you'd add?
 
CONTEST ~

Please stop by my blog - The Daily Harrell - to enter to win an autographed ARC of The Syndicate from Shelena Shorts.  Open Internationally.

Leap Into Something New

February 29th, the day that happens once every four calendar years. I've always wondered where the idea to use a leap year to balance time with the patterns of the sun came from. So I did what most writers do. I researched.

Good'ole Julius Ceasar came up with the idea over 2,000 years ago. But his idea was flawed. Applying a leap year to each year divisible by four lead to too many leap years. Duh. It was finally corrected approximately 1,500 years later, when the Georgian Calendar was introduced.

But JC was onto something. An idea, a way to take what was in existence and heighten it, make it more productive, appealing. Hmm... Isn't that what writers do?

How can storytellers make the leap from current ideas and ideals to new avenues and arenas?

• Setting: spice up an average setting with the unexpected. Maybe put a polar bear on the beach in Hawaii or set an igloo on the equator with no signs of melting. 
• Surprises: have a character do the unexpected - the exact opposite of what he/she is made of. What could the results be? Where could that take the story? What dimension could be added to make it unique. Combinations.
• Mix familiar histories from totally opposite cultures. I think this could give any Sci-Fi story flare.
• Personal experiences: Yes, we have similar experiences during those YA years. They are not all the same, though. The differences are in the guts, the threads that patched your life together differently from mine. Maybe take those and add a reaction you wished you'd had back then--even if that was just yesterday.
• Be brave. Be bold. Don't be afraid of any idea. Brainstorm with a friend.

How will you spend your EXTRA day of writing, this Leap Year? Any thoughts on leaping from stagnant ideas to fresh ones?

The Art of Conflict

For the most part, when I begin writing a new story of any kind or length I keep in mind what draws me into a tale. I think about characters, natural effects, inner workings, motivations/purpose, misunderstandings, settings/world building, and the physical.

So what enhances the elements I listed about?  Tension. Suspense. Mystery. Questioning. 

Basically CONFLICT. The intensity or subtlety of conflict surely varies from scene to scene, chapter to chapter, story to story. But what's most important is that you use it.

So how do we thread conflict throughout our stories without being too obvious about it?

Let's break it down into seven parts, because I like the number seven. I can halve it perfectly, placing three on one side and three on the other.

1. COC or Characteristics of Character - develop personality traits of characters that differ from each other. Put them in opposition. Use one character's demeanor against another's. Character changes due to past experiences can butt heads with the current reality, making for great tension and suspense.

2. Natural Effects - differences in gender are always useful and can be fun to play with. The weather or a specific plight in your world building can work, too. Family dynamics such as parents, other siblings, and extended family or friends can also be used to deepen a story line, which can take on a new life if used in subplots.

3. Inner Workings - this is where a story can really take off, drawing the reader inside the character and making them care. That is so important. Make them care. (Exercise to do while writing: think of your own life & experiences. What emotional conflicts have you or someone close to you experienced? What about mental struggles. For instance, the kid in school who just can't grasp the concept of mathematics or despises gym class. Other interesting areas in our inner realm could be self-doubt, guilt, pompousness, no-drive, depression, fear...we could go on and on.)

Middle/Balance Conflict 

7. Motivation/Purpose - you might think this could be listed under Inner and it could. But I wanted to separate it because of its importance. A character and a story plot must have a reason for existing in the first place or once again...who cares? And who decides on said motivation? The writer. So ask yourself question like:

• what are my motivations for writing this story? Do I have a purpose, a lesson to teach? Am I sending a greater message?

3. Misunderstandings - Does it frustrate you when a writer sets up subplots to simply confuse or muddle the main plot, motivations, and purpose of the story? It sure does me, but it is extremely effective to keep me reading or watching. NOTE: but it must have a purpose and move the story forward.

2. Settings/World Building - Setting and world building can give imbalance to a story when need be, creating a sense of urgency, heightening the tension, and adding to the suspense. Taking two characters, who are already at odds with each other because of any of the above, and transplanting them in an unfamiliar environment can show character weaknesses and flaws.

1. The Physical - it could be a knockdown fist fight or a heated argument. You might use a group of people rioting or kids at a school pep rally or event gone wrong. Conflict can also be physically found on the romantic front, especially when it appears one half of the couple is playing hard to get or genially doesn't like the other. Mix in some physical meddling from another character, and you could have one heck of a conflict.

When developing conflict, remember it's a gradual succession of building blocks to keep the reader engaged. You have an infinite number of blocks to play with. Use them.

Writer Wednesday: Cause & Effect

(This is a repost from yesterday on my personal blog. I felt it was important and may jar some discussion here, too.)

At first, a faint pang taps under my ribcage--the place where my heart should be. My pulse picks up speed, but I ignore it, the mumbling over the phone luring more of my attention and my husband's facial expressions drooping. My chest tightens, the pang now twisting, piercing with each shallow breath. I glance out the window, the summer sky hopeful and bright, and in total opposition of the dread infecting my soul.

Fear, doubt, worry consume the air around me. There's no way out--a black hole. I'm sinking, drowning amidst the muffled words I just heard. My husband drops his cell phone. The car suddenly slows, and he heads towards an off-ramp. Despite the cool from the air conditioner brushing against my face, the ends of my long hair frizz from the extra heat I'm suddenly giving off. I fiddle with my fingers. My brain is a machine, calculating all possibilities from the mundane to the horrific. 

My husband glances at me, our connective stare blank yet brimming with panic. My brain hurts, my eyes now glassing over. So are his. He grips my hand as the car whizzes on the road. I stutter an inhale, words pouring from my mouth with no direction or sense. We tell each other to relax, stay calm. But the rot in my gut won't stop, the gnawing too strong. I want to curl into a ball and hide, pray, beg "Please, oh good God please..."

There are no words feared more by a parent than "Your child has been in a car accident." The above is a lesson in Cause and Effect in writing. Something obviously happened to Cause these reactions and the Effect is surely to be revealed in the text soon. 

But this is also a true story. My story. On Sunday--Father's Day. As my husband and I drove our 12-yr-old daughter to her soccer tournament an hour away, we received a phone call that our two sons--Josh (17) & Jake (14)--were in a car accident. It was not Josh's fault. He had his blinker on and the boys were wearing their seat belts. Apparently, a driver two cars behind Josh decided to pass on a straight-away at approximately 50 MPH just as Josh was turning left into the ice rink parking lot for a hockey game. The impact spun the car in the opposite direction and straight back into the rink sign. The straight back part is most befuddling. It makes no sense that the force didn't keep them spinning or toss them into a roll. 

Josh's car is a total loss. It's a miracle neither boy was hurt severely or worse....2 more feet to the left or if Josh had turned a moment later, the impact would have been on his driver's side door.

My brain is still that muddled mess I wrote about above, examining the what if's and the how come's of Cause & Effect.

How do you deal with Cause and Effect in your writing? 

Thursday Meme: All About the Senses

Our Oasis Meme was created to ponder, encourage, and mostly celebrate all that is Young Adult. Each week we post a question about writing, publishing, and/or young adult topics/issues and the next week we answer it. 

We'd love for you to grab our Meme Motto, join us every Thursday, and connect with other Oasis Seekers and the YA community at large.

This Week's Topic: Which of your five senses do you most appreciate and why?

This is an intensely tough question for me. I am Sense person at heart. I love the eyes, and am a true believer they are the windows to the soul. Smells are interesting and can be used to create scenes from serious to humorous. Sounds and tastes can do the same, creating a unique world or setting. But for today, I guess I'll go with touch. This is probably because I just wrote an intimate scene between my two main characters where they do not kiss--only touch, mere butterfly touches that cause internal reactions and growth in the characters. I love the subtle that ends up erupting in the powerful.

So there you have it. My take on Senses. Share yours. 

 Here are the rules to participate:

1. Do your own blog post on what you're thankful for today. It doesn't have to be book or publishing related (but it can be!)

2. Be sure to grab our badge and include it in your post.

3. Post a link to your blog in the comments here so that others can find you.

4. Go forth and share your gratitude! (And when friending new blogs, be sure to let them know you found them because of their participation in the meme.)

And there you have it -- come on out and tell us what you're thankful for today! 

This Week's Topic: Of all the high school groups or clicks, which do you enjoy writing the most? 

PROMing IT!

Wednesdays are specific to picking up tricks, insights, or advice geared to the YA writer. So as I pondered what great wisdom I had to share on said subject, I thought about my life. As it is now. As it was when I was a teenager. And appropriately so for this time of the school year, prom came to mind. It also helped that I just hosted a prom dinner for my oldest, his date, and their friends.

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You may have been a prom-junkie who longed for the dress shopping and hair appointments or the tuxedo sizings and the after-party planning. Then again, you could have seen prom as a waste of time, money, and a heartache waiting to happen. Despite your personal experience, prom is a reality for the upper half of our specifically-targeted, YA audience.

Use your experience. Don't want to. Then use the experience you wish you'd had...or hadn't had. Dig deeper into an old friend's prom experience and mix it up a bit. Draw from it and build on it. It doesn't have to be sweet sixteen and blowing out the candles. It can be out of the ordinary. Different.

Prom can be a plethora of misgivings, mishaps, and mistakes, or pleasures, pretty prose, and proposals. If appropriate to your story, don't be afraid to use it or other typical high school events to draw more from your characters and your story. Add a new spin or twist to the prom. You can do anything. Now go write it!

LITERARY TERMS IV: Passive Voice

Passive voice is where the true subject of a sentence trails towards the end and is acted upon. It does NOT do the action. It's the bystander at a game or a patron waiting for a server to take their order. Or in the case below, it's the dog letting the water act upon him.

(noun) (verb clause) by (noun) ~ subject starting the thought but allowing the following verb to stimulate or move a noun (possible subject) instead.

Passive ~ Oasis for YA was asked by the passive subject (noun) to study the topic of further.
Active ~ The passive subject (noun) asked Oasis for YA to study the topic of further.

The easiest way to switch from passive to active voice is to keep the (noun) (verb) construction intact and negate the ending by (noun).

Passive ~ "The speaker is interrupted by the students."
Active ~ "The students interrupt the speaker."

Passive ~ The title, approximate word count, and a one paragraph description of your manuscript are expected in a query letter by most agents.
Active ~ "Most agents expect the title, approximate word count, and a one paragraph description in a query letter."

Passive ~ "The conversation was soured by the crass remarks of the gossip queens."
Active ~ "The gossip queens soured the conversation with their crass remarks."

In each of these examples, I've italicized where the structure went passive and bold where to move it, making the sentence active. Another word to watch out for is the word was. Using was does not necessarily make a sentence passive (I was skating on the ice...) ACTIVE, where (Jake's hockey stick was being used by Tom.) PASSIVE. It's just a word to make note of when checking and editing your writing.

Cleaning up passive construction can breath new life and 'voice' into your writing. This isn't saying that all passive construction should be avoid. Just used in moderation.

Next time I'm up for Wednesday, we'll delve a little deeper and look at Active Voice itself.

Take a portion of your current manuscript, short story, or article and check it for passive voice. See how many times you use it and try changing a few to active voice. Can you spot passive voice with ease?

LITERARY TERMS III: I Am Voice

The concept of 'Voice' can be intimidating. It doesn't have to be.

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When I think about voice, the first thing that comes to mind is distinction.

Most people would recognize Mickey Mouse's voice without any explanation. And few people would mistake Miss Piggy's voice for Kermit the Frog's voice. Both are identifiable ~ unique.

What makes a voice standout from another? What makes voice distinct? 

Tone, Diction, and sentence structure play a huge roll in defining voice. (Sounds like dialog just might be my next Writer Wednesday theme.)

Voice reflects the "who" of your character and the invisible drapery of personality, hopes, dreams, hurts, and those desires hidden even from them. It gives "sound" to your words on the page. Voice connects the layers of a character.

Miss Piggy is a snarky, stubborn verigo with a relatively stalkerish crush on Kermit the Frog. How do I know this? Diction or word choice, firstly. If you've ever listened to the dialog written for her, you've noticed the distinct rawness to her words. She rarely speaks with sweet or calming words, unless she's trying to soften some blow to poor Kermit. And then there's the bluntness she delivers her words, her mannerisms and force. That would be Tone.

Background, ethnic group, and setting of the story can also be huge in developing voice. Develop and plan, these. A character's experiences also steer voice. We've all read characters that speak hard or rough and then those who seem way too meek for anyone's good. Just as your life experiences have molded you, so have the struggles and hurdles of your character's life. Understand each like it was your life.

If you're having trouble with voice, try asking yourself these questions:

1. What is this character's background? (It may not be developed enough.)

2. What is the world they live in and how do they relate to it? (You may need more description and think about it in relation to the character.)

3. How well do I know or understand 1 &2? (If not, do more research.)

4. What are his/her motivations behind the goals I've set?

There are many exercises to developing voice.

Take a character from a book or movie you know well. I mean really well. We all had them, probably from high school. Set them in a place they'd never go and think what they'd say. If it feels out of sync, you probably understand their voice.

You can also take a staple character like a Jewish Rabbi or a traffic cop from a small town and put them in a place you wouldn't expect them to travel. Maybe put the Rabbi in a populated amusement park and the small-town traffic cop on the stand at a Superior Court proceeding. What do you hear?

Lastly, a great exercise is journaling. It can be true to your life or pretend. Just write as if it's your life.

Voice takes practice but it can be fun to play with. For me, it's one of the few aspects of writing I'm comfortable with. I love mixing it up, putting words in a character's mouth that no one would expect yet keeping them true to who they are as my make believe friends.

Can you think of a character with an unforgettable voice? 

Enjoying the Journey

I’ve been scratching my head for over a week as I tried to come up with a topic for today’s post. On top of that I’ve been rushing to finish my latest WIP so I can get to another that’s been pulling at me.  In fact, I’m writing this at almost midnight because the inspiration didn’t come until I watched GLEE. ( Yes, I’m a Gleek and I’m proud of it. :) )  Anyway, to make a long story short, in last night’s episode, the lesson was to enjoy the journey.  It didn’t matter if they won or lost their competition—though a lot was riding on their winning their regional competition.  All that mattered was the fact they were doing something they enjoyed.

It got me thinking.  Here I was stressing over the fact I haven’t gotten a publishing offer yet, when I should have been happy with how far I’d come.

I think that the lesson the kids learned not only applies to the show, but in real life too.  And especially for us writers.  Almost every writer’s goal is to be published.  More than likely we want to make the best seller’s list.  We focus so much on what’s at the end of that road, we never stop and smell the proverbial roses.

We rush to get through our WIPs and then hope our beta readers and critique partners will get our MSs back to us quickly so we can edit as quick as we can to send off to agents and editors. 

We critique other writers’s work and read already published books, digesting and dissecting them bit-by-bit to see what we can do to improve our own writing, but we never just enjoy them anymore. 

But why did we start writing?  For most of us it wasn’t because we wanted fame and fortune.  Maybe it was there in the back of our mind, but it wasn’t the sole reason and it wasn’t the biggest. 

It was because we enjoyed it.

We wrote to relieve stress or boredom.  To breath life into the characters we saw in our heads, and having people read and enjoy it was just icing on the cake. 

So no matter where you are along the publishing voyage, whether you’re writing your first word or your millionth, relax.  Slow down.  Take a deep breath.  It’s not a race to get to the next step.  Or the next.  Or the one after that. 

It’s simply a matter of enjoying the journey.  

The Climb by Miley Cyrus courtesy of Hollywood Records and youtube.com.  As always we ask that you respect the artists and download their music on approved sites.

WRITER'S WEDNESDAY: The Makings of a "Great" Writer

What does it mean to be a "good" writer?  (I'll get to the picture in a minute... but come on! You have to keep reading just to learn more about this irresistible treat!)

From our perspective, being a "good writer" doesn't mean you have the most flowery prose out there (for YA at least).  It means that we write something so engaging, that the writing itself is all but lost to the story.

A recent article published by Gotham Writer’s Workshop  said, “Some beginning writers operate under a false assumption: They assume that stories are about language. But language is merely the medium in which stories are created.”  The author continues: “With rare exceptions (Ulysses, Lolita), stories are never about language, or never exclusively about language. ... [G]ood writing doesn’t bring attention to us as creators; it directs the reader’s attention to a created world.”

Sure, that’s all well and good, you say.  NOW TELL ME HOW I CAN DO THAT!!

In running through articles and top ten lists on what it takes to be a great writer, there seem to be a few common refrains.  We've narrowed it down to a top 3.

#1. Read.  A Lot.

That’s right.  Rather than sitting down at your keyboard and prattling away, try curling up with some of the best-loved books of the genre in which you are trying to write.  While telling you to read books you love is sort of akin to asking you to eat a giant slice of chocolate cherry bomb cake (yep, we're talking about the picture now), I’m going to take a little of the fun away.  Consider it like knowing the calories in each bite.  As you read, pay attention to the writing.  How has the author used language?  What things about the writing bother you?  How was the pacing?  The world building?  If you pay attention to the parts you really do and don’t like, you’ll be better able to emulate or avoid those same things.

#2.  Get critiques.  

"The less competent the writer, the louder his protests over the editing. . . . Good writers lean on editors; they would not think of publishing something that no editor had read. Bad writers talk about the inviolable rhythm of their prose." ~ Gardner Botsford, A Life of Privilege, Mostly. 

There are probably as many different ways to get critiques as there are authors out there.  Find a critique partner online or through a local writer’s group.  If you aren’t already a member, places like SCBWI , #YALitChat  (this is where the 5 of us met up), and Verla Kay's Blueboards are good places to join.  While SCBWI has an annual fee, many of the local chapters will allow you to attend meetings without joining the national chapter.  Heck, I’ve found critique partners on Twitter by doing things like YALitChat and KidLitChat.

Another helpful resource is the teens who make up your target audience.  If you don’t have your own, borrow your friend’s kids.  Or your crit partner’s kids. Something I recommend is putting together a fun little “official critique package” so they feel extra special (i.e., are extra-motivated to help you).  Include a list of questions about specific things that concern you.  It could be anything as general as “are there any parts you would change” to “did you think scene x was too over-the-top?”  Include red and green sticky notes.  Red = B (bored), C (confused), or D (don’t believe it).*  If your Beta readers do nothing more than mark B, C, or D in specific places, you’ll be better off than you started. Green = whatever else you edit out, you must keep this part.  Hopefully you’ll get some of these back too.

* this tip from author Kathleen Duey  

#3.  Learn your craft.

Attend conferences.  Take courses (free or paid; online or in person).  Go listen to authors/agents/editors speak.  Read author/agent/editor’s blogs.  Follow agents on Twitter. If you don’t know that adverbs are out, that you have to show-don’t-tell, and that the only two tags editors don’t snarl at are “said” and “asked,” you haven’t been doing your homework.  (If you don’t have a clue what I’m talking about, just don’t ever write a sentence along these lines: “I’m so confused,” he blurted loudly.)  There’s no substitute for paying close attention to the industry.  

What do you think?  Would you list something else on your top 3 list?