Category: Writing

Over at the Noodlers today

I’m blogging today over at the Wet Noodle Posse, all about final round judging in the Golden Heart.

It was fun to research/write this blog. Although, honestly, all I did was ask the questions. Stephani Fry, Projects Coordinator for RWA, did all the work in answering.

In other news:

Geek Girl’s Guide to Cheerleading: line-edits are in the (snail) mail, on their way to us (or rather, me) from our agent (!!!). I may have to take a picture. And post it. And yes, I am that geeky. Did you not see the title to the manuscript?

Other writing: 12,000 words and counting. No, I’m not doing National Novel Writing blah-blah-blah month. But it explains why this entry is short and why I might be a scarce for the next few days.

Excuse me, have you seen my words?

Seriously? The blog entry topic choices are lacking these days. I have a word deficit, it would seem.

For instance, last night, we turned in Andrew’s football equipment (season 4 -3). Since, previously, The Season is On!!! I told him that now, The Season is Off!!! He disagreed, stating, that it’s the off season. If the season was off, that would mean it was canceled.

Touché, football boy.

Then there’s my partial ode, partial investigation into the Vanilla Bean Blended Crème at Starbucks. This drink contains no caffeine. And yet. My mood improves dramatically after I drink one. And it’s not a sugar rush/crash later deal either. I stay happy. I know it just can’t be the whipped cream, either.

So, you see my dilemma, of course. Does ignorance = bliss? Or do I dig deeper into this possibly unsavory phenomenon? I’m thinking this might require several trips to Starbucks in the near future.

In actual writing news:

The comments and entries are going strong over on the Wet Noodle Posse blog. Friday is question and answer day, so if you have a burning question about the Golden Heart (and who doesn’t), then stop. Also, each entry this week has an email link if you wish to submit a question.

I’ve been remiss in mentioning my article in this month’s posse ezine. The Before and After of Online Writing Classes is all about … wait for it … online writing classes. Let it never be said I didn’t do any promotion.

A YA state of mind

For those of you interested in entering the Young Adult category of the Golden Heart (okay, that may just be one or two of you, but still …), Trish Milburn aka Tricia Mills will be blogging at the Wet Noodle Posse today about entering the Young Adult category of the Golden Heart.

Hop on over if you’re interested/curious. The rules for YA were revamped this to reflect what’s going on in the market. So, it’s more young adult with romantic elements than young adult romance. And a big hooray for that. I can’t tell you how happy that makes me.

The 12 question writing meme

Found this one over at Marianne’s.

What’s Your Writing Style?

  1. Are you a “pantser” or a “plotter?”

    I don’t like this question because it sounds like if you even do a hint of pre-work, you’re all about plot and not characterization. Most of my pre-work is characterization. I know most people would call me a plotter. For me, it’s more like thinking on paper.
  2. Detailed character sketches or “their character will be revealed to me as a I write”?

    Not sketches, but memoirs. First person in the character’s voice. I have a series of questions, but if the topic is “cars” and the character starts babbling about politics in Sweden, I go with it. I figure that means something.
    The more I write, I find this is the one single exercise that really matters.
  3. Do you know your characters’ goals, motivations, and conflicts before you start writing or is that something else you discover only after you start writing?
    I do look at all of this (see above), but nothing’s set at this point. Sometimes, I’ve only scratched the surface of what the character and story are really about and it takes a few more drafts to get it where it should be.
  4. Books on plotting – useful or harmful?
    Like anything else, in the wrong hands, they can be dangerous. Seriously, I’ve found that craft books are a lot like any other kind of book. Some people will relate to a certain writer and some will not.
  5. Are you a procrastinator or does the itch to write keep at you until you sit down and work?
    I can circle work for days (just ask Darcy). I look at it, it looks at me, and we both go, “Meh.” I used to freak when I hit a slump (okay, still do). Like somehow if I don’t write for a week, I’ll forget everything I’ve ever learned about writing up to this point and will have to start all over again.
    Neurotic, who me? Not at all. I’m getting better at seeing that I simply need time to think.
  6. Do you write in short bursts of creative energy, or can you sit down and write for hours at a time?

    Yes.
  7. Are you a morning or afternoon writer?

    I’m a morning person, but I probably write more in the afternoon. Go figure.

  8. Do you write with music/the noise of children/in a cafe or other public setting, or do you need complete silence to concentrate?

    Yes.

    See my previous post on Chuck E. Cheese. I don’t like writing with music coming from my computer speakers, but if there’s background music (say, at Miss B’s ballet class), I can deal.

    Sometimes I think we writers baby ourselves too much. When you look at what some writers did/do under repressive regimes to write and compare it to the “omigod, I can’t write unless I have my three aromatic candles lit and Yanni on the stereo.” it can look a little indulgent.

  9. Computer or longhand? (or typewriter?)

    I’ll do both. I like doing both. It’s a mood thing.
  10. Do you know the ending before you type Chapter One?

    I generally have a sense for how I want the story to end. There’s a writing saying about “the end is in the beginning.” I once figured out the end to a story by chanting that to myself.
  11. Does what’s selling in the market influence how and what you write?

    Thing is, what’s new on the shelves right now is what was selling 12 – 18 months ago. I subscribe to Publisher’s Marketplace, which sends out a list of deals every week (actually, if you’re a site member, you can log on and see/search deals).This isn’t every deal, just those agents/publishers feel like reporting.I find it more inspirational, especially when someone says, “You can’t sell that as a new author.”

    Well, yes, you can sell that as a new author. You just have to do it right. That’s the tricky part.

  12. Editing – love it or hate it?

    Love it, love it. Writing is rewriting and thank goodness for that. The one thing I’m not wild about (probably because I’m doing it this week) is keying in changes. I always edit on paper, which means I have to 1) decipher my own handwriting and 2) make changes without typos procreating around those changes.

Home … stretch

Thanks to a power outage yesterday, I finished the paper edit on Geek Girl’s Guide to Cheerleading. Amazingly, on Sunday, I managed to edit while at Chuck E. Cheese. Who knew one could edit at Chuck E. Cheese? Or ballet class (well, Kyra’s class, it’s not like I’m trying to dance and edit at the same time).

Now, to key the changes, and with luck, not add a bunch of new typos to go along with them.

Is it wrong for me to say that I love this version of the book? Oh, probably. But what the hell. I love this version of the book. At first, Darcy and I weren’t sure how we’d pull off some of the suggestions our agent (!) made, but once we got going, things fell into place. I’m so hoping our agent (!) will see its “new cheerleader hotness” (to borrow a line from the book).

Of course, Darcy’s worked over the entire book already. I’m going through and rippling through some late, breaking changes, adding transitions where needed, maybe a little setting, and so on.

One of the coolest things about working with a partner is this edit. I can’t explain how delightful it was to read through and see the changes Darcy made. Of course, I anticipated the ones our agent (!) wanted, but a change here means a change over there, and up front there, and around the corner over there.

I’m telling you, there really is no “I” in cheerleader.

So, I need to finish up my part. I’ll be a bit scarce for a while longer. Or at least, slightly preoccupied.

You gotta have (golden) heart

When it comes to the Oscars and the Golden Heart, it’s an honor just to be nominated. Of course, it’s a honkin’ thrill to win. The Wet Noodle Posse wants you to be thrilled or honored next year, so starting October 1st, we’re devoting our entire blog to Golden Heart tips, to help you get your purty face on the big screen in San Francisco.What’s the best category for your entry? How do you interpret this year’s formatting instructions? Where do you break your partial? What mistakes can you avoid and what stand-out traits do winning entries have? Every member of the Wet Noodle Posse is a previous Golden Heart finalist, lots are winners, and a few have enough bling to start their very own heart-themed gift shop.

Believe it or not, entering the Golden Heart can be fun. Join the camaraderie that is the Wet Noodle Posse and get help bringing home the Gold!

Mark your calendar for October 1st and visit The Wet Noodle Posse Blog.

Send any suggestions of Golden Heart topic areas you wish the Noodlers to address to Jill Monroe.

Take a break by visiting our free monthly ezine.

Who is the Wet Noodle Posse?

In 2003, a group of about sixty women met each other online for the first time as finalists in the Golden Heart. They found a special friendship, and stayed together – through births and deaths, the inevitable agent and editor rejections, giddy-making first sales and more sales. When anyone expressed doubt about her talent, the others threatened to thrash her with a wet noodle. The name Wet Noodle Posse was born. Today the Posse has any multi-finalists and winners, and a few have enough bling to start their very own heart-themed gift shop.

The Wet Noodle Posse went on to launch an e-zine designed to celebrate and support women in all kinds of ways. Of the Noodlers who take part in the e-zine, 22 of 32 are now published, for nearly 69 percent. They also started a blog to expand their contact with others. Now the Wet Noodle Posse wants to share their collective experience to encourage other writers to enter the Golden Heart.

Additionally:

I should mention that if you comment on the The Wet Noodle blog during the month, you’ll be entered in a drawing to win a critique give-away. More details to come on that.

Also, I’m still casting about for a topic, since no one seemed to take to “how to final your first time out with your first manuscript and never final again.” Seriously, I don’t bring much more than that to the table.

So, anything you’d like to know?

Tales from the inbox

So, I finished judging a bunch of contest entries right at the moment Darcy sent me the revised version of Geek Girl’s Guide (breathe, breathe, no pressure) for my turn to edit. And I do mean, right at that exact moment. It was like we synchronized our atomic watches.

Because I’m all about making the most productive use of my time, I turned immediately to cleaning out my overflowing inbox. I found subject lines such as:

  • Whoa
  • Yawn
  • Word

These are all from Darcy. In one email, I respond to her with:

I don’t really have a jones for the industrial revolution.

But then, who does?

We also chatted on topics such as:

  • The Six Million Dollar YA
  • The Art of War

No Borg. Odd, that.

So this coming week, I’ll be playing my part in the collaboration and using my Borg skills to edit (I’m not sure if we’ve decided who’s 7 and who’s 9).

Now all I have to do is remember to breathe.

Contemplation

I did the insane the other day. I entered The Fine Art of Holding Your Breath(MacKenna’s story) in the Golden Heart. I only have ~17,000 words in the first person version so far. The receive-by deadline is December 3rd.

So. Yeah. External pressure. Insanity. Same thing.

I’m also contemplating my “education” plan for next year. Last year was all about regrouping (can you regroup if you’re just one?). I worked through Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook. I tore apart and put Geek Girl’s Guide back together. I think that helped me prepare for this round of revisions. But I did a lot of this on my own.

This year was the opposite. I needed outside opinions. I partnered up with Darcy. I needed to understand what people weren’t seeing. And I think/hope I have a better grasp on that too.

So, I’m thinking of next year (yes, already). This year is pretty much booked with writing, revising, editing (Darcy’s getting ready to send me Geek Girl’s Guide for an edit). What do I want to learn next year?

That’s the great thing about writing–the possibilities are endless.

Reader, I married him

Over on Romancing the Blog, they’re talking about point of view, which is kind of like shouting fire in a crowded theater. I never understood the prejudice against first person point of view in stories. As one Noodler gal astutely noted: it’s simply one way to tell a story, not the Antichrist.

Still, it gets people fired up.

I love first person point of view. I also like close third, omniscient third, big sweeping sagas where everyone gets a say, even the flea in the errand boy’s pocket.

In other words, I love stories. And I agree with the sentiment that some stories demand to be told a certain way. I’m not certain why it took me so long to try writing in first. Oh, I did a few short stories. And I wrote all my character sketches in first. And, of course, the last three books I wrote, I wrote in close third, but from only one perspective.

Someone hand me a clue.

I love quirky, “unconventional” first person narration. I like made up words. I like it when the narrator turns to the reader and says, “Reader, I married him.”

And talk about unconventional: two writers, one first person point of view. This “shouldn’t” work. But it does. Of course, we’re the Borg. Oddly enough, Seven of Nine came up in our conversation the other day. (And not Hottie McHottie, prom, or eyeliner.)

So I’m thinking: if you have to be the Borg, that’s the Borg to be. No?

This should make that author photo so much easier.

Promises in the dark

Chekhov called it the gun on the wall. Bill Johnson, in his writing craft book, A Story is a Promise, called it just that. When you hang a gun on the wall in Act I, you promise that it will go off sometime before Act III. (And you know, even when I see a literal gun on the wall in a play, and they post that little sign out front: Act III contains simulated gunfire and smoke, I always flinch when its fired.)

Darcy sent me a little scenelet today that I think reinforces one of the promises we made. Actually, I think it opens it up even more. It’s terrific. One of the neat things about this process is getting little presents like that in my inbox.

We’ve also pondered how to show off our guns on the wall. Darcy and I both like subtle. But we’ve discovered that one (or two) person’s subtle is another’s what the hell are you talking about?

So we ponder. We want it organic, natural to the story, not some sort of neon: LOOK HERE! GUN ON WALL! I emailed Darcy the eloquent: Some readers really need a lot of “stuff.” I know we don’t need a lot of “stuff,” but for readers who do, they really need it.

I should write my own craft book. I can call it: Writing Stuff.

Anyway, I think we’ll have our stuff together in the next few weeks. Then maybe I’ll update the blog a bit more (I say that, but watch, I’ll be back tomorrow).

Until then, watch out for guns on the wall–and keep all your stuff together.