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So I'm resisting. Resisting reading the ms. It's printed out. But I'm making myself wait. Two critiques are already back. There are things than can be made better, tighter, things that will make my characters more three-dimensional. But overall, very positive feedback. I'm starting to believe I might actually be able to meet my goal of submitting this before I have to go back to school.

As in, go back when my other district teachers go back, on the 16th. Because I already went back last week. To a four day workshop that was so awful we only went for two days and were instructed not to go back. I've never had an experience like that before. Without going into details, I think, to be fair to the presenter, that he wasn't given a clear picture of what he was supposed to be training us for.

But this week, I'm also in a workshop. A technology workshop! Our district won a nearly one million dollar grant for technology, including training! And....we're training on MACS!!! I'll have to let you know what I think of them. So far, it's a little frustrating, but today was noticeably easier than yesterday. But the super exciting part is that we learned how to do a podcast!!! I'm so flippin' excited. The only down side was that I had to do one on math. (It was pitiful.) You know I wanted to do one on teen novels. Especially my own! Man, it was so exciting! With a little practice, I believe I'll be able to produce something worthwhile! No, don't think I'm going to let you see the one I did today. Nope, not going there.

Even if it is still summer, and I rather be at home, I can't wait to see what we're going to do tomorrow!

Happy writing all!

I'm so excited. And feeling a little lost. I'm finished with MUTED. I've even cleaned up all the gazillions of comment tags I'd posted throughout the manuscript! Today it goes out to my valued writing buddies. I can't wait to print it out and read it with pencil in hand. But first. I'm going to read this:

I'm posting again! Yay for summertime. I'm writing, writing, writing. I felt so frustrated that I wasn't finished with my WIP until I looked back at what I've been able to accomplish since January. That's when I began writing the second draft, focusing on changing it from a MG to a YA. Then in March I decided to change it to present tense. So here we are in June and the entire ms is now in present tense and the tone is now, without a doubt, YA. So much of the previous draft no longer fit. And when I tried to make it work, it was LABOR. And it felt like it. That's when I'd realize I needed to hit delete and start from scratch to show whatever growth or emotion I was trying to achieve. It always worked better. Sometimes the shortest route to a better product is to start with a clean slate.

So during the process of drafting new material, I'm happily writing in present tense. Till all of a sudden, I realize I'm back in past. How does that happen? Sometimes dialogue does it to me. Much of the time, I don't know what causes it. Any ideas? Does that happen to you?

And one of my writer friends suggested that the setting might have something to do with it. Where it's taking place, the dialect, etc. Hmmm... I realize I don't have a setting. Not in that sense. I haven't placed it in any particular area of the country. Most of the scenes, except for some foot ball games and a soccer game, take place indoors. I wanted the reader to be able to place this story in their town. In their state. No matter what part of the country they live in. I mean, I could place it in Florida where I live. But do I have to in contemporary fiction? What do you think?

Any thoughts and further ramblings are welcome. In the meantime, happy writing all!

I’m back home after a trip to the pharmacy. Waiting for the muscles relaxers to uncoil my lower back. The spasms, a product of FCAT testing and too many hours sitting, sitting, sitting. So now, I’m laying. Knees up. Trying to type.

I’m re-reading SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson. Wondering why it’s taken me so long. Trying to figure out why she used present tense. Melinda feels so real. So alive in her desperation. Is that because it’s in present tense? Or maybe it’s simply the fact that LAH is a master storyteller. The best. Once again, I’m totally lost in the story.

I’m trying to decide if my WIP should be in present tense. Re-writing a few chapters. I email LAH. Ask her why she chose present tense. Immediately after hitting send, I am embarrassed. I’ve been on this writing journey for over five years. A newbie I am not. Yet, such a newbie presumption that she would have time to answer.

I ask myself, why did I ever conceive that contacting her was a good idea. It comes to me…

Books are my friends. Authors are my friends. I’ve met many great ones. Mostly from Florida. They are people like me. People that understand the desire to re-write, and re-write and re-write. People who are excited at the prospect of being alone, only a book and computer to keep you company. People like me who get so lost in their characters that they forget where they are.

I find an author I enjoy and I read everything. I read all their books. Their blogs. Try to figure out what makes their writing so amazing. So hard to put down. In cyberspace, I feel as though I know the author, when in reality, I do not. They are my friend. But they are not.

So, I apologize for the newbie mistake. Wonder how often it happens. And know it’s often. Even now I have people beg me to tell them how to go about writing a book. How do you answer? It’s not easy. It’s not overnight. It takes practice. It takes work. Then more work. And, if you’re lucky, you’ll reach a point where you can let go and say it’s finished. And if you’re really lucky, someone will agree with you.

So today, if my back will let me, I’ll re-write more of my WIP in present tense. Try to figure out if I’m just putting on an unnecessary coat of paint with distracting embellishments, or if indeed the makeover makes the story come alive so the reader is compelled to sit down, relax, and spend time in my imaginary world.

I'm in a wonderful critique group but unfortunately, we live a pretty good distance apart. Over an hours drive each way. Mix that with a family life that includes busy teens and the day job, it can often get pretty difficult for us to schedule a date to meet. So, our techno-nerd, Paul, has convinced us to try video conferencing so we can meet together without the drive. We'll still submit our 20 pages to each other every couple of weeks, but now, rather than making hard copy comments, we'll use the comment feature in word, and send them back before the conference time. I'm very excited about this. It opens up the possibilities of critiquing with critique partners lost through moves. I know Paul misses members of his old group and Linda and I lost a valued member when she moved north. Imaging still being able to connect with those writer buddies who pull no punches, who encourage you when you're ready to quit, and who can't wait to celebrate the successes with you. Course then, our techno-nerd will have to make more magic. Wonder if he can put a few more hours in each day.

Here's the site we're using. (http://www.tokbox.com/) I'm curious if you've tried it. What do you think of it? Successes? Pitfalls? Other sites? Feel free to weigh in and I'll let you know how it goes in two weeks.

Yep. Gotta love to write!

My Livejournal has suffered. I find myself going to Facebook because it's easier, and faster. Often I feel I have nothing to add here. You know what I mean? Who wants to read a bunch of drivel about me. No, I'm not dissing myself. It's just, well, I know I don't have time to read lots of personal stuff about cyber buddies I've never met. I doubt they do either. I'm boring. I teach. I read. I write. And I taxi my children. Personal family and friends might be interested in the mundane happenings in my life. Maybe. Grin. But I feel that if I'm going to post here, it should be something worth your time. (Have you moved on yet?)

So, in this time of New Year's resolutions...I'm not going to make any. I know I need to once again work on health issues. I know I MUST get my manuscript submission ready. I know I have to make time to slow down and listen to my children...and talk to my husband. Family is what's most important. I only have two more years before my son goes to college. Three for my daughter. Making time for them is not so trivial as a new year's resolution. It's life. People and the connections we make with them are what make life worth living. My goal is to continue to strive to be a better person, to live outside myself. What is it Spock used to say? "Live, love, and prosper." Yeah. that's it.

And in the meantime, I'll post here when I think I've discovered some writerly magic that works for me, and I'll continue to make silly status updates on Facebook.

May 2010 be the year you find yourself living life to the fullest.

Live. Love. Prosper.

ETA: I just asked my son. It's, "live LONG and prosper." Ha. I like mine better. ;)

First, a quick update. I'm proud to announce that I finished the first draft of MUTED on Sept. 27th. A birthday gift to myself. I then spent a month catching up on reading, telling myself I was just letting the manuscript rest before I tackled it again. Truth? I was scared to death of it. It's huge. Monstrous! Where to start in the mountain of revisions?

So, about the time everyone was gearing up for NaNoWriMo, I began gearing up for my revisions. I even printed it out. Two pages per page. Yet it was still nearly two inches thick. Much cutting ahead I fear. I carried it around for over a week. Probably two. I kept making excuses. "Not enough time to start it." "If I start working on it here, someone will want to talk to me." "It's too late. If I start it now, I'll oversleep in the morning." Yada, yada, yada.

Finally, I took my manuscript with me to the public library. The plan? Force myself to work on it till it was time to pick up my daughter at play practice. It worked! There was only one thing keeping me from working on my revisions. Me. I'm now about fifteen chapters in, and have cut an entire chapter. It seems the more I fix, the more questions I jot down. But I can feel it getting tighter. Better. But I have a long way to go. I want this ready to go out the door by the end of Christmas break. That gives me weekends, the week of Thanksgiving, and two weeks at Christmas.

Meanwhile, I will continue to be absent from LJ. I do loiter on FB, so you can look me up there. But for now, I will focus on the book.

I'm frequently impressed by the numerous ways writers approach their novels, yet come out with equally impressive works. Some writers write straight through never stopping until the end, similar to nanowrimo. I've never been able to do that. I'm not sure I could. I'm more of a revise as you go type of person, to the point it drives me nuts. Why can't I just go on?

I take those critiques I've received and revise backwards. I may leave a few threads hanging, ends than need to be woven in, but I've got to fix that global template. Even if I'm not responding to a critique, I've got to re-read the last chapter I've written before I can go on. I guess it kind of gets my head back into the book. And I always find little stuff to fix. Repeated words. A stupid adverb. Telling that's already been shown. Inserting tags. (I really despise tags. I much prefer dialogue and action, so much so that my reader can lose track of where I am.) Yet even after all that revising-as-I-go process, usually I still have to go back and rewrite the beginning. I've heard that there are authors who use this method so well that the editing process with an editor is minimal. I wish.

I guess for me, it becomes a matter of efficiency. Sort of. The more into the book I get, the better I learn my characters. I'm almost 2/3 finished with my current project and I think I've finally sorted out my character's family. I've figured out the part they need to play. How I need to write them. I only recently heard the dad's voice. And that was nearly halfway into the book. His voice is strong and has a significant impact on how Jessica feels about herself. He needs to be introduced much sooner. Mom's role has been shifting throughout the book. So, now that I know her role, I have to go back and make her more consistent. (As consistent as hormonal mothers are. LOL.) But the biggest change is going to be in the brother. I know how he truly feels about his sister but he's a cardboard cutout. One crit buddy uses the term, Nancy Drew. I know what he means. He's not real. Not believable. That absolutely must be fixed.

The question is, when? Some writers would simply take note of what they've learned and move on. I don't know if I can. If I drop a stitch when I'm knitting my prayer shawls, I have to rip it all out and fix it. If I don't, it will bug me. But this time I'm going to push myself forward. I'll add these character trait changes to my whole-document-revisions-to-look-for-when-finished page and force myself to keep going.

Perhaps the key is to simply just do it. Whatever your process. Which is hopefully somewhere in the middle, between those who revise to the point that they never get past chapter one, and those who never revise, submitting that crappy first draft into the slush pile.

How do you write? Whatever your process? Just do it.

Voice is a slippery thing. Trying to grab hold of it is often as easy as capturing a bit of fog in your hand. And even when you've found your voice, you're not quite sure what it is. You only know that something feels different. Your friends are commenting that they see it in your writing. You think to yourself, "What am I doing different?" and more importantly, "Can I do it again?"

I blame a writer's struggle with voice on teachers. (Sorry. Ouch. I know. I am one. But hey, I teach math. What harm could I do? Yeah, right. I know.) Hmmm...was that voice? But, as usual, I digress. Many writers look back upon their school days and remember those early attempts at writing. I have some particularly awful poems and even a screen play that I wrote. (The screen play, I've decided, was possibly a direct result of reading Freckle Juice by Judy Blume.) Since her book is not written as a screen play, I don't think I can be accused of plagiarism. At least, I hope not. Since it will never see the light of day beyond my own home, I don't think I'll need to worry about it. (Yes, I still have it, complete with a construction paper cover crudely illustrated by...myself.)

But my favorite was a story I wrote about a white horse named, (of course), Snow Queen. I was the protagonist, I rode around on this beautiful steed, attired in fringe buckskin, catching all the criminals. I was soooo famous, I never even had to do the paperwork. That chore was assigned to the underlings in the police department.

Of course, I thought this story was amazing. Imagine my devastation when I got it back with red marks all over it. I don't even remember the grade. Just the red. I remember whining to my mom that they didn't even comment on the creativity. (I don't think I still have this story. One day, I'll have to look for it. It would make a wonderful slide on an author presentation, don't you think? Along with the cover of Freddy the Frog with Freckles?

But the main thing I remember, (yes, I remember, I'm supposed to be talking about voice here), was how often I was told, "You write like you talk." Like that was a bad thing? And not just that one 6th grade teacher. (Robin Hill. Creve Coeur, Missouri. You know who you are.) But all the way through. I teach with an incredible language arts teacher now. I had her in high school. Sorry to say, I don't actually remember her as a teacher, which is totally weird, because she's really, really good, but I do still have scads of writing from her class. With the red pen. Lots of it.

"Don't write like you talk."

But as an avid reader, here's what I'm coming to realize. Maybe voice is writing like you talk. I recently reviewed Headlock by Joyce Sweeney. I know Joyce well enough that I know the rhythm of her speech. Her voice. And as I read her book, I heard her voice. In my head, I could hear her saying certain phrases. It sounded like her.

Same thing with Prom Kings and Drama Queens by Dorian Cirrone. Dorian was the first one to critique one of my YA manuscripts. I've known her long enough that as I read her book, again, I could hear her voice. Her witty sarcasm.

And writer buddies, Linda Eadie, Paul May, and Ena Jones. Remember those names, you'll want to pick up their books one day. After years of working together to perfect our craft, I know their voices. I know them so well that if I were to pick up one of their manuscripts, without knowing they were the author, I'd know they'd written it. I can hear their voice.

Did any of you used to listen in the the voices of brothers John Green and Hank Green, on their video blog? Listen to the way John talks. Hear how he ends his statements with a question mark? And listen to his language. "Hyper-physical medium called real life?" Who talks like that? (Amazing, isn't he.) Now go read his books. Same voice. Same language. Same wry wit. Same nerdiness.

That's voice.

Don't listen to your teachers. Write like you talk.

Another  Florida SCBWI member had the opportunity to sit at Ernest Hemingway's typewriter, her fingers poised over the keys.  Her picture inspired this post.

 Ernest Hemingway's office

Can you imagine writing your novel on this typewriter? We figured it was probably even before white out! It got me thinking about revisions.

I'm wondering if it might have been better to write as he did, pulling out the sheet of paper, balling it up, throwing it across the room. Ahhh...what release! Inserting the clean sheet and starting over.

We panic when we accidentally hit NO when we're prompted to save. I did that with a synopsis and had to re-write it from scratch. You know what? The second version was better.  Writing without a computer would force us to keep it fresh rather than simply re-arranging the words and ideas we already have on the page. Some current writers, such as Alex Flinn (alixwrites ) write their entire novel in longhand first before typing it into the  computer. She revises, I'm sure, as she types. So the first typed draft is already a revised draft. That's probably part of the reason her novels are so amazing.

See, here's what I'm thinking. There are so many critical ingredients to a good story.  Characters, voice, plot, dialogue, setting, action, resolution. You get the picture. If just one of those is off, the story won't grab the reader's attention. They may not know what it is, but they'll know something is lacking, or that there's too much of something else. Think of those manuscripts you've critiqued that have tons of colorful dialogue tags. She cried. She whispered. He snorted. She snarled. Or the adverbs! Cliches! She batted her eyes suggestively. She shivered fearfully. You get the picture. Too much of an ingredient. Sprinkle sparsely. (Ouch...an adverb.) Or those manuscripts where something's lacking, such as voice, or authentic dialogue, or action.

It's sort of like the blueberry syrup I made as a teen. I grabbed the baking soda instead of corn starch. The syrup wouldn't thicken. I kept adding more baking soda, but it still didn't thicken, it just made it saltier. (Nasty stuff. Bless my Dad, he ate it anyway.)

Or my daughter's cookies she made with the help of a babysitter. The recipe called for 1/4 tsp. of salt. They added 1/4 cup! They knew the batter tasted nasty, but thought if they cooked it, the cookies would taste better. The birds and squirrels didn't even eat them. (My daughter swears I ate some. I so don't remember that. Ugh.)

Sometimes we let a manuscript sit. No, I don't mean in a box under the bed somewhere. I mean, on the computer, in a file. We're letting it rest, just like those girls baked those cookies. But when we open the file, we still have the same old batter.

Don't be afraid to throw out the batter and start from scratch. It worked for Ernest Hemingway. It can work for you.

Happy writing!
 

She doesn't usually give me much feedback, but she hangs in there with me, offering support, love, and lots of hair. I might be allergic. But who cares. She's 16 and a sweetie. Meet Runtskie.

After over a week of high activity at the Rensberger Roost, I finally wrote again Saturday. A regular writing marathon. Sixteen pages. 3300 words! Yehaw! Today I worked cleanup on those pages.

I had about a half hour left over before picking up daughter at her play practice. Staring at my computer screen I read, "Chapter Sixteen." That's it. No title. No clue where I want to go next.

You know how you can zoom in when you use your GPS, and if you zoom in too closely, you kind of lose perspective on where you are in relation to where you are going? That's exactly how I felt. Time to pull back. Look at the whole picture again. What scene or scenes am I writing toward? How will I get to those scenes? I hate play by play scenes just to fill the time. I'm thinking a clean jump. But to where? The transition must be seamless.

So, for now, I closed the document. I went to my emails with my expert contact. Found the email that I needed. Uploaded it to my brain. Time to recharge. Let my brain do the pre-writing. I'm confident that when I next sit down to write I'll know what my character needs to do. Or what I need someone else to do to her.

In the meantime, I'm satisfied. The writing is going well. I'm at almost 18K out of an estimated 60K. I know the big scenes I need. I know the climactic scene. It's all those little ones that my characters show me that I have to be patient and wait for. I find that if I force it, I'll usually have to delete it anyway.

Happy writing all.

...they might be reading! Check out recorded books on PLAYAWAY. I just discovered them at my local library! Too cool! And we're an itty bitty town! I bet you guys had already heard of them. But I'm so excited. What a great way to reach today's teens!

cynthialord 's book, Rules is featured on the advertisement bookmark. But instead of the familiar yellow duckie, the cover features a red toy car.

Oh, and you can also find adult titles if you wish.

And just for fun, check out this a cappella tribute to John Williams. Listen all the way through. It's worth it. Especially if you like Star Wars.

Voice. The essential element in all writing. You either have it, or you don't. That's what we hear anyway. But then we're told to read, read, read. If you want to write YA, read YA. If you want to write picture books, read picture books. How can you write historical fiction if you hate to read it? Right? It makes sense to me.

So I signed on to review books at Teens Read Too. I surround myself with teens. I read mostly YA books. Eventually, my voice started shining through in my writing. But is that enough? Just reading in your genre?

When I went down to Coral Springs, I listened to I am the Messenger by Marcus Zusak on CD. Amazing. I've never done that before. Wait. Not true. On vacations we used to get younger children's books on tape for the kids. But this was different. This wasn't just a 1-3 cassette tape book. This lasted HOURS. A long time to immerse yourself in VOICE. And the voices in that book! So mahy. So varied. And the narrator was amazing! The protagonist meets so many characters. It was a great study in voice.

Now I'm hooked. I'm listening to The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson. Oh. My. God! The book is incredible! No...don't tell me the ending. Two more CD's to go. But again, I find myself thinking of voice.

Must a character's voice always be the same? Think about it. Don't you use a different language (voice) at home than you use at work? I know I do! (I'd get fired otherwise. LOL.) I use a different voice when I'm talking with teens than adults. And to take it a step further. Is your inner voice different from your spoken voice? Jenna Fox has made me think on this. That's a particularly interesting question. Since, when you write in 1st person, the narrator IS your character. But sometimes, even in first person, you have specific inner thoughts in italics. Should they be the same voice as the narrated voice?

Joyce Sweeney does not let her writers in her critique groups use copies when critiquing. Joyce wants them to be auditory listeners. I wondered why. Now, I think I'm starting to understand. For me, it's about voice. If you've never listened to a book on CD in your genre, consider doing so. And while you're listening, think about voice.

Happy writing all.

Many writers are solitary people. Me? I'm a teacher. I love to talk. Although I find myself often more comfortable with my students than I am with adults. But the more I write, the more I read, the more I find I want to write and read. When given the choice of a party with adults versus staying at home in comfortable solitude with my family nearby, I'll pick the solitude almost every time.

Over the years I've found myself resenting phone intrusions more and more. That demanding, insistent ring that says answer me now. The voice on the other end demanding that you stop what you're doing to take care of what I want now. And I find myself snapping at my mother, or an unsuspecting nurse just trying to schedule and appointment. Who's fault is that?

I tell my son that video games are dangerous. They change the wiring of your brain and put your thinking in a rut. They make your thoughts feel clumsy when you try to focus on something outside that world of technology. Yet when my own children interrupt the world of my own making, my characters, their interactions, their little problems, I react with sigh, a roll of the eye, exasperation at being interrupted...again.

That's when I realize I have to pull back from my addiction. Writing is so important to me. This business of craving the approval for my writing, the desire to hold my novel in my hands, consumes me. I must crawl out of my self-imposed confinement, my writer's cocoon, and stretch my limbs. I open my eyes and remember the life that surrounds me.

It's important to remember to live. What good is a book in the hand without a loved one to share it with? What good is a publication contract if your children no longer bother to share their day with you?

I write because I love it. I write because I hope to make someone's life richer in the reading of my words. But I live because I love. And to love, I must live. Take a break. Breathe in the freshness of the morning air. Listen to your children. Laugh with your husband. Your writing with be better for it. I promise.

I just found out that Beastly by Alex Flinn (alexwrites) is going to be made into a movie! Wahoo! She's a terrific writer and so deserves this. Read her announcement here!

Amy Tan is the author of The Joy Luck Club as well as many other novels. This video is somewhat lengthy, but if you have 20-25 minutes, I think you'll be glad you watched it. I love the part where she talks about how we, as creative people, get help from the universe. So many "yes" moments.

She says to put yourself in the story until there is a transparency between yourself and the story you are creating. I like that. Total immersion.

Thank my mom. She's the one who got me thinking. A couple of days ago I posted about my muse and Mom said she almost commented but didn't want me to be embarrassed. Uh...I'm not too easily embarrassed. You know that better than anyone, Mom. Heh. Heh. But she wanted to point out that I called my muse a HE. "Don't you know the muses are female?" she said. I didn't. I don't think I ever took a course about Greek mythology. Heck, I don't even know if they WERE mythological! Grin. So, I decided I should educate myself.

Here's what I found. There were nine muses, and, as usual, Mom's right. They are all female. Now, I should add that Barbara, one of my wonderful writer buddies, has a fabulous historical fiction novel where I should have learned this. And, I admit, as I read, I found it to be familiar. But even so, I still feel that my muse is male. I don't know why. I don't know what he looks like, (I rarely picture characters in books either), and I have no idea what he calls himself. I'm just glad he calls me. Grin.

So, if you research the Greek men, it seems they all thought of themselves as Gods. Hmmm...Maybe that's why I think of my muse as male? Wait...I'm not sure I want to go there. My muse can certainly get a big head and then there will be no keeping him under control. You know? As it is, he certainly knows how to go off on a tangent, he gets harebrained ideas, and he often totally distracts me from the more mundane things of life...like remembering to pick up my daughter from play practice. You know, meaningless things like that. LOL. Yeah. Just like any man, it's a good idea to stroke the ego often, but you don't want them getting the idea they're in charge.

I had a great time in Coral Springs! Made it there and back safely, although I'll admit that I stopped at one of the turnpike plazas on the way home, after only driving for about an hour and a half. I'd just leaned the driver's seat back when hubby called. After chatting for a few minutes, I told him I was going to take a quick 15 minute nap since I could feel fatigue coming on and the plazas are 45 minutes apart. I didn't want to risk driving that much farther tired. Plus, the traffic was heavy.

I slept for an HOUR! Gee, I guess it was a good thing I stopped, huh?

So, the trip was terrific. I got wonderful, encouraging feedback. I didn't really come home on cloud nine as such, but more feeling validated. That what I'm doing is working. The voice is right. The tension is right. The hook is fabulous! Yes! Yes! Yes! But...now I have much work before me. I must finish the book. Dare I try to have it finished by the Fl. SCBWI workshop June 20? Sure. Why not? It's a goal to shoot for!

Oh, and rememberber my question about quoting teen fiction in my novel? Yeah. Can't do it. Well, not unless I have lots and lots of money. Which I don't. See, I thought it best to quote award winners, so they would still be in print years down the road, (making the huge assumption that mine will also be in print...LOL) BUT...if I quote award winners, then I'll be paying them significant royalty fees for the right to use their words in my book. IF they even agree to let me do it. So, I can reference the fiction my protagonist is reading, free advertisement and all, but when she has to read some fiction out loud, I'm going to have to make up some fictional work for her to read.

Yeah, fictional fiction. Get it? I just crack myself up. So sad..... *shakes head*.

Ok....off to make dinner. Happy writing all! Enjoy yourself!!!!

I leave after lunch. A five and a half hour drive south, one night's stay with a sweetheart of a writer buddy, only to drive straight back tomorrow. Why? To go to my mentor's 2 hour invite-only critique group meeting  to share the first 10 pages of my WIP. Oh...and lunch with wonderful writer buddies that I only get to see, at most, twice a year.  I hate to drive. I hate driving somewhere I've never been before.

I can't wait!

Call me crazy.

Or call me a writer obsessed!

ETA: NOT the sweetheart of my writer buddy! She's the sweetheart! LOL.

I'm playing with the idea of quoting and footnoting various passages of the books my main character reads in my WIP. There will be a couple of chapters that must quote what she's reading. I know I'll need to carefully choose her reading selections to keep from dating to book too much, but at the same time, her choice of reading material will be one way that my reader will see her growth. I know, weird. But I'm curious to see how else it's been done.

Can you give me some mg (or ya) titles that refer to current novels within their own?

Thanks for the help!

There are too many fragmented characters pushing and shoving in my head. Order! Order! Line up to receive your application. All applicants must explain why they want the job and what they hope to accomplish. Applications must be handwritten. This main character must be well-defined and willing to take risks. I won't take just anybody. Applications will close this weekend. That is all.

I just finished an incredible book, THE HANGING WOODS by Scott Loring Sanders. I'll post the review once it's been posted at Teens Read Too.

I haven't worked on my YA yet. No, that's not entirely true. I've been thinking about it. I wrote a new chapter last Tuesday evening. I shared it with my critique group Wednesday. It features a new character that showed up a few chapters ago. Although this is a minor character, she has a significant impact on my protagonist. Yet this is only the second time we've seen her and it's chapter thirty-seven! She appeared the first time in chapter twenty-eight. So Linda, my awesome crit buddy felt that if she's going to have that much of an impact, she should be introduced to the reader much sooner.

Understand, my chapters are short, especially for a YA. My longest chapters weigh in at just over 1300 words and my shortest chapter is just over 200 words. The first twenty five chapters only involve the accident and death of her best friend, and the intensity of the days following. So my protagonist is surrounded by family and close friends and has very little to do with the outside world from the early Sunday morning accident until she goes back to school on Thursday, chapter twenty-six.

This is a random person that she connects with in a coffee shop. So, if you look at chapter numbers, it appears she shows up very late in the story, yet she's one of the first people she interacts with once she gets back into the routine of life. I've found a spot where I can show her, although at that point neither the reader or my characters will know of her significance. So I'm going to play with that and see how it works. I probably won't know for sure until I finish the entire revision and read it straight through. Or let someone else read it.

This revision, as I keep calling it, has turned out to be a total rewrite of the book. I went to a high school football game last weekend and a couple of former students, now sophomores, sat behind me. They asked how my book was coming. You can imagine their reaction when I told them I was totally rewriting it. LOL. They're still at the point they don't understand why their teacher makes them turn in rough drafts before typing the final paper. Rewrite an entire book? They told me I was crazy. I told them they were probably right.

When I started this rewrite, I thought I was just starting the book in a new place. I cut about 10,000 words from the beginning. My original "finished" novel could be divided into thirds, before the May accident, the week after the accident, and entering college in the fall. I started before the accident so the reader to get to know the girls and their relationship. Often, I myself felt I knew the dead girl better than my main character. Then I lingered over the necessary grief and funeral type scenes, and then jumped over the summer completely. I enrolled her in college without her best friend who was supposed to be her roommate. Instead she had to interact with a new roommate, yada, yada, yada, so that in the end, she would be able to accept her friend's death and learn to live without her.

Now, the novel starts with the accident. The novel is now about Nicki, not her dead friend. The reader sees their friendship through Nicki's eyes. I have now focused on Nicki and she has become so much more. More multidimensional. There's more at stake now, because Nicki has a brother. A brother who needs her, although neither of them realize just how much. I've also found out more about the secondary characters. The story has become more immediate, if that makes any sense. I've gone from simply skipping the long lonely summer without Jennifer, to making her live it, experience it. And there's so much more that happens during the summer that I am probably also going to cut most of the original chapters that take place once she goes to college. Including them, I believe, will be anticlimactic.

Had you told me a year ago that almost my entire YA was going to be deleted and that I was going to completely rewrite it, I would never have believed you. And I probably would have been defensive and angry that all that time and work was wasted. But I tell you now, it wasn't wasted. That first book was an exercise in learning who my characters were. And although they are still surprising me, they are now ready to tell their story. I still sometimes think I'll never be finished, LOL, but I'm getting closer every day. Okay. Week. Month?

More than you wanted to know, I'm sure. But I'm feeling good about the progress of this book and wanted to share this part of my journey with you.

Happy writing all!