Free at last!

Okay, this may sound dumb, but I finally have high speed internet! Which means I can actually write a blog from home! Which means maybe I'll write more often.

It's like this new freedom - being able to link to the outside world from my house.

I want to mention that I've joined a marvelous group of fellow writers, all of whom have debut novels coming out (as I do, at the moment) in 2009. The group is 2k9, and we're soon to have a website. So far what I've seen of the books looks fantastic, and I'll link to websites, etc., as soon as I can.

At least, I'm hoping my novel comes out in 2009. I'm still waiting to hear from my editor (what is called the"editorial letter"), and I hope it comes soon, so that I can polish and revise and refine and make FAITHFUL the best possible novel.

Back to person(s)

We've got some discussion about first person versus third person, which I think is interesting, so let's string it along.

So, my debut novel is YA, and when I turned it into first person, it came alive. Now, however, I'm writing a middle grade, and when I tried first person it was flat as a board. My YA protagonist is 16; my MG protagonist is about to turn 13.

Now, they are also slightly different genres - the YA is historical/mystery; the MG is contemporary/realistic fantasy. And the voices are vastly different: in the YA, as historical, my protagonist speaks with more formal dialect (she's upper class), and in the MG that contemporary voice can come across as slangy.

The other issue may be character - in the YA, I had to really dig her out. In the MG, she's more alive for me right off the bat.

I'm interested to hear what folks think!

So, now...

So after all the edits and rewrites (and they were sometimes painful, but always necessary), Alyssa sent out the manuscript to a select group of editors.

This was my nervous time, actually. And a few of the editors rejected it right away, which, natch, was disappointing. In November, Jen Bonnell of Puffin expressed an interest, a first glimmer of hope.

It took another 5 months and another rewrite at Jen's request, but now the book is with Puffin. And brilliant Alyssa had me write the synopsis for a sequel, so the deal was for 2 books! Yeah!

Of course, I'm trying to fill my time (waiting to hear from Jen) with other work that hasn't yet come together, which is hugely frustrating. Bleeding through my pen...(or through the keyboard...)

One Writer's Journey

I want to finish this story, but before I do, here's a good link to know about if you are published and considering school visits: http://www.tinanicholscouryblog.com/ Alexis O'Neill is an accomplished writer who really knows how to handle school visits. There are good tips there!

But back to January 2007 - just so you don't think that writing is easy for me - once Alyssa signed me, it still took 6 months of back and forth edits before she felt that my manuscript was ready to send to editors. Alyssa is very hands-on (which I love) and gave me terrific advice. And, by the way, you're never too old to be told to "show, don't tell". Her best words of wisdom: make sure it's always kid-friendly.

There were times when I felt that this manuscript would never be finished, that I'd be old and gray before I got it right. I tightened and ditched and rewrote. But it was when I changed the point of view - from 3rd to 1st - that it happened. The character popped out, the story drove forward, it worked.

This is not for every manuscript, but if something isn't working, try changing POV, if only for an experiment.

How does it happen? - Part 2

So there I was, in San Antonio, at an SCBWI (www.scbwi.org) conference, trying to concentrate on the various lectures and workshops, and all the time wondering whether Alyssa would like Faithful.

I walked into the room in a state of anxiety, only to have Alyssa seem so excited to see me - her first words were (to this effect), "I love this book!"

You could have knocked me over with a feather. I spent the rest of my ten minute critique in a fog. She asked to see the entire manuscript when she took her new job as agent about 6 weeks later. Of course, the second I walked out of the room I knew I was in for a lot of work - the manuscript was far, far from finished.

But I sweated to get it whipped into shape for her. And about a week before it was "due" (which is what I like to think about my window of opportunity), I was only halfway there.

I called my writer friends - Kathy Whitehead and Shirley Hoskins, and Kathi Appelt and Debbie Leland - and the advice I got was: "send what you have. Just send what you have. Don't wait, or that window might close." So I sent half a novel.

And Alyssa loved it, and was happy to wait until January for the rest, and she signed me as a client in January of 2007.

But the story doesn't quite end there...

How does it happen?

Since it's been awhile, and since people have been asking, I'm going to review how I became a real published author.

My first book, "Get Organized Without Losing It", was the result of having a son with dyslexia and ADD. He's a great kid, but he sure couldn't keep his stuff together in elementary school. So, although I was trying to write picture books, one morning I woke up and said, "I need to write a book for Kevin."

When I looked around, I couldn't find anything on the market that addressed the issues of organization for a younger child, elementary to middle school age. I had done tons of my own research to try and help him, so I put together a book proposal and sent it to the publisher most likely to publish it, and (many months later), they bought "Get Organized". This sale was a combination of passion, timing, luck, and research. I knew the subject and I targeted the market.

But I was also writing fiction, all types of fiction. I have picture book manuscripts and novels cluttering my files. But there was one manuscript I couldn't quit working on: "Faithful".

"Faithful" is set in Yellowstone Park, an area I know well. Partly I wrote it because I find the landscape so astonishing. Partly I wrote it because my mother died. Those two elements collided in this story.

I hadn't really sent the manuscript around because I was still working on it, when, in fall 2006, I had an email about an SCBWI () conference in San Antonio. It was a last minute decision to attend. They had offered critiques, but these were all sold out.

Then, a week before the conference, I had another email: a crit slot had opened up, and was I still interested? I had to respond with 10 first pages by 6PM.

So I sent the first ten pages of "Faithful". Now, I was in the middle of another major edit; I didn't even proof the ten pages.

My critique landed with Alyssa Eisner Henkin, then an editor for Simon and Schuster. When she announced at the conference that she was leaving S&S to become an agent, I was as nervous as a cat. I really didn't expect anything to happen in my critique.

But it did - and that's the magic of luck, combined with persistence.

I'll finish this story next time.

Character Framework

Here's what readers want in their characters:
1. someone they like
2. someone with courage
3. someone they understand
4. someone who makes things happen
5. someone tenacious
6. someone passionate.
In other words, readers like to see characters who are an idealization of their own dreams. You know that moment when you walk away from a bad conversation and rethink it with great comebacks and snappy lines? Readers love to see their characters find those great comebacks and snappy lines.

But not all the time! A great character has to fail, too, and fail miserably. A great character (protagonist) needs a great obstacle (antagonist) to fight. In fact, that obstacle has to be huge - life and death.

Now, to a 10-year old, life and death may be her parents' divorce. Or it may be experiencing supreme embarrassment. A comic life and death moment is a twist on the serious - showing up at a non-costume party wearing a costume.

When we writers create characters, we have to think about them within the framework of the obstacle they face. And give them a desire so important that it motivates them to act.

So, it's character to desire to goal, all blocked by the big obstacle.

How do I, personally, tackle this?

Well, usually my stories start with an abstract idea. In other words, my plot comes first. But almost at the same time I envision the character who will deal with this idea. Often I free write a number of scenes, getting the emotional tenor and voice of the story rolling in my head before I write the story itself.

But before I write much of the story I try to get to know the character, by one or more of the techniques I've already described. This is just the "getting-to-know-you" phase of writing. It usually isn't until I've written most of a complete first draft that I feel I really know my character.

Then I'll go back and do another round of character studies! I might re-web, or interview my character, or make another scrapbook, or write a series of pages of character backstory.

This is a very organic way of working, and that's what works for me at least through the third draft. By that time, if my character isn't fully developed, the story probably isn't working, either.

And, by the way, I probably end up with between 15 and 20 drafts (or more) of a single novel/story. But more about that stage in another post.

Character building

Another exercise in creating great characters...the old webbing technique is useful. Create a web diagram that shows all the influences on your character, using categories and sub-categories.

For example, a major category may be family, and a subcategory would be grandparents; then describe who they are/were and give them hooks, handles, and descriptors. Think about your character's pets - not only the ones he or she has now, but the ones that have died or run away (always a traumatic experience for a child). Think about school experiences - they are formative. Friends and enemies, teachers, mentors, anyone who's impacted your character needs a small profile, too, especially if they are featured in your story.

A further technique is the interview. Pretend you are talking directly to your character: ask him/her a series of questions as if you were conducting a detailed interview. Follow the thread of the answers you get - you might be surprised. This is especially effective if you feel like you want to add something unexpected to your story. We all have secrets - what's your character's secret? When you find it, don't even include it in the book - it provides a richness to your character without ever being mentioned.

What's his favorite subject in school? What does she hate most in the world? What's his phobia (yes, we all have them - mine are high places and deep water).

In my next post I'll define a character framework.

News and Characters

First, some exciting (for me) news - Alyssa has just told me that she's sold my first novel, Faithful, as part of a 2-book deal to Puffin. Needless to say, this is thrilling - the culmination of many years of effort. And hopefully only the beginning of a career that I love, love, love. You know, it's true: if you do what you love, you'll find success, because your heart will pull you through the hard times when your head yells at you to quit.

So, back to characterization. Last time I mentioned one technique - scrapbooking. There are tons of others, but one I especially like is this: envision your character's bedroom. What's on the walls? Posters of rock stars or athletes or Einstein? What does your character have on his/her bed - a spread? Stuffed animals?

And what's in your character's closet? The stuff we hide from everyone tells a lot about us: is his closet a mess or is it neat? Are there old toys in there? A hockey stick? Does she take her laundry in to be washed or does it end up in a heap? How about old papers that she doesn't want Mom to see? Or a diary?

These are the personal details that turn a character into someone recognizable. Maybe the closet door still has a height chart that your character has long outgrown. Or maybe the closet is a trunk - because you've written a novel set in 1840.

You can use the scrapbook technique on your character's room, too - create a picture with cut-outs from magazines. These physical details will start to make your character feel more real to you, and then to your reader.

Holidays, redux - yes, it's Spring!

I'm not a blogger. Certainly not the type that gets obsessive. Of course, maybe instead of blogging it's better to be writing! I'm going to try starting a new thread here: writing about writing. That's because I've just been accepted into the Vermont MFA program for writing in children's literature. This is exciting, but it's also rejuvenating - I still feel like I have so much to learn about writing. I'd like to talk about writing in its elemental forms: starting with character, then voice, plot, pacing, and any other things I can think of.

By the way, my own personal demon is plotting/pacing. This difficulty is one reason I can't wait to get to Vermont. But here, since I feel comfortable with it, I'll start with character.

One of the most valuable workshops I've ever attended was run by the late, great Paula Danziger. She talked about building character and she combined it with her personal passion: scrapbooking. She brought materials to the workshop and we all chose a character and created a scrapbook of that character's life. I have to tell you that my scrapbook, the one I made that day, was dreadful - but then I went home and spent a week creating a new one for my character. It was a blast! I had fun finding the various materials and pictures, and I made a mini-story, with old photos and stickers, and I bound it nicely - and I think it made my character come alive in a completely new way.

For one thing, I wrote the scrapbook as if it was a journal, in first person. For the first time the voice of my character came out with a vengeance. And a couple of the secondary characters, too.

I'll continue this discussion later in the week...