Seven Shades of Crazy

I writer friend of mine, Julie, blogged about doing something that scares you.  The rationale behind this (and I'm quoting now) "is that when you step out of your comfort zone, you may be surprised.  That what you've been denying yourself is actually something you enjoy."   Since she followed some rather haughty advice I gave her about a vacuum, I thought it only fair that I reciprocate and take her challenge. 

So today I did something I've been putting off for nearly 18 months.  At 12:48 pm I sent Jessica my completed 78,047 word manuscript Seven Shades of Crazy.

Now what seems so trying about sending your agent a completed manuscript?  Well for those of you who know me, Seven Shades of Crazy is kind of a  . . . well  . . . sensitive subject with me.  It was the first MS I ever wrote.  I completed it over 18 months ago, queried five agents, and received a handful of requests for fulls, but never sent them out.  WHAT????????  you’re all probably screaming at me.  I know, but I have a tiny self-confidence issue, and Seven Shades of Crazy is my baby.  I didn’t know if I could stomach somebody saying it sucked. To be honest, I not sure I can stomach it now.

Now here’s the kicker.  Seven Shades of Crazy was never intended to be a stand alone novel.  I have revised it so it certainly can be, but that was never my intention.   It is actually one of 4 books.  And yes, books 2-4 are already written.  It fits in with that oh so popular fringe area of YA paranormal and has been beta read up the wazoo!  I don’t know what I am more afraid of – that Jessica’s going to hate it or that she’s going to kill me for sitting on 4 completed YA books LOL!

So thanks for the rather hefty shove, Julie.  If I fall flat on my face I will be looking to you and Lindsay to pick me back up.

Wow -- That was Dirty!

When my muse strikes, I find myself scrambling to get the free-flow of ideas down on paper, stealing moments here and there throughout the day to jot down some crazy piece of inspiration.  Undoubtedly, other important things I need to attend to often fall by the wayside. It used to be time with my husband.  But when he re-painted the formal dining room, hung the “fancy” art back on the walls, and declared we were eating in here EVERY night, I got the hint.

Lately, it’s  my house that has been suffering.  I’ve spent the last two weeks furiously revising two WIPs so that I could clear my plate in anticipation of NaNoWrite. Those WIPs have been completed and passed off, and today I decided to tackle those house chores I've been slacking on.

Wow, my house was dirty!   I made a fatal mistake, one that all moms’ make a few times a year; I moved the couch to vacuum underneath.  My little old Dyson wouldn’t cut it, had to get the shop vac out to tackle that job.  I am heading for the bathroom grout now.  Hopefully I will re-surface in the next hour with a sparkling clean tub and a bleach headache a mile long.

I can’t be the only one who puts off the little things in order to make time to write.  What do you all put off when the muse strikes?

Writing Friends -- 100 Strong!

A couple of months back, I joined a small group of talented writers at http://community.writersdigest.com/group/youngadultcrossover   I had some great experiences with the larger forums out there, but I was looking for something different.  I needed a place where we all wrote the same genre, struggled with the same questions about the ever-changing trends in the YA market, and new each others names.  

Last week this community of writers became a 100 members strong!  We’ve gone from posting a comment here and there, to critiquing each others work and organized chats.  I have found some of my most trusted beta readers here, have had the opportunity to comment on some truly astounding writing, and have been on both the giving and receiving end of some well-needed encouragement.

Without this amazing community of YA writers, I would’ve given up my dream of becoming a published author long ago.  Thanks guys and Happy Hundred!

YA Writing -- No Preaching Allowed!

As many of you know, I've been struggling with a particular set of suggestions that don't seem to mesh with the other critiques I have gotten on my latest MS.  It is the nature of our beast for us writers to dissect every comment and suggestion, often trusting others judgments over our own.  That changed for me this weekend, and I owe that debt of gratitude to one Julie Duck.  I’d been so lost in my own manuscript that I’d forgotten how truly remarkable and amazing it is when an author, like Julie, truly manages to capture the YA voice.  

Many of us YA authors, like myself, are mature adults with families and responsibilities. We've got a lifetime of experiences to guide our choices -- a lifetime our MC's have yet to live!  It is hard but critical for us to keep our mature perspective of the world out of what we are writing and/or beta reading.  Take my latest MC – she’s seventeen and has been diagnosed with a cancer.  Now as a parent, I'd be concerned about treatment options, and medical insurance, and whether or not there is enough money to cover the cost of drugs, and the mortgage, and groceries.       

I venture to say that a seventeen-year-old girl/MC who is academically, athletically, and socially active would be less concerned about affording her next meal or paying rent.   She’s more apt to focus on things like the loss of her hair, weight loss and body image, whether her friends will see her differently, school, and of course her boyfriend's reaction to her failing health.  Do these things seem trivial to me, a thirty-plus woman with bills to pay and mouths to feed?  Sure, but I'm not a teenager, and I'm not the MC. 

Will our teenage MC’s make some choices that we as adults think are idiotic and in many cases cruel and/or selfish?  Absolutely!  Will they use language that is crude, choose only to think of themselves, and be completely clueless as to how the real world actually works?  Of course.  They are teenagers after all – they do know everything!  The key to amazing YA writing is lending credence those bad choices and letting the MC’s chips fall where they may.  Remember this YA writing – no preaching allowed!

My Muse

An amazing writer friend of mine challenged us to share a picture of our muse.  I am sure she's envisioning mystical, pixie-like creatures that dart in and out of our minds.  Mine -- not so much. See I actually have a physical muse; a creature that sits atop my writing desk and stares at me.  I call him Chuck -- as in half the crap he inspires me to write I edit out anyway

I talk to him, run ideas past him, and have even been known to wave pages of dialogue in his face demanding that he fix it.  Like a petulant child, he never answers me back, just sits and stares at me with that same stone glare.  I've had him for years and together we have cranked out some pretty . . . umm . . .tolerable manuscripts.

The friend's URL is http://rebekahstories.blogspot.com/    Head on over and take a peek at what her muse looks like and than be sure to share yours here!

When Your Beta Readers' Opinions Just Don't Mesh

Beta readers are an essential part of the writing process. But what do you do when one of your five critiques comes back so entirely different than the others that you find yourself worrying whether your manuscript is even viable?

I posed this question to some author friends of mine and they all had remarkable similar answers.  You toss it aside and chalk it up to personal opinion.  I thought about this, wondered if by not making certain drastic “changes” I was being lazy or overly sensitive.  Then I remembered the sage advice Jessica gave me when I got the first few editor opinions of Cedar.  I wanted to revise; she told me absolutely not.  Unless more then one editor came back with the same suggestions, you didn’t touch it. 

There is a fine line between personal opinion and recognizable flaws in your manuscript.  The problem for us writers is trying to figure out where that is.  I now us a spread sheet to categorize my beta reader’s comments and suggestions; it helps me filter through their opinions and narrow down which ones truly need to be addressed. 

How do you handle varying opinions? Do you make every suggested revision?  Do you go back to your other beta readers and solicit their advice? Or are you so comfortable with your manuscript that you just know what feels right.

           

Inside Out

At 7:47pm I typed the very last word of my latest WIP Inside Out.   I thought I'd feel a sense of relief knowing that the MS was finally complete and now just needed to be fine-tuned.   Funny, I feel kind of depressed . .  almost lonely.  I'm not looking forward to leaving these set of characters behind as I hack out another imaginary life.

Is it just me or do my writer friends also feel a bit sad when they have to close the book on a set of characters you know as intimately as yourself?

When Your Antagonist Isn't a Character

I have been reading a lot of blog posts recently about developing your antagonist – what characteristics he should possess, how clearly defined his motivations need to be, etc . . .  They all indicate that a strong, well-developed antagonist is essential to your overall ARC.  Problem is they all assume that the antagonist has to be an actual person. That is not always the case.

           

The antagonist can be the society, the environment, and in some cases even the protagonist himself.  In Jack London’s “To Build A Fire” The antagonist is the bitter cold winter.  In Cormac McCarthy’s dystopian “The Road” the antagonist is the post-apocalyptic environment.

Can the protagonist and antagonist be the same person? Sure can, but that one’s hell of a hard book to write.  Look at Herman Melville’s “Moby Dick.”  Many say that the antagonist is the whale.  Equal numbers have challenged that the antagonist is actually the mc’s obsession with the whale itself.
 
The antagonist is whatever opposes your mc in a fight, conflict, or battle of wills. The simplest and most common are villains, that one evil character your mc must overcome.  Although the development of this “character” is vital, it is important to understand that the antagonist doesn't always have to be another human character.  Person, place, or thing, so long as it is well developed you have accomplished your goal.