Our first contest winner makes it big!

Hi everyone,

Way back in July 2010, our little critique group revamped and moved our blog. To celebrate, we held a tagline contest. We had (if I remember right) over 35 entries. We were all so impressed with all the entries, but one quickly stood out and eventually was picked as our winner. 

The winner, Susan Bradley, won a free ten-page critique from each of us. Susan's opening pages were really riveting. I couldn't wait to find out what happened! And now I don't have to. Because (drum roll please....) Susan's book, Unraveled, has been published by Evernight Teen!!!  

To help her celebrate, I interviewed Susan (who goes by S.X. Bradley as an author). I hope you enjoy hearing about her book as much as we enjoyed being a very (very) small part in "discovering" it. :-) 

Can you tell us a little about your book?

Unraveled is a young adult mystery novel that centers around the relationship between two sisters. When Autumn finds her sister’s, Celeste, body she uses her gift for math and love for forensics to investigate her sister’s murder. She eventually discovers her sister’s killer and sets up a deadly trap to obtain a confession.

Was it difficult to get inside the head of a character whose sister is murdered?

I cried when I wrote the opening scene. I lost a dear friend in my late 20’s and really used that experience to tap into Autumn’s grief. It was emotionally draining at times, but that’s what makes writing such a personal, amazing experience.

Were you a “math geek” like your MC, Autum, when you were a kid? 

I was a total math and science geek. I still am. I’m not gifted like Autumn is, but I sure did love math and chemistry class.


Kirkus called the book “A heartbreaking, impeccably plotted mystery.” What can you tell us about the process about writing mysteries? Did you work with an outline? How did you keep track of all the details?

I’m a panster. I have a beginning and ending in mind, then let everything unfold in the middle. A more organic process works for me. There are times when I feel like I write myself into a corner, and it can be fun to write the unexpected in order to get out of it. Because I write mysteries, I want to make sure I close all my loops. I track them in my head, then make notes when revising to make sure everything is explained.


Did you work with any police or FBI experts to get the details right?

I did meet with two local detectives. They were extremely informative and it was nice to talk to them after I’d written the scene to see what I had gotten wrong. It allowed me to get the emotion I wanted on the page without thinking about the correctness of everything. I put research placeholders in when I write so I know what I need to add. I also spoke with an FBI agent and read several books. Everyone is always so nice and willing to talk to you. Although I always wonder if they think I’m crazy.


Can you tell us a bit about your journey to publication? 

When I finished Unraveled, I sent out queries to agents. I got close, but ultimately didn’t get an agent. For the next year, I sent it out to publishers and got feedback that it was too dark. I put the manuscript away, and started working on my thesis. Last November, I saw an open call from Evernight Teen. They were looking for dark, gritty fiction and I thought Unraveled would be a good fit for them. About two weeks later, I got an acceptance email, then we moved very quickly after that.


Are you working on anther book at the moment? Care to share any details?

I am working on the sequel to Unraveled. It’s also my master’s thesis. I’m close to being done, then I have an idea for another young adult mystery set in the art world.


What book (or books) are you reading right now?

 I just finished Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn and I’m about half-way through Veronica Roth’s Divergent. I don’t get to pleasure read too much while I’m in school, so I have to put a lot of books on my To Read list or listen to the audio book.


Tell us one really interesting or unusual thing about yourself that most people probably don’t know.

 I have a total obsession for Sharpies. They make me happy.


Where can readers find you online? My website is www.sxbradley.com

On my website, you can find my Facebook and Twitter page.

Thanks again for visiting us today, Susan! And congratulations on your book! 

Read to Write

Whenever people ask me what they should do to become a writer, my first answer is write as often as they can and write what they love.

My second answer is to read, read, read.

You can discover a lot about a writer by what they read. I love asking other writers this question: What are your favorite books? And if they start mentioning some of my favorites it's as if we are connected in some way.

When I went out for coffee with my editor, I thought it was so ironic when she asked me this very same question! Of course, I was so excited and nervous to be sitting with my editor (okay, so maybe I was kind of FREAKING out) that my first answer was something like, "I love that new fantasy book with the girl with those powers and it was so awesome."

* Yeah, that was the crazy in me because in my head I was really thinking: "OMG, I'm sitting in a coffee shop with MY editor! I've completely died and gone to writer's heaven."

** The book I was trying to talk to her about was Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo.


Why is it important to read?

1. Read within your genre.

I try to actively read books within the genre I write. Some people say, "No, I don't want to do that because it will influence my ideas." And I do get that.

My advice is to segregate your reading time and your writing time. Either separate your mornings for writing and evenings for reading. Or do what I like to do where I fast draft a book for a month, then I take a week and read everything I can get my hands on, then go back to revising.

2. By reading within your genre, you are keeping up with the market.

The market is ever changing. As a mom, I love to read my boys the classics such as The Boxcar Kids and Little House on the Prairie. But I also read to them newly released books such as the Percy Jackson series and The Fast and the Furriest. Both types are brilliant, but the books of fifty years ago are far different than the ones being printed today.

3. Study the craft of other authors.

It always takes me longer to read books than my husband. Why is that? Because I'm studying the book's plot structure, analyzing why certain characters ring true to me while others don't, looking at how sentences are arranged and even how long the chapters are.

As an author, I'm always finding ways to make my stories stronger. So when I expose myself to great storytelling, I push myself to become a better storyteller because I'm seeing it in action.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on reading and writing and how the two are connected.

Christina Farley's debut YA, GILDED, releases spring 2014 by Skyscape/ Amazon Children's Publishing. She is represented by Jeff Ourvan of the Jennifer Lyons Literary Agency, LLC. She blogs and vlogs about writing and traveling, and is often found procrastinating on Twitter

Revising Too Much?

Last week I was re-reading Legend by Marie Lu and remembering again just how good it is to be caught up in a story that I just don’t want to put down. And how, as a writer, that’s the kind of story I want to create.

The problem is, there’s a huge gap between the story I envision in my mind and what I can manage to create using words on paper. Sometimes, I feel like all the work I do on my words to get them closer to that emotional vision is taking them further away. Oh sure, I’m getting the events in the right places to build a more compelling plot, to develop character, to improve the pacing and all the other things I need to do to build a story. But I can’t help feeling that sometimes my real goal—my dream of creating a powerful emotional experience— is getting lost in the middle of thinking about structure and other technical details (see Marcia Hoehne’s Of Fiction Writers and English Majors for an interesting perspective on this).  

I know that revising is supposed to make writing better, and it does. But stories are also a little fragile when it comes to the emotional side of things, and it’s so easy to forget to nurture that part of the story. To get caught up in where the characters are going and what they are doing instead of how they are feeling and how the reader might be feeling. Sometimes, it seems that revising some parts of the story too much, or maybe revising the wrong parts, drums the feeling right out of a story.

I’m holding onto the hope that as I get better at the structural and technical aspects of writing, I’ll be able to give the emotional side of the story even more space to grow.  

-- Andrea

They were wrong

I don't normally share links on this blog, but this one is so moving. It's about the power of poetry - and mean words.

We know the power of words, don't we? Words are our job, after all. Many of us write about underdogs or those who have been hurt deeply. This includes me. I've been working on the revisions for my forthcoming book, ELIZA BING IS (NOT) A BIG, FAT QUITTER. It's a mostly funny story about a girl with ADHD who takes up taekwondo to prove she can stick with something. But it's also about how Eliza is lonely because she's different. There's a scene where Eliza talks about not having any "sleep over friends." My agent tells me this makes her cry every time she reads it.

Know what makes me cry? The parts about how some girls at school filled Eliza's lunch bag with trash and gave her the nickname Every Day Eliza because she wears the same clothes to school. Those things, along with the no sleep overs part, make me cry because they really happened to my beautiful daughter.

She is the inspiration for my book. The "real life Eliza" if you will. Like Eliza, my daughter took up martial arts and found a home. (She will be testing for her 3rd degree black belt this weekend.) And like Eliza, she is strong, smart, creative and amazingly kind despite being bullied so badly she had to change schools three years ago. She is happy now. But make no mistake, she still carries the scars.

So many kids don't make it to the other side. These beautiful, lost souls never learn -like it says in the video - They Were Wrong.

I will keep writing stories about those kids. For those kids. Because those kids are *my* kid.

The Slutty Idea

I was working with a high school creative writing class. A young man raised his hand and asked, “What do you do when you’re working on one story but then get an idea for another story?”

“Ah,” I said, “That’s what I like to call the slutty idea.**”

The class laughed and then I explained, “The slutty idea is that idea that shows up unexpectedly and says, ‘Hey there. Pay attention to me. I’m your best idea ever and I’ll be so easy to write. I promise. Forget that other story. I’m the one you want to work on.’” 

(I did this last part in my best-but-appropriate-for-the-audience sexy voice. I'm sure my son was thankful he wasn't in the classroom that day.) 

I told the kids that, in my own experience, the slutty idea likes to show right in the middle of a hard part. “It usually means I’m stuck and just need to keep pushing through on my current project,” I told them. 

I also told them that sometimes, if the slutty idea seems really interesting, I might take some time to write it down or jot a quick outline. That usually satisfies the itch, so to speak. 

Slutty ideas can be so tempting. It’s the whole “the grass is always greener” thing. But sometimes the grass really *is* greener. Right? How do we know when to abandon one idea for another? 

Ask yourself:

* Am I stuck/having trouble in my current work-in-progress? 

* Do I still believe in my current idea? Is it something that makes me happy, I’m passionate about or think is marketable?

* Have I invested a lot of time and energy in my current idea? Am I close to finishing? 

* Can the slutty idea wait? Meaning, the idea is really good but not necessarily a super time sensitive or “hot” genre/topic. 

If any of these answers are Yes, keep working on your current project and let that slutty idea simmer and see what happens. If, on the other hand, that other idea keeps calling and calling you and find that you can’t stop listening to it, then maybe take a break and explore it. 

How about you? Have you ever had a slutty idea? How did you handle it? 

**I’m sure I didn’t coin this phrase. But I can’t remember where I heard it first.

After the Book Deal- Months 9-6

A while back I decided to do a blog series called After the Book Deal. These posts are meant to help writers navigate through the process of what to do after you get the book offer. If you're like me, you've been focusing on your craft of writing, but now it's so much more.

Here's the first post: After the Book Deal- The First Three Months

So what's next?

Brand Yourself

I know we are all creative people, but you need to think about these questions before you go any further:

1. Who do you want the world to see you as?
2. What is important to you?
3. What are you hoping to accomplish through your writing?
4. How do you want to reach your fans and to what extent?

Once you've made those decisions, you're ready for the next step.

SWAG

Having swag can help promote your book in advance and provide ways to 'thank' those who supported your book by tweeting or blogging about your book.

• Marissa Meyer has great ideas here.
• For tattoos, I used this site.
• For bookmarks and bookplates, I used this site.
• For magnets and business cards, check out Vista Print because if you pay attention you can get great things for free from them.

Create an Author Facebook Page

Check out Nathan Bransford's post here. He has a blow by blow instructions on how to do it.

You'll need to decide if you should make up a page based on your book's title or on your author's name.

Check out my author Facebook page for ideas here.

Set Up a Website

There are a host of great web designers out there. I choose Biondo Studies because she's professional, her work is clean with excellent quality and she worked with me through the entire process. Here's my website.

Some things to consider when setting up your site:

1. This site should represent you and who you are.
2. Make sure it's easy to navigate and readers are able to find out where to order your book easily.
3. Create reasons why readers will want to go to your site. Do you offer something that is unique? Is your blog connected to your site.
4. Your site shouldn't be stagnant. It should constantly be changing and improving, always drawing readers to come to it.

Social Media

Pinterest, Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter. Make sure you have a reason for whatever social media you are using. If you don't have a reason, don't use that media source.

How about you, are there any other recommendations you have?

Christina Farley's debut YA, GILDED, releases spring 2014 by Skyscape Amazon Children's Publishing. She is represented by Jeff Ourvan of the Jennifer Lyons Literary Agency, LLC. She blogs and vlogs about writing and traveling, and is often found procrastinating on Twitter.

How to Use a Mentor Novel to Improve Your Writing

Some writers avoid reading books in the genre or age group that they’re writing for, because they don’t want to be influenced by a similar character, style or plot. But when I’m working on writing middle grade stories, I like reading middle grade books. I find that it helps to keep my mind firmly in the world of ages 9-  to 12- year olds and their humor and language. It’s the same when I’m working on a picture book – I want to read other picture books to get a feel for the pacing, language and level of humor.

Mostly, I read for enjoyment, hoping I’ll absorb something that will improve my own writing. But once in a while, I’ll take a favourite book and study it more closely to see why it’s successful and how I can make my own story more like that. And by more “like that” I mean, a story that gives a reader the same kind of satisfying, emotional experience that I get when I read one of my favourites.

It’s not that I copy the plot or even the writing style, but I try to uncover strategies that will strengthen my own writing. For example, not so long ago, I was stuck and not making much progress with revisions on one of my middle grade writing projects. So I studied The False Prince by Jennifer Neilsen to see what made it such a captivating read, and it reminded me of some things I could do to make my story stronger:

1. Make my character more active. There is never a dull moment in The False Prince. Even though some of what the main character is doing is “off stage”, he’s always up to something. As a reader, I feel like he’s always scheming and that keeps me hooked.

2. Bring out more voice. I really admired way Jennifer Nielsen gave readers a strong sense of Sage’s personality right from the beginning. My story has a totally different main character and perspective than Jennifer Nielson uses in The False Prince (my main character is a girl, and I’m telling the story in third person, not first), but by thinking about my "mentor novel" I could see that what my story needed was more of my main character's personality. I discovered that you need to be a little dramatic in creating your character’s voice, otherwise it can come across as too quiet or not distinctive enough.

3. Show most story events through the main character’s thoughts and feelings. I believe some people call this “interiority” (for more on that see literary agent Mary Kole's Interiority vs. Telling). To me, it means that if I'm describing trees, I'm describing what it is about the trees that is important or noticed by my character (and if she's not thinking about the trees, then I don't mention them). Through reading The False Prince, I realized that it's okay to "tell" the reader some things, if that's what the character is thinking about (just don't go overboard).

 

Do you ever use a novel as a "mentor text" to help you with your own writing?

For more tips, check out this post by Dee at Dee Scribe Writing, Tuesday Writing Tip: Why Writers Need to Read.