Hanging Out with Debbie Ohi on Google +

Yesterday Debbie Ridpath Ohi and I "met" on Google + hangout. We've known each other for many years via online so it was so wild to see her live and hear her voice. After we squealed in shock, it was natural just to dive right in and start chatting. I realized that sometimes email just doesn't cut it like actual talking does.

I've never done anything like chat via video before so it was my first time trying out my web cam. And now I'm addicted!

It's very simple to set up, especially if you already have a Google account. Go into your account and click on the hangout icon on the left. Create a hangout and then choose who you want to hangout with. And there! You're ready to chat. It's that easy.

Debbie and I said we needed to get all the MiGs on there once in a while and have group chats. If you have an online crit group or are planning an event with multiple authors, it's really the way to go.

We chatted about writing, marketing and ideas we have for new projects. I really value her advice and I was taking notes. We even talked about my little secret (okay, so it's kind of a BIG secret) that I hope to be able to tell you all about soon.

Here's the very cool picture that Debbie created after our talk. Isn't she so talented?

~Christina

Hurry Up and Wait

Picture from the Daily Drive

There's the saying that publishing is slower than Christmas. Often the phrase "hurry up and wait", though cliche, fits in rather nicely in the publishing descriptor.

Sometimes the wait feels like it's never going to end and when it finally does, the crazy thing is there's always something else to wait for.

Example:

Waiting for the idea to fully form.

Waiting on the agent to respond to your query.

Waiting on the agent to respond to your full.


Yay! You got an offer from an agent! But now you have a new set of worries:

Waiting on the editor to respond to your submission.

Waiting (and biting your nails) when your manuscript goes through acquisitions.

Waiting for the book offer.


Yay! You got a book offer! But now you are waiting for a new set of things:

Waiting to announce your book deal.

Waiting for edits from your editor.

Waiting for your book cover.

Waiting for your arcs.

Waiting to launch your book.


Wow. I don't know about you, but by this point, I'm just tired of the word waiting. So what does an author do to keep their sanity?


Ideas of things to do while you are waiting:

1. Write another book! And make this one even better than the last.
2. Read!
3. Go to writing conferences.
4. Take a writing class and get inspired.
5. Travel to some place new and explore new sensory details.
6. If you are literally on the edge of your seat waiting for a phone call, go to the movies.
7. This is precious time, use it to do something amazing.
8. Tackle a new hobby.
9. Eat chocolate. *grin*

What about you? Are you sick of waiting too? What suggestions do you have for those who are so busy waiting.

~ Christina

Voice- The Song of the Writer

You hear editors and agents continually asking for stories with VOICE in it. They want to hear a distintive sound, different from what they have already seen. So of course the question writers ask back is what is voice?

Jill Santopolo in her interview here talks about the writer's voice as their 'soul print'. She goes on to share that the best way to find your author's voice is to keep writing and writing.

She says, "The same way I can walk down the street and recognize the work of certain clothing designers or architects, I should be able to read a book and recognize the soul print of the author who wrote it."

I often think of it as the sound the author wants to create with their words. Depending on how you construct your sentence, it will give you a different sound.

Think of it like music. There are different categories such as classical, R&B, pop, soundtracks. The words in a book also could fall into different categories.

Look how different each of these phrases pulled from various books sounds:

"The Mudshark was cool. Not because he said he was cool or knew he was or thought it. Not because he tried or even cared. He just was." From MUDSHARK by Gary Paulsen

"I tread slowly, my bare feet giving me an advantage because on this rich green carpet I'm practically silent. I pass the doors, listening for sound, signs of life. But the only sound comes form the door at the end of the hallway that's slightly ajar. There are moans, gasps." From WITHER by Lauen DeStefano

"Yikes. I slam my hand down on the paper. Sucking in a deep breah, I peek under my palm again. Yikes again. A fat red F shimmers before my eyes, its wide arms swaying, mocking me, calling me lame names." From i so don't do mysteries by Barrie Summy

I love how each of those lines gives me a totally different feel, a different sound. They are music rising up from the pages.

Great links for more on The Writer's Voice:

• 10 Steps to Finding Your Writing Voice- by Holly Lisle
• Don't forget to reread Andrea Mack's post (one of our own MiG Writers) here
• Maggie Stiefvater has a some good insights on Teen Voice on her blog

What are some books with great voice that you recommend?

~ Christina

The Roller Coaster

The click, click, click of the wheels cutting across the tracks.

Higher and higher until hanging at the crest of the peak.

To fall.

Flying, stomach dropping, lungs screaming.

And then-

Back into dark tunnels, sharp corners, unexpected turns.

Until the end is reached. The ride has finished. Leaving me breathless and wanting more.

I don't know about you, but this has been my journey as a writer. Sometimes the tunnels feel too dark and I don't know if I can keep writing. But that's why I have my writing friends. To encourage me and keep me from giving up.

Then there are other times I'm standing on the peak and I don't want that feeling to ever end. But it's during those times that my writing partners are there for me, cheering me on.

How about you? Have you ridden any roller coasters lately?

~Christina

Time Is Worth Gold

I don't know about you, but my writing time is like GOLD. Between a full time job, kids and keeping my house somewhat clean, the hours can slip away if I let them. But at the same time, I'm lucky because I'm a teacher. That means Christmas and summers off. Still, this seems to be the biggest issue for me for my writing.

How do I find the time?

1. Determine set times in the day to write and stick to those. So for me it's an hour and half in the mornings before I have to get ready for work (unfortunately that means 5-6:30 am) and then again at nights, usually from 8 until I can't see straight.

2. Trade kid time with my supportive hubby. We do special kid times on the weekends. So I take the boys for a few hours so my hubby gets his stuff done, and then I'm in charge of the kids for a few hours. I try to make those moments with my kids special so that when I hand them over to my husband, I can get back to my writing guilt free.

3. Babysitter- I haven't used this yet, but it's definitely in my arsenal!

4. Always on the brain!- this means that I'm planning what to write while I drive to school that morning or when I take a shower or cook dinner. Because when it's time to sit down and write, I don't have the time to mess around.

5. For us MiGs we did check ups and on each other during the month of NaNo to motivate each other to keep writing. We'd email each other our word counts for the day and that helped me keep accountable to staying focused.

I can't tell you how much I would love to have the luxury of writing full time, but that's not an option right now so instead of complaining about it, I'm trying to stay positive and remember that I'm doing what I love more than anything else.

Any ideas that you'd like to share?

~Christina

Revision. You Know You Want To

Okay, I just love this picture. I WANT this t-shirt.

Because in the last year I’ve learned a lot about writing, but the most important thing I think I learned was how to revise. I have my typical checklist of things to look for when I’m revising, but this past year I took my revisions to a whole new level. I needed to go even deeper and add another layer to my story.

In order to do this, I needed to bring in a number of elements.
They were:


1. Motivation- What are my secondary characters’ motivations? How can their motivations in turn affect my main character and the overall plot progression of the novel?


2. Setting- How can I use my setting to create a mood and atmosphere in my story? How can the setting add tension to the story?


3. Character’s perspective- Write about only the things that my main character would notice. Stay in POV! If my character wouldn’t notice the floor, then don’t mention it. And how can the props in the room further add to the story?


4. Purpose- Remind the reader of the main character’s purpose over and over again. Make that end goal almost unachievable.


5. Scene Arc- Every scene must have an arc and must serve a purpose to the overarching plot of the novel. If it doesn’t serve that purpose, axe it.


5. And even better yet, make each scene serve multiple purposes- advancing the inner conflict AND outer conflict.


6. Foreshadowing- Thread in those foreshadowings throughout the story. Start at chapter 1 and work my way through the whole story (often this can’t be done until I’ve written at least two revisions).


What about you? What are some elements in your revisions that you have recently been incorporating?

~ Christina

Writing- A Way of Life

I started writing 5 years ago, but when I started, it was more of a hobby than anything serious. I had made a list of the top 100 things I wanted to do before I died (morbid, I know) and writing a novel was on that list. I started checking things off my list (like walking on the Wall of China!) but lurking in the back of my mind was #14- Write a novel.

Easy peasy right? Hardly. It wasn’t easy. And I had NO idea what I was doing. Even today I’ve got to say to anyone who has written a novel “Wow.” Because it is a wow. Just the mere fact of sitting your bottom into the chair and being disciplined enough to be able to write “The End” is huge. Never let someone tell you otherwise.

I go back and read some of the pages from that first book atrocity and cringe.

And smile.

Because that’s where it all started. In the awfulness of that first book it made me the writer I am today. It really is an encouragement to compare my writing then and now. So if you’re ever feeling down, go back and read some of your first pieces of writing. You’re going to feel a whole lot better.

Then there’s the fact that this is only the beginning. Think of how much better I’ll be in another five years. Because it’s a never ending process. Reading, writing, learning, listening.

Steven Malk gave me some fantastic advice at a writing conference. He reminded me to never rush my writing career. Take my time to write my very best because isn’t that what I want the world be to reading?

My very best.

~ Christina

Writing and Food

Just the other day, us MiGs were chatting (via email), and we got talking about food and writing. Okay. I admit it. I eat a LOT when I write. The usual healthy stuff like Twizzlers, peppermint patties, dark chocolate.

And drinks. Coffee, Coke Zero, ice water.

The thing I found is that depending on what I eat, it sets me in a particular mood. Like if I want my characters to be annoying and obnoxious, I just don’t eat chocolate. Maybe nothing at all. Because obviously I’m happy when eating chocolate.

If I eat coffee, I tend to be more methodical.

Twizzlers? Light and carefree.

Peppermint patties? Overdramatic evidently. (That one is for you Andrea!)

Am I crazy? Probably. But what I’m dying to know is if you are as crazy as me and use food for inspiration too. What types of foods do you eat while you write and do they put you in a particular mood?

~Christina

I Will Finish!

We MiGs have been big on sharing our goals with each other over the years. Debbie keeps up a special page dedicated for our monthly goals and year goals. It's been a great way to keep ourselves accountable and cheer each other on.


There's something about putting your goals down, not only on paper, but out there on the web. Suddenly I feel as if I've got an even bigger group of people to keep me accountable than just myself.

And since this is NaNo Writing Month, it seems fitting to share my goals with you guys. I had grand plans to start writing my next book (so excited about it, too!), but I've decided to put that on hold until January.

This month, I'm doing another big revision of GILDED, my novel set in Korea. I'm cutting out characters, adding deeper levels to the existing ones and amping up the romance. It won't be a full rewrite like I at first thought I needed, but there will be many chapters that will have a whole new look and new twist.

It's a big job. And I'm going to finish it this month!

Will you keep me accountable? You better!

How about you? Are you doing NaNo? Any tough goals that you are hoping to finish?

~ Christina

Baby Steps

I’m sitting down tonight plotting my next novel. There’s something exciting about starting a new project. Yet at the same time, writing a book seems like an overwhelming task at first, too! Not only do I know I have to write a compelling story, realistic characters, and something that hasn’t been done before, but I also have to convince an editor to buy it. And then once it’s bought, convince my readers to read it!

Okay, so thinking about all of that totally stresses me out. So for me I have to take baby steps.

Phase I- Plotting and Character Sketches

1. Brainstorm like crazy

2. Submit my ideas to my critique group and gain their input (I heart my critique buddies!)

3. Brainstorm again

4. Begin plotting and create character sketches

5. Share my plot with my critique buddies and adjust as needed

Phase II- Fast Draft

1. Plug in my iPod and fast draft- write as fast as I can so I can stay in the groove of my story

2. Stay within my weekly word count goal

3. Eat lots of dark chocolate and drink gallons of coffee

4. Write, write, WRITE!!!!!

5. CELEBRATE when I finish the first draft!

Phase III- Find the Problems

1. Work on plot holes

2. Analyze character motivations and inner conflicts

3. Slice and dice- cut anything not needed

Phrase IV- Share

1. Submit to my critique buddies

2. Make changes according to feedback (note: this phase is often the hardest)

Phase V- Make it Beautiful

1. Polishing- fix grammar, spelling and more surface issues

2. Formatting the manuscript

Phase VI- Out into the World

1. Write my query, cover letters, and the synopsis

2. Get more feedback from critique group

3. Create a list of potential agents or editors

4. Send out and eat more chocolate

Okay so now I’m stressed out again thinking of this HUGE process and I didn’t even go into all of the details. So I’ll just focus on Phase I right now and worry about Phase VI when I get there.

How about you? What keeps you from getting overwhelmed by the enormity of the work it takes to write a book?

~Christina

Book Bliss

Last weekend I went to the beach with my family and of course I took a stack of books to read. One of the books was Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. If you are a Hunger Game fan then you know instantly that I had a great beach read. Collins knows how to weave a story. I can close my eyes right now and remember lounging in my beach chair, listening to the waves, reading a fantastic story. Yes, that is what I call Book Bliss.

So this got me thinking. What pulled me so much into this book? What drew me to the pages and sucked me into Katniss’ world?

Well, you can’t deny Collins incredible world building. I had to know how this world ticked and what were the secrets of District 13 and the Capital. Then there’s the action, adventure, romance, intrigue. Yep, it’s all there.

But the biggest draw for me was the not knowing. The desire to find out if Katniss and her friends would survive.

So what characteristics in a book give you Book Bliss?

~ Christina