Up For The Challenge

I’ve been working on my first young adult novel for the last three years. It’s been a huge personal and creative challenge and there’s been many times I’ve wondered why I’m doing this to myself. Yesterday, I was reminded.

Because it’s fun and because the teacher invited me, I went to visit a local high school’s creative writing class. I’ve been in a few times this semester, talking about various things. This time, I was sharing a couple of chapters from my work-in-progress so kids can see that revision is a natural part of the writing progress. I told them to go ahead and rip my work apart, I have thick skin. “This is how I’ll get my very best work,” I told them.

The kids took their job seriously. They had spot-on and insightful comments. But one student kept raising his hand and demanding an explanation. My story’s topic is a tough one: a girl’s older brother is kicked out of the house for being gay.  The student couldn’t wrap his brain around the idea that if a parent and child had an otherwise good relationship that Mom would kick him out for this one “flaw.” (His word, not mine.) I tried my best to explain that the world isn’t always the way we wish it to be. He wasn’t buying it.*

But then, from across the room, another student defended the idea. “It happens more than you think,” he said.** 

When the bell rang, this second boy hung back to talk to me and the teacher. He shared with us that when he came out as bisexual to his strict and religious parents that his dad didn’t speak to him for a week. He told us that his parents still don’t accept this part of him and that he’s lost friends and family members because of his orientation. He seemed okay with all of this, or at least resigned in the way many LGBT kids are. I told him I’m the mother of a gay child and asked him to give his parents some time to come around. “They’re on their own journey, too,” I said and hoped it was true.  

This kid - and all the other LGBT kids and their siblings - these are the people I’m writing for. And they are the reason I’m working so hard to get this book right. I’m honored to be a part of their story. It’s a huge responsibility and I going to work my butt off to make sure I’m worthy.

Now. If you’ll excuse me, I have a book to revise.

~Carmella

*I actually kind of loved that this young man couldn’t imagine being disowned by his parents for being gay. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if no one could? 

** When I was going through what the kids had written me, I found a note from a girl telling me that her cousin had also kicked out her daughter for being gay.  

Revising for an Editor or Agent: Part 2

Revising your story for an agent or editor can be a little different than revising for yourself. Today, writer and editor Kate Fall and YA author Christina Farley talk about the revision process and how they handle editorial suggestions. [For perspectives from other MiG writers, see Revising for an Agent or Editor Part 1].

 

Kate says:

When I'm revising for myself, I usually have a mental list of "things that bug me about my manuscript." They may be things that nobody has mentioned. They may be things a critique partner told me that resonated. But I am out for me. These are things that bother me, my pet peeves. For example, I don't like disappearing objects. In one manuscript, my main character has a bracelet her boyfriend gave her, and it's stolen by someone she knows. And for my beta readers, that was enough. That made sense. But I would wake up in the middle of the night wondering where that bracelet was, and eventually I changed the ending so that my main character gets her bracelet back.

When I'm revising for an agent request for revisions, I'm listening to their input. Agents often have input like, "I see this a lot. Is it important?" And you know, maybe it's not. The classic example is the first day of school beginning to a novel. It makes sense from a narrative standpoint. But agents see it so often, they know it's overused. It's not necessarily bad, it's just done to death. And that's the input I like from agents and editors. My critique partners can help me build a story, but industry professionals can tell me what parts of the story are too similar to the competition. And that can force me to think deeper, and get beyond my first ideas.

Kate Fall writes middle grade and young adult fiction and is an editor with Entangled Publishing.

Christina says:

My agent’s suggestions are always interesting because he sees my book as something to SELL rather than merely just a story. And this perspective is very important! My little story is getting ready to go out into the world. It has to be unique, perfect and enticing for an editor to want to buy it.

When I'm revising for my editor, I start seeing my book not just being MY book, but my READER’S book. There are moments I have to let go of a favorite line or favorite word because it just doesn’t make sense to the READERS, even if it makes sense to me.

Christina Farley is the author of the YA novel, GILDED, which will be published by Skyscape in Spring 2014.

We'd love to hear your thoughts on how revising for an agent or editor is different than revising for yourself! You can read what MiG Writers Debbie Ridpath Ohi, Andrea Mack and Carmella Van Vleet think about this in Revising for an Editor or Agent: Part 1.

Revising For an Editor or Agent: Part I

Revising your story for an agent or editor can be a little different than revising for yourself. Between the six of us MiG writers, we've had lots of experience with making big and small changes to strengthen our work and make it more saleable. Today's thoughts are from writer/illustrator Debbie Ridpath Ohi, MG author Carmella Van Vleet and children's writer Andrea Mack. And stay tuned for what editor Kate Fall and YA author Christina Farley have to say tomorrow [Revising for an Agent or Editor Part 2].

Debbie says:

When I'm revising for an editor (rather than for myself), I have a better overall picture of what needs to be changed. I'm also more confident that the changes are needed. My editor at Simon & Schuster BFYR always emphasizes that his suggestions for changes are always just that...suggestions. I believe there's a lot of trust in a good author-editor relationship.

I think I have a tendency to over-revise when revising for myself, plus I'm too close to the work to get an objective sense of the bigger picture. This is when having trusted writers critique my mss is so valuable…like the MiG Writers! :-) 

Debbie Ridpath Ohi illustrated I'M BORED, a picture book written by Michael Ian Black (Simon & Schuster BFYR). Her illustrations next appear in NAKED! by the same author, coming out from Simon & Schuster next May.

Andrea says:

Having an agent or editor's suggestions to think about while I'm revising gives me a whole different perspective on my writing. I love seeing the "big picture" view that someone else has on my story, especially when they get the essence of what I'm trying to say (even if I don't have the words to express it myself).

Sometimes, when I'm sitting at my desk spending hours revising, I can get lost in the small details. Re-reading an editorial letter reminds me to take a step or two back and look at the overall goals for my characters.

Andrea Mack writes middle grade fiction, picture books and beginning readers.

Carmella says:

Whether I’m revising for my own satisfaction or for an editor, my revision process is typically the same. That’s because the goal is always the same - to tell the best story possible. 

First, I typically read through something looking for “big picture” things that need addressing. For instance, are the characters engaging? Are they goals clear and relatable? Is the plot moving at a decent pace? Is it believable? Am I achieving the emotional tone I want? I’ll take notes and then make a list. Sometimes I’ll address these things one at a time but since I tend to be linear writer, I usually address them as they come up and I move through the manuscript. 

Next, I work on finer details. Things like chapter length or dialogue. I look for places where I can combine chapters or scenes to tighten the pace. Or places to cut dialogue or description that’s not progressing the story. 
Finally, I work on those line edits - overused words, wrong words, confusing or awkward phrasing, spelling errors. 

The only difference in my approach for an editor is that I’m considering someone else’s suggestions. That kind of feedback is incredibly valuable and I always try to keep an open mind. But, ultimately, I listen to my gut. If something an editor (or agent or critique partner) says resonates with me, then I make the change. If not, then I don’t. To keep my writing on track, I write first thing in the morning. Well, okay, maybe not FIRST thing. I do like to check my emails and Facebook. But I find that if I turn on the TV or start a project or running errands, I never really get back to writing. I think my inner critic sleeps in late, too. So working before she's fully awake really helps the creative flow as well.

 Carmella Van Vleet writes MG fiction and "hands-on" non-fiction. Her debut MG novel, ELISA BING IS (NOT) A BIG FAT QUITTER, will be released in Spring 2014 from Holiday House.

Share your thoughts and tips on revising for an editor vs. revising for yourself in the comments and check back tomorrow to see what author Christina Farley and editor Kate Fall have to say!

Making Clay

I hate first drafts. HATE them! They are slow and torturous and overwhelming. But today, as I was staring at the screen waiting for inspiration writing, I got to thinking about an exercise I sometimes do with students when I’m talking about revision. 

The first thing I do with the kids is hand each of them a small ball of Play-doh™ (or similar modeling clay). Then I ask them to spend a few minutes creating whatever they’d like. Depending on the age of the kids, I usually get plenty of snakes, bowls, snowmen and the like. Once everyone is happy with their work, I ask them to roll the dough back up into a ball and make something else. Most of the time, I get groans and protests. “But I like what I made!”

They usually comply, though, and end up happily rolling and pinching and creating. Then I explain that this is what revision is - just playing with what you’ve already got. Maybe you make something altogether new or maybe you just make something better. On a good day, I get plenty of “Aha!” moments. It’s awesome.

I love revision. But here’s the problem though - you can’t revise without “something” to work with. So I’ve decided to start thinking of first drafts as nothing more than making clay.

Since I’ve written a bunch of craft books, I know a thing or two about making clay. Mixing up clay can be consuming and not always an exact science. (Especially if you’re making up a new recipe!) Sometimes you add a little of this but then find you need a little more of that. You get gunk all over your work space and yourself. And Heaven help you if you have an itch or the phone rings!


But isn’t it also wonderful to put your hands in the bowl and get them all dirty and squish the wet stuff between your fingers? And isn’t it fun to think about all the things you’re going to make? Or commiserate with someone nearby while the two of you are both elbow deep in a mess? Isn’t it satisfying when you look down and realize that the clay is perfect and ready for molding? And that while your hands are tired, it’s a good kind of tired? Isn't it awesome to share your clay with friends?

Yeah. All that stuff is pretty darn cool, too. 

So tomorrow when I open the file on my WIP, I won’t be writing a first draft: I’ll be making some clay.

Get rid of those duckies

A few days ago I was backing out of my driveway. The high school bus was just pulling up so I waited a moment so I could say hi to my seventeen-year-old son.

The kids filed off the bus one by one. Then I saw my son. In his left hand he was carrying….

a giant, yellow stuffed duckie.

He saw me watching him and looked sheepish. I couldn't help but smirk at his early Easter gift when he got close enough to my rolled down window.

“That’s what you get for dating a fifteen-year-old girl,” I told him.

My son rolled his eyes and said, “I don’t get it. I have to register for the draft and will be old enough to go to war this year but I still got a duck.”

I felt bad for the girl. She’d tried to be nice (and I’m sure my son accepted it graciously) but really? What kind of self-respecting teenage boy wants a giant duckie? It’s not like he’s going to put it on his bed.** Candy would have been more appropriate and appreciated. But the giver was a young girl and she probably just picked something she wanted. It was easier.

Flash forward to yesterday. I’m tweaking a subplot in my WIP. What I’ve set up isn’t quite working and I realized the problem is that I got in one of my character’s way. I gave her something (a boyfriend) and it was throwing a kink in the story. Like my son’s duckie, the boyfriend was an easier choice but wasn’t right for her. I don’t mean he wasn’t good for her; I mean that she shouldn’t have a boyfriend at all. There wasn’t enough conflict with him around. And now that I’m in the muddled middle of my story, I need to keep upping my stakes. (So guess who's getting a boyfriend-dectomy today.)

I think sometimes we forget to listen to what our characters want or fail to know them fully. And sometimes we give them what we want them to have - and forget to give them what they need. But it’s our job as authors to tell the story. And sometimes that means getting rid of those duckies.

Take a look at what you’re working on right now. Are you staying true to your character's needs or are you giving them what you want them to have? Because there’s a difference.

~Carmella

**In case you’re curious about what my son did with his duckie: he gave it to me to pass along to the little boy I babysit.

Revising for Consistency

I’m one of those writers who has to get back into the story by revisiting parts of the book I’ve already written. When I do that, of course I make changes. So I’ve been through the First Half many more times than the Second Half. Somewhere in the middle of my novel there’s a fuzzy, transition zone and then suddenly I’m in the Second Half of the book, which in places seems to bear only a passing resemblance to the First Half. So now my challenge is to strengthen Second Half so that I end up with a seamless novel. At the moment, I'm tackling two different areas:

Story world. In First Half, where I’m still working on setting up the story world, I'm extra careful to include the right details. By the time I get to Second Half, suddenly my main character who's been raised in the wilderness since infancy knows how to read a clock. I don’t think so. To help with keeping the world consistent, I'm drawing sketches of buildings and maps, making lists of technology, foods, power sources, etc.

Voice. In First Half, I've worked hard to eliminate words like "but", "walked" and "looked" and to write from my character's perspective, making those interesting internal observations that she'd make. A Wordle on First Half shows me I’ve used the word “was” 18 times. In Second Half, I’ve used “was” 284 times!

Um...I think a little more work is needed.

-- Andrea

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

Revising the Ending

I've been trying to revise the ending of my middle grade novel because I want it to be really amazing. What I had before was okay, but not memorable enough. I'm working on making it stronger and I thought I'd share a couple of the questions I've been asking myself.

What does the reader want to happen? How much of that do I want to show the reader?

I think that part of creating an emotionally satisfying ending is to give the reader a lot of what they want to happen. That doesn't mean I have to do it in a straightforward way. I can throw in some unexpected twists. Since I write MG, I think my readers do want a mostly happy ending. They want the heroine come out as a winner and the bad guys get punished. The main character should mostly get what she wants.

Thinking this way also shows me which scenes will be most important to the reader. Those are the scenes I don't want to sum up in a few lines or rush through. I can create suspense and stretch out those scenes to build up more of an emotional impact.

What is the simplest ending that will work for my story?

I want to wrap up most of the the loose ends so the reader can feel the problems are resolved. Even though I'm throwing in some unexpected twists, I think the book will be strongest if it ends without too much complexity.

After all, if the route to the final scene is too convoluted, the reader will get caught up in following the thought process instead of the emotional experience.

What questions do you ask yourself when you're revising the ending?

Revision

I visited my daughter’s school this morning to do a workshop on revision. The kid were high schoolers and I think they liked me because I let them play with Play Dough the whole time. I was trying to show them revision is nothing more than playing with what you already have. (The dough was supposed to represent your draft.) If nothing else, maybe they thought I was cool because I wore a shirt that showed off my wrist tattoo. (Please tell me tattoos are still cool!)

Anyway, I brought a few examples of my own writing to share. During the part of the lesson where I talked about revising your “take away” value, I began to read an essay I wrote about Baylee Almon. 

“I know Baylee,” I read, “in the way most people know Baylee - through a photo. Baylee Almon was the limp baby with tiny, white socks, who was carried by a firefighter away from the Alfred Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. She was one year and one day old when she died.”

“Wait,” one of the kids interrupted, “Baylee was real?” 

I looked at the teacher and he looked at me. Without any further communication than that, the teacher went to his computer and pulled up the photo along with a photo of the decimated building. The kids - who were all babies when the Oklahoma bombing happened - were shocked and angry and full of questions. So I dropped the lesson on revision and we spent a few mintues talking about the tragedy. 

I wasn’t frustrated by the impromptu history lesson. As a former teacher and parent I know the best learning takes place when you least except it and don’t plan for it.

Besides, writing is like that, too. Sometimes you start off one path and wander onto another. And more often than not, that new path is the one you needed to take all along. 


~Carmella 

Looking Back for Inspiration

Lately, I've been feeling like the revisions on my current novel are taking forever. Guess what? I checked my notes and discovered I started writing the first draft last March. So, I've actually only been working on this project for a year (plus probably a few months where the idea floated around in my head and on the pages of my notebook).

Wow! That's hardly any time compared to my first novel.  It took five years before I reached the feeling that I'd completed it, or didn't know what else to do. I must be learning something.

Sometimes it can be encouraging to step back and look at the bigger picture. I often get caught up in the day-to-day details of writing, which have so many ups and downs. Sometimes a lot of downs. But a little over a year seems pretty reasonable for writing and revising a novel. Now I'm inspired to get my revisions finished!

Here are my goals for April:

1. Finish revisions on Novel #4.

2. Polish Novel #4. The feedback I'm getting from critique buddies suggests it might be ready to start subbing soon.

3. Write a query, pitch sentence and synopsis for Novel #4.

4. Oh yeah. And definitely decide on which title I'm going to use.

How is your writing project coming along? Have you ever found inspiration from looking back at what you've accomplished? What goals do you have for the coming month?

Revision is All About Taking Risks

I don't think of myself as a risk-taker. I don't like roller coasters, I get anxious driving in new situations, and my idea of fun is to curl up under a cozy blanket with a good book. But when I'm revising, taking risks is almost a requirement if I want to make my story stronger.

Here are some of the big risks I've been taking in the last couple of weeks:

Cutting out good writing. It's scary, but sometimes parts of my book where I really loved the writing have to go. It feels like I'm taking a huge chance, not knowing if whatever I replace it with will be better. I can only do it if I comfort myself with the thought that all that good writing is in another version of the file and I can get it back if I need it.

[When I read the improved version, I know those elegantly-worded sections won't ever be coming back. My story doesn't need them.]

Changing the beginning. Messing with the opening paragraph (actually, the whole first chapter) makes me nervous, especially when my crit partners didn't find much wrong with it. Since the first chapter sets the tone for the whole novel, these changes spill over into later chapters, gathering momentum, and I soon find that more and more changes are needed. Aack!

[When I come back and read it later, I realize the changes aren't as big and overwhelming as I thought. My words still capture what I originally envisioned. Sigh of relief.]

Taking out drama. I tend to throw a lot of obstacles at my protagonist, sometimes several in one chapter. I'm learning that too much drama doesn't give the reader a clear emotion to focus on. Cutting out action still worries me. Will the story be exciting enough? Will it hold my reader's attention? Should I risk it? I have to start small, reminding myself that it doesn't hurt to try. I can always put it back the way it was if it doesn't work out. What's few more hours of writing, anyway?

[My 11-year-old decided to re-read the early version of my story this week and commented that a lot of the story events happen "just in time" and it seemed unrealistic. Huh. Maybe there will be some benefit to losing some of the drama.]

It's hard work, but I'm learning to take more risks as a writer. One of the bonuses is that it stretches my mind in entirely new directions. I've stumbled onto a few great ideas which I know will improve the story.

What risks have you taken lately in your writing?

Doing Revisions While On Vacation?

Even though I told myself I was taking a break from writing, my latest story won't leave my head. It's demanding me to work on revisions. How can I do that while I'm sightseeing and still have fun? Some tips on how to balance writing and vacationing:

1. Keep a small notebook handy for jotting down ideas about the story.
2. Bring along a printed copy of the story to make changes on during downtime (e.g. on the way from one outlet mall to another; while the kids are swimming at the hotel pool).
3. Take advantage of early mornings when others are sleeping to get out the laptop.
4. Turn off words that won't stop by digging into a stack of good reads.
5. Always stop for ice cream.

Aack! Okay, now I'm blogging while on vacation. This has got to stop. But I do have to admit, working on my writing without all the pressures of work and the daily routine is a lot of fun.

-- Andrea

Does Writing and Revision Get Easier?

I always hope that the process of writing or revising a novel will be easier the next time I do it. Now that I've finished revising my 2nd MG novel (at least until an agent or editor requests more revisions), I've been thinking about what I've learned:

1. Starting out with a good plan or outline helps me stay focused. Even though I may revise the plan during my revision process, it helps to look back and see what I was thinking.

2. I don't fully know my characters or story until I finish the first draft. A lot of revision is about getting to know them better and adding more depth. [For more on this see my recent blog post here.]

3. When I'm writing, I can do a little bit every day to keep the momentum going. For revisions, it helps to have a large block of time when I can read and think about the whole story (like a few days).

4. Details are important, but only after the structure is in place. Looking at scenes with my main character's goal in mind helped me realize some of them were in the wrong place. I moved scenes, deleted some, and melded some together to strengthen the story.

5. There's always room for improvement, but at some point you need to move on. If my novel is in good shape, I can write a one-sentence pitch and summary paragraph that does a good job of capturing the story.

One of the things I enjoy about writing is there's always more to learn. I'd like to think that next time, I'll be more efficient and speed up the process.

-- Andrea