How to Keep Your Writing Focus: Tips from Six Middle Grade and YA Writers

It can be hard to keep your writing focus during the busy summer months! Today the MiG Writers offer some strategies and tips for keeping your writing on track:

 

Kate says:

My tip is that I have to write first before I jump into editing and critiquing. Because once I start other work, it will never stop. If I don't do my writing first, it will never get done. So I just write one scene a day. Also, Deena (a writing buddy from Author2Author) and I have 2 days this summer we reserved for homemade writing retreats, where we just go somewhere and write all day.

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

Carmella says:

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.

 

Christina says:
 

I like to give myself mini-goals. I chart up my ideal writing goals for the week such as writing 1,000 words a day or revising 30 pages a day. Then if I make that goal, I'll give myself rewards such as reading or watching my favorite TV show.

I'm a pretty stubborn person so I won't stop for the day until I've reached my goal. Writer's block isn't allowed. If I'm having a complete block, I force myself to write jibberish and hope the next day is better. 99% of the time, the jibberish actually is not as bad as I thought, or I am able to break out of my block just by writing the jibberish.

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

 

Susan says:
 

When the writing isn't coming easily, I need to stick to a routine. I'm a morning person, so I set aside a few mornings a week that begin with at least 2-3 hours of sitting at the computer. I do set daily targets but I don't always achieve them. Nonetheless, I put in the hours.

Once I'm into the story though, nothing can keep me away from it. I'll write in the evening and late into the night. I'll wake up early to start writing again. I revel in that moment when the passion takes hold and the writing consumes me, but I rely on the routine. At the end of the day that's what drives me to edit and re-edit, that's what gets me through the moments when my muse has fled. Passion is no more reliable in writing than it is most areas of life. It's great when you're feeling it but it's a fickle beast. The key to success is  dedication, commitment, a well-developed work ethic, and routine.

 

S.J. Laidlaw is the author of AN INFIDEL IN PARADISE (Tundra Books, 2013). Her second novel, THE VOICE IN MY HEAD is scheduled for publication in Spring, 2014.

 

Andrea says:
 

Other people in my family get up really early in the morning to go rowing, so I get up then too and start writing. I use my desktop computer for writing and I use my tablet for checking e-mails and social media (all the better if the battery is run down and I need to charge it during my writing time).

 One of the things that helps when I’m revising is to have an outline document where I write about how the characters are feeling in a chapter or scene. It helps keep me focused on what I need to do when I actually start writing the scene.

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

 

Debbie says:

I try to have short-term goals with realistic deadlines as well as long-term. "Realistic" is the keyword, I find, because it's so easy and feels good to set ambitious goals. But then if you don't meet them and just feel bad, over and over, what's the point? I'm talking about NON-contract work here. My contracted picture book writing and illustration work comes first, but I am still working toward making time for my novel-writing as well.

Having long-term goals helps keep me on track with my short-term goals. And I'm reading the other suggestions from fellow MiG Writers for inspiration!
 

Debbie Ridpath Ohi illustrated I'M BORED, a picture book written by Michael Ian Black (Simon & Schuster BFYR) which was chosen by The New York Times for its Notable Children's Books Of 2012 list. She is currently illustrating a new book by the same author as well as writing & illustrating her own book for Simon & Schuster.

How are you keeping your writing on track this summer? We'd love to read your tips!

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.

Getting past fear

This is my new sock monkey. He has nothing to do with my post today; I just think we could all use a cute, baby sock monkey sometimes.

I’m moving a little slow this morning. My arms and legs are aching, I’m still nursing a pulled shoulder muscle. And my abs are reminding me that I should probably make it to workout class more often.

So why am I whining aching today? I had a step test over the weekend. In taekwondo, you take a series of mini tests as you prepare for your next black belt degree. This wasn’t my first test (not even close), but I still went through the same freak out process: feeling confident until the date the test application was due. A bundle of nerves the week before and downright panic on the day of the test. “What am I doing? I can’t do this?! I’m not good enough! I’ll never be good enough!” 

Sound familiar?

I don’t know about you, but I go through the same thing before I start a new writing project. That shiny new idea seems so wonderful. It’s going to be the best story EVER. But then I start panicking as I begin committing words to paper. Half way through, my confidence has caught the midnight train to Georgia and left me wondering “What am I doing? I’ll never be good enough to pull this off!” 

Pushing through fear is a big part of writing a book. It takes nerves of steel. You gotta look that opponent - you know, the one in the mirror - and let him or her know you’re doing this, no matter what. And you’ve got to trust your training (all those words you’ve already written and all those conferences you’ve attended or critiques you’ve asked for). And you need to trust your instincts - that little voice telling you that you *can* do this, that you are meant to do this. 

When you’re done, you might be aching and you might have pulled a muscle or two, but I bet you’ve also done a few things well and discovered one or two things you still need to work on. 

And you’ll be another step closer to your goal. 

  

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.

Taking our time to get there

The other day at taekwondo*, we were working on forward rolls. The class was a mix of kids and adults and various levels of black belts. Now, I used to have a pretty decent forward roll but for some reason, I’ve lost my mojo lately. It happens sometimes. You have some kind of brain freeze or blip - or lose your confidence - and you suddenly can’t do something that only a short time ago, you were pulling off. It’s not unlike getting writer’s block.

While waiting for my turn to demonstrate my roll for the instructor, I made a comment (okay fine, I whined like a baby) to a nearby friend that I was the only adult in the room who had a “loser roll.” Without missing a beat, she pointed out that I was also the only adult in the room who didn’t take hapkido (another martial art that focuses on joint manipulation and throwing/falling techniques.) In other words, even though I felt like I should be so much better, I was probably not too far off from right where I should be.

I feel this way about writing sometimes, too.

I look around at other writers and think I should be much further along by now. I let myself get down about any number of things: the speed at which I write, the fact what I want to quiet books when quiet books aren’t selling, the number of friends who’ve landed book deals when all I’ve been collecting is rejections from editors. (Super kind rejections, but rejections nonetheless.)
But the thing is, I’m probably not far off from right where I should be.

Maybe other writers put in more hours, are simply more talented, are blessed with a speedy pen, have better luck or ideas that are hot at the moment. But that’s okay. As I’ve learned over the last (almost) seven years of taekwondo training, this is not a race.

We’ll all get there. Eventually. We just gotta keep showing up and practicing. And, oh, remembering to tuck our heads to the side when we roll. :-)

*I seem to start a lot of my posts off this way, don’t I? :-)

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.

Moments of Enlightenment

The other day at taekwondo, my instructor talked about why we keep training. Some days - especially the ones when my middle-aged body is complaining very loudly about being thrown around like a ragdoll - I wonder what the heck I’m still doing at the dojang. But I keep showing up for what my instructor calls “moments of enlightenment.”

I think I’ll call these MOE’s. (Kind of cute, huh?) They are the brief moments when all our training comes together in just the right way and we do something like pull off the perfect block or land the perfect kick or do a form with “no mind” and it feels amazing. Even after 6 1/2 years of training, I don’t have a lot of MOE’s during a class. I always seem to have a few, though, and just having the taste is enough to keep me coming back.

I think writing is the same way. Every day I put my butt in the chair, open a file and start writing. It’s so hard because even though I’ve been doing this a long time, my skills don’t quite measure up to my dreams. But they’re getting closer. And every once in a while I’ll land that perfect sentence or throw that perfect word down on the page. And. It. Feels. Amazing.

And that’s why I keep writing.

What keeps you coming back to writing?

Winner and a great idea

Hi everyone,

I apologize for the delay in getting back but I’m happy to announce the winner of the Linda Joy Singleton “pay it forward” contest is

Laura Barnes! *clap clap clap*

Thank you very much, everyone, for commenting. (And to Linda Joy for stopping by!) Laura, I’ll be in touch shortly to get your address.

And now for the great idea from my daughter. Last night I was complaining because I was having one of those “My book sucks” days. She asked me if I’d seen that commercial where the dieting man hires the mean girls from his daughter’s junior high to follow him around and make comments when he eats something unhealthy. They say something like, “Dude. Eww. That is so gross.”

“Wouldn’t be cool if you could hire someone to follow you around and say nice things all the time, Mom?” my daughter asked.

She's right. Wouldn’t that be awesome?

My daughter and I decided the group should say, “Girl. OMG. That chapter is sooo good!”

Just think about how much more - and better - work we could get done if we had constant encouragement. Maybe next time I hear that “I suck” voice in my head, I’ll stop and do my best 14-year-old nice girl impression.

Who’s with me? :-)

The Power of Words

Words have power. Power to move. Power to hurt. Power to change us. We all believe that. (If we didn’t, then we’re in the wrong business!) Lately, I’ve been working on changing the conversation in my own head. The topic? The difference between Have To and Get To.

When I was a young girl and the teachers gave us a few minutes of free time, I'd open my journal and write poetry. Writing was a Get To. As in, I get to write!

And when I first started writing for publication, I enjoyed the process of creating, the chase and thrill of landing freelancing jobs. Writing was still a Get To activity. As in, I can’t believe I get to do this for money!

But then I began writing full-time. “Author” became my occupation on forms. And while I still mostly liked the process, I found myself saying things like, “I have to finish that chapter!” and “I have to get my pages in for the day.” and “I have to think of a new idea for a book!”

Writing was a Have To for a long time. Then I made a conscience decision to switch from non-fiction to fiction, to shake things up. My first novel was a Get To. Even my second novel was a Get To. But lately, I’ve noticed the Have To voice creeping back in. I have some theories about why that is, but the why isn’t important.

Sitting down at the computer (or with pen and journal in hand) and telling yourself you “have to” write is one powerful way to send your muse running and screaming from the room. Or, at the very least, into a tantrum in the corner. So, instead, I’ve been telling myself, “I GET TO write today!”

It’s been an interesting experiment these last couple of weeks and here’s what I’ve learned: Have To is work. Get To is play. One demands a certain number of pages or a certain kind of product. The other invites adventure and allows for daydreaming. One is a destination. The other is an open door.

Which one do you think is more productive?

You’re right. :-)

Now, let’s get busy. After all, we GET TO write today!

"Trust your hopes, not your fears."

Something interesting happened to me this week. I was telling my seventeen-year-old about my latest book and right in the middle of a sentence, I realized something very important. And scary as hell.

I’ve been writing the wrong book.

I’ve spent the last six months focusing on this project. I’ve obsessed about the opening sentence and first chapter. (In fact, I’ve written about four different versions of that first chapter.) But I’ve finally found some good, solid ground and spent weeks on a detailed outline and character analysis. I’ve got some clever stuff and forward momentum. And a decent amount of pages. But the fact remains, it’s the wrong book.

So. I’m trusting my hopes (and taking a break from my fears) and scrapping the last six months of work. I’m keeping the heart of my book but going a new direction. I'm a little disappointed I've been going in circles and I don't feel particularly brave. I know starting over won’t be easy but it needs to be done. And (*looks around*) I'm the only one here.

It’s kind of funny. The question my main character must answer is this: Would you stand up for what you thought was right - even if you knew it could go all wrong?

She does.

And so I am.

Wish us luck.

A half-million words (sort of) and counting

I bet you’ve heard the saying that goes something like: you must write a million words before you can consider yourself a writer. I’ve also heard it as “You must write a million words of crap before can write something publishable" and a few other variations. The author of this wisdom depends on which source you check. But the sentiment is the same - a writer must write. A lot.

Just for fun - and not because I’m procrastinating again or anything - I decided to guesstimate how many words I’ve written. You know, not including grocery lists, high school essays, love poems, and the like.

Let’s see…. I have:

1 parenting guide 50,000 words

4 activities books (x 30,000) 120,000

3 activities (younger readers) (x25,000) 75,000

2 teacher resources (x25,000) 50,000

1 MG novel (unpublished but done!) 40,000

1 YA novel (unpublished but done!) 45,000

At least 40 articles/essays (x750) 30,000

That’s come up to (hmmm...stupid math...carry the one, add to the next column…)

410,000 words!

*fist pump* Cool! I’m (sort of) almost half way there!

How many words have you committed to paper since you’ve decided to get serious about writing? I think it’s always valuable, especially when we’re struggling to get where we’re going, to go back and see just how far we’ve come. Seems like a new year is the perfect time to do this.

Fixing things early

Being a black belt means you’ve gotten down the basics. Sometimes, though, it just means you are aware when you’re doing a technique incorrectly and (hopefully!) can figure out how to fix it.

Let me explain. I’m training for my next belt and having a hard time mastering my new board break technique, a spinning roundhouse. It requires some fancy footwork. (Um. Not my forte.) The other day, I was practicing and discovered I was pivoting on my heel and not the ball of my foot like I was supposed to. It was throwing my balance all off and causing me to lose power. I know I have the same bad habit of spinning on my heel with other kicks. But knowing what I’m doing wrong isn’t going to make it any easier to fix it.

Which brings me to my WIP. This morning, I woke up and suddenly realized with crystal clarity that what I was doing isn’t working. Or, more accurately, it isn’t going to work for much longer. If I want to tell the story I set out to write (with power and balance), I need to go back to fix the foundation, master the basics first. In other words, I gotta stop spinning on my literary heel - it’s not as stable as it feels.

Of course, just knowing that something is off is only the first step. Now comes the hard part. Rewriting. Relearning. Rewiring. But, hey, at least I realized the problem at chapter 4 and not chapter 40.

Has this ever happened to you?

~Carmella

Comic: Personal Muse

From the Inkygirl archives.

As I posted this comic, I realized that this actually ties in with Andrea's post last Friday. I know some people will disagree, but I think that everything we read influences us as writers. Maybe not directly (e.g. reading a Stephen King novel isn't necessarily going to make me write like Stephen King), but it does go into the melting pot that is my creative muse.

I read a wide range of books, from popcorn-type beach reads to nonfiction and literary, but I tend to mostly read books written for young people. Not just because that's what I write but (as Andrea says) because I enjoy them. When I'm writing a novel, though, I try not to read too many books by the same author in a row because I'm worried that that author's style will influence my own a little too much.

"I just need a little time."

The other day my awesome fellow MiG Kate wrote a really interesting POST about emotional distance. (You should read it for no other reason than it includes a zombie Thomas Jefferson. I kid you not.) And it got me thinking about how and why we make the choices that we do with our stories.

I started a new book recently and I found myself wanting to write in first person present tense. I love writing in present tense. It feels very intimate and immediate to me. Everything the MC is going through, the reader can experience first hand in real time.

But after I finished my chapter and reread it, I realized that something was missing.

Suspense.

Nothing big and flashy happened in the opening. So how could I hint to the reader that something (really interesting, I swear!) is about to happen and they should stick around?

If my MC was living in “real time” then she couldn’t tell the reader. But...if she was telling the story of something she’d already experienced, she could provide those hints I needed to build suspense.

So instead of emotional distance, I gave my character some time distance. (I don’t know if this is a real term but I I like it.)

For example - here’s a section of my original draft:

My mom is a super organizer. She’s been PTO president for three years and can run a fundraiser better than Oprah.

Here’s the revised version with some time distance:

Mom is the Queen of Organization. Before everything spun out of control, she was the PTO president for three years. She could raise more money than Oprah. Unfortunately, Mom was one of my casualties. The book of Exodus tells us God is slow to anger. But the people at school and in the community sure weren’t.

See the difference?

Just something to think about next time you’re trying to figure out which tense to use!

A quick tip

My 14-year-old has this new thing where she combines the word procrastinate and whatever action she’s doing. For example. 

Me: Are you doing your homework?

Her: No. I’m procrasti-painting.

Me: What about now?

Her: No. Now, I’m procrasti-watching tv.

You get the idea. 

Well, this morning I wasn’t feeling my next chapter so I was “procrastidesigning.” Now, I’m a huge believer in visualization. Always have been. I decided what my muse needed was a little visual aid, so I spent some time designing a book cover for my WIP. 

It was easy. I just went to istockphoto.com and searched for a key element in my story. I found something that worked great and I played around with fonts and size until I was happy. 

Here’s the result.

You might notice that I didn’t include my name on the cover. That’s because I haven’t decided yet if I’ll use a pen name on this story or not. It’s a bit controversial. (Which is, ahem, more than a little ironic since my story is about standing up even when it may not be popular. Feel free to mock me openly if the story ever gets published.) 

Here’s another little visual aid. This dude is important to my story, too. Since I couldn’t find exactly what I wanted, I drew on the LOVE myself. It’s not pretty, but it’ll work. 

So, hey, next time you need a little inspiration (or want to procrastinate), why not give this idea a shot?

Quote of the Week

As many of you know, I am a second degree black belt in taekwondo. Each week, my instructor puts up a Quote of the Week. This week’s quote is this Chinese proverb:

Do not be afraid of slow growth, be afraid of no growth.

If it wasn’t for the pain and, you know, all the social backlash, I think I’d have this tattooed on my head these days!

I don’t care what my fellow Mig Andrea says, I must be the slowest full-time writer in the world. (A writer who doesn’t actually write. Very sad, very sad.) I plod along while everyone around me manages to pump out pages and pages. It’s agonizing sometimes.

I’m the slowest in my taekwondo class too. You know the ol’ lady who’s two laps behind everyone else during warmups? That’s me. And I’m always the last one to finish any drill. It used to bug me like crazy but then I made some self-depreciating comment about being so slow. And guess what. My instructor praised me in the middle of the class for it! He said being last just meant I was taking my time to get it right. (Being slow doesn't help when I'm sparring but I took the compliment in the spirit it was given. Besides, I wasn't about to disagree with a 6th degree black belt. My mama didn't raise a stupid kid.)

For the next week, I’m going to try to take the lesson in the quote to heart. I may be slow and plodding along, but at least I’m out there, giving it my best shot. And that’s better than standing still.

I need a little Superman

Before my mother retired, she worked as a graphic artist for Hallmark. I’d sometimes visit her at work at the corporate offices in Kansas City. One of the things I enjoyed most was seeing all the cool and interesting ways the artists decorated their work areas. My mother told me artists were encouraged to take creative ownership of their space. That the company believed a happy artist was a productive one.

While my mom didn’t have palm trees or funny dolls sitting her shelves or cartoons plastered everywhere in her cubicle, she did teach me the value of keeping your muse, well, amused. If she saw something - be it artwork or jewelry or some doodad - and it made her happy or inspired her in some way, she bought it. This is something I do, too.

My work space is covered in all kinds of things that delight me. And I don’t have a lot of trouble justifying the cost. In my defense, I usually go for inexpensive items. I think the most costly thing was my (fake) tiara. Yes, you read that right. A tiara. And yes, I occasionally wear it. Especially when I need to feel like Queen of the Page. Don’t judge me.

Lately, I’ve found myself in need of some serious inspiration. I recently finished a big project and I always experience a let down after completing a book. (It's like watching your characters go off of their own.) And I haven’t quite got my new project off the ground. I’m in the glorious/awful stage - when things are flowing in your head and you’re excited to get started but that blank first page is still winning the staring contest.

So in the last week, I treated myself to three, new “gifts to the writing gods.” Two were plaques. One says: I’m fairly certain that given a cape and a nice tiara, I could save the world. (Note to self - I just need a cape now.) and the other plaque says: I have flying monkeys and I’m not afraid to use them!

The third thing I bought was a Superman PEZ. He’s very cute, with the Christopher Reeve curl to boot. Given the fact my new project is gonna be extra tough (it tackles a controversial topic), I can definitely use a little Superman hanging around, waiting to swoop me up and fly when I fall.

Here’s my challenge to you: this week treat yourself to inspiration. Look around and find some little thing - it could be anything - that makes you happy or inspires you. And then put it in your work area. Remember, you deserve it. A happy artist is a productive one.

If you feel like it, please come back and tell me about it. I'd love to hear from you!

~Carmella

Traditions

My fellow MiG Andrea Mack is doing a fabulous series over on her blog, That’s Another Story, called the ABC’s of Writing Middle Grade Fiction. (I think she’s up to the letter W). I always come away with plenty to think about and if you haven’t checked it yet, well, what the heck are you waiting for?! (And she's got links, people! Lots of terrific links.)

With apologies to Andrea for borrowing her idea, I’d like to take on the letter T, for tradition.

Traditions are very important to kids. I was reminded of this fact this past weekend when my husband and I took our three kids to Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio. Each year, we take three days to do this trip. And we always try to do it early in June, before the hot weather and heavy tourist crowds move in. My kids look forward to this annual trek and it’s practically the only time my (oh, let’s go with) money conscience husband lets the kids go a bit wild with spending. (“Funnel cake fries? Okay, here's $10. It's chilly. You guys want to buy sweatshirts?") Yes, the trip is expensive. Especially since we love to stay in the park resorts. But it’s worth it. My kids, now all teenagers, talk about the trip, plan for it and always bring back memories of being together. (And Heaven help me and my husband if we suggest we eat at another place for dinner inside the park. Lesson learned.) The trip is part of our family fabric.

Putting in family traditions in your YA or MG is an easy way to spice up a bland manuscript. Traditions can also be a great opportunity to give readers insight into a character or the family they come from. The traditions don’t have to be big. Maybe they’re small, like a family joke or saying.

Here are a few family traditions I came up with that might be good in a YA or MG:

Funny, family rules to traditional game (like getting $500 when you Pass Go or making 4's wild while playing Poker)

An annual trip to a beach or the ice cream shop down the street on the first day of summer

Opening a single gift on Christmas Eve

Adding a “Cha cha cha” verse to the Happy Birthday song or making the birthday boy or girl wear a silly hat all day

Having pizza on Thanksgiving because no one likes turkey

Saying “Applesauce!” after someone sneezes

Your aunt always writing you a check for your birthday for the same amount as your age

Watching a Christmas movie in the middle of July

Waking up at the crack of dawn to go on a donut run in your pjs

Can you think of any of great traditions to add to the list?

~Carmella

Patience

I’ve been thinking a lot about patience lately. It’s partly because we’ve been playing the run-to-the-mailbox game for the last few weeks, waiting for college acceptance letters for my oldest son. (Thankfully, all offers have been made and he’s made his decision. But that’s another post.) Another reason “patience” has been on my mind is because my  thirteen year old will be taking the first part of her second degree junior black belt test this Saturday. 

This test has been a real lesson in patience - for her and for me. She was prepared to test six months ago but then a broken toe and a sudden switch to a new school pushed testing aside. Abbey was very disappointed. Especially since I went ahead and tested for my second degree test without her. (I know. Bad Mom!) She announced that she was giving up taekwondo altogether, claiming she couldn’t wait any longer and that all her hard work was for nothing. 

For months, I talked, threatened, bribed, argued and talked some more. But no matter what I said, I couldn’t convince her that waiting six months for the next testing time to come around again was not a big deal. I told her, “April will come no matter what you do. Which would you regret more: showing up for class and training or not testing?” **

Today, after another day of frustration at the keyboard, I realized I need to start taking my own advice.

Months ago, I started a new project. Though I’m very excited about it, writing has been agonizingly S L O W. Like “Yippee, I wrote a decent paragraph today” slow. I’ve found myself wondering if it’ll ever get it done. It’s tempting to just throw in the towel and decide I’m not waiting any longer for an agent to take me on or an editor to make an offer.  

But next week, next month and even next year will come regardless if I’m writing or not. So I need to decide - how do I want to spend my time. I may be plodding (or should that be plotting, ha ha) along but progress is progress. 

A journey of a thousand pages starts with a single word and - sometimes - moves one paragraph at a time. And that’s okay. 

~Carmella 

** I’m under no illusion that my advice changed my daughter’s mind about testing. She’s a teenager after all and therefor I know nothing. :-) 

Puzzle Pieces

I tested for my 2nd degree black belt in taekwondo this past weekend. At the graduation, my instructor told the class that having a black belt was like having a 300 piece puzzle dumped out on a table. He said something like, “You have all these skills and now you have to figure out how they fit together.” 

I’ve been feeling this way about my current novel. (If you can call it that; I’m only five, lousy pages into it. Sigh.) I have all these ideas and scenes and bits of research and thoughts scattered on the figurative table in front of me. And the challenge is putting them all together when I’m not even sure how the final picture should look. 

I don’t know about you, but I’m terrible at jigsaw puzzles. I just don’t have the patience. But I guess I’ll just what I usually do - find those edge pieces first.  

Any other tips for putting those novel pieces together? 

~Carmella