The Good and the Bad
This weekend I received some great news on the same day I also got some bad news. First the bad, I entered Suzie Townsend’s query contest–Can You Handle the Truth. For one hour, she allowed people to submit queries with the promise she’d give some constructive criticism about why she liked/disliked the query. She did get back to me within a few days. And alas, it was my first rejection on Andropodan. Ultimately, she said she liked the query, but she already had too many sci fi projects right now. *Sigh* Oh well, on to the next one, right?
But my good news helped soften the blow. I found out Andropodan is a finalist in the Windy City’s Four Seasons Contest!!! When I got the email, I literally jumped around my bedroom. This is my first finalist win, and I couldn’t be happier. Honestly, I understand when people say it is an honor just being nominated. But I’m not going to lie and say I don’t have delusions of actually winning. How cool would that be!?!
Anyway, I’m off to do some more writing. It’s NaNo–and I’m already 3,000 words behind. Hope the rest of y’all are keeping up.
Why Halloween Is the Best Holiday
It’s nearly 8:30 p.m. here, and we’ve returned home from our yearly candy hunt. Colorado can be hit or miss when it comes to the weather on Halloween, but tonight was beautiful. And while I was walking around with my youngest son (dressed as a zombie this year), I realized why Halloween is the best holiday.
- Halloween is the holiday for writers. We live in our own worlds most of the time, but this the one time of the year get to share our kookie side with others. Okay, maybe I’ve shared some of my wackiness with some people at a sci fi convention a few years ago, but that doesn’t count.
- In our new and improved world where everyone is overly suspicious, Halloween is the only time we can walk around our neighborhoods, chat with all the cute kids, and meet the people we vaguely see as we rush to and from work (without people wondering if we’re insane or pedophiles).
- And probably the biggest reason Halloween is the best holiday (better than any red and green tribute) is the ready-made excuse to have family time without breaking the bank. This year, I spent probably $20 on thrift-store clothes and $5 on a bag of candy. For $25, I can’t even buy my family movie tickets.
The next time people argue the jolly guy hosts a better party, remind them the day of the dead is more lively.
Quick Update
Oh, I know I’ve been MIA lately. For me, that’s actually a good thing. It means I’m slaving away on the edits for Andropodan.
There are nights when I don’t get much accomplished, but for the past month, I’ve been pretty consistently writing/editing. Yay!
Today’s been great. Last night we had close to 10″ of snow here. The roads weren’t bad, but the heavy snow snapped tree branches, and consequently, power lines. While this was horrible for many (I feel bad for all of those people w/o power), it was wonderful for my writing.
I worked almost all day. I made it past a chapter I’ve been struggling with and I continued on with some rewrites to one of my steamy chapters–those are fun.
Hopefully, I’ll be done with the edits by the end of November. Then, I’ll have to decide whether to start the query process before or after the holiday season.
RMFW Gold Conference Tips & Tricks
The Rocky Mountain Gold Conference was weeks ago, but I wanted to share a couple of tricks n’ tips which have stuck with me.
First, I spent all of Friday in workshops with agents and editors, who know the industry inside and out. Brian Farrey, acquiring editor at Flux (responsible for launching careers for people like Maggie Stiefvater), shared one important tip: be specific. He told us many new authors try to be mysterious. For example, we’ll introduce a strange man, but this man won’t speak to the main character until chapter five. According to Farrey, this is a big mistake. We lose our readers to vague writing. Instead, if we give specific, interesting details, our readers will be intrigued and will be likely to read more.
The rest of the weekend, I dodged in and out of various workshops, where talented writers shared their own experiences. Most of it was good. Some of it was random. But I still remember these key pieces of advice.
1. Kirt Hickman gave several workshops, all of which were excellent. He gave us so many tips, I can’t even begin to write them all down. Probably the most helpful–Get rid of filler words. I’d heard this advice before. Take out as many “looks, felts, etc” and so I worked on finding other words to use instead. Hickman explained why we need to take these words out.
He told us if we’re writing a story from Mike’s perspective, we wouldn’t say… Mike looked at Jessica as she fluffed her hair. We would simply say… Jessica fluffed her hair.
If you want to read more simple tips, buy his book, Revising Fiction. It’s well worth the money.
2. Tip two comes from Carol Berg. She spoke about fantasy fundamentals and things we should consider when writing unique worlds. I learned about some of the stereotypes in fantasy, but the most interesting tidbit was about keeping it realistic (for the world). If your travelers are out on the road, they are not going to make stew. Think about it, she told us. Stew takes hours to make, so why is it always in fantasy novels?
3. Finally, Bernard Cornwell (keynote speaker) had the best advice for writers–find a different job, any other job. But in all seriousness, he said we’re writers and probably wouldn’t heed his advice. If you have a passion for writing, any other job just won’t do. So he wished us all the best of luck.
Four Seasons Contest
Pretty excited today. I’ve just entered my first ever “real” writing contest. In the past, I’ve never been confident enough in my writing to enter more than little online contests. But I’m feeling good with the progress I’ve made on Andropodan to give it a shot.
I’m still light years away from being a “real” writer, but it’s another step in the journey.
For those of you who like entering contests, check out the Windy City’s RWA contest–The Four Seasons. They have openings for a range of categories, including YA. Good luck.
Has It Really Been 10 Years?
9/11: The 25 Most Powerful Pictures
I wrapped up the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writer’s Gold Conference today (say that three times fast), and I have so much great writing information to share out. However, I didn’t think I could let the 10th anniversay of 9/11 pass without acknowleding the tragedy.
This morning, as I got ready for another round of workshops and mingling, I caught snippets of the new memorial for the Twin Towers. And I have to say it’s beautiful. The inverted tower of water is a perfect reprsentation of the empty void that tragedy left in the heart of our country.
It’s interesting because, for me as a high school teacher, I’m surrounded by people who can’t even remember 9/11/01. They were five or six years old. Crazy. I’m one of those old people who says, “I remember when…” But I do. And now, even after ten years, I still get teary-eyed when I reflect on the day.
My heart continues to go out to those who were affected by this tragedy, and I hope someday we’ll find a way to unite the world.
Most Important Rule When Writing YA
Daphne (aka Kate Kate Schafer Testerman, literary agent extraordinaire) posted a list of her inbox today on her blog–‘Peek at the Queary Box’. Of the 25 letters in her inbox, 17 of them were YA (and 4 more were MG). Some people probably really love writing from a teen’s perspective. After all, adults might complain about teens, but when else in our lives are we so utterly optimistic and ready to take on the world?
Writing from YA also has a certain freedom to it. Teens, for the most part, don’t have the same limitations when it comes to genre types and rules. But whether we write YA because we love the possibilities or because we hope it might make us a small fortune, Andrew Karre cautions us (in his article, “The YA Perspective” in Writing for Kids & YA) to beware of the most important rule when writing for teens: perspective.
According to Karre, many adults look back on their teen years like this…
However, he warns us that we need to approach the YA perspective like this…
Instead of the nostalgic tone of the first video, the adult telling the kids to hold on to the “good ole days,” we need to write the gritty, “in the moment” perspective.
‘Forever’ by Maggie Stiefvater
Forever by Maggie Stiefvater
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Forever, by Maggie Stiefvater, was the final installment to her series wolves of Mercy Falls series. This is the last time we get to wander the woods with Sam, Grace and Cole. Once again, Stiefvater does a great job of making us care about the characters through distinct and believable voices. Sam is wonderful in his lost future. Without Grace, what does he have? Grace is still reliable, even when she isn’t. Isabelle is still loveable, even when she isn’t. And Cole is the best male character out there. I mean, who else could pull of Rock Star and Mad Scientist in the same wolf body?
The novel tied up many loose ends, but still left the story open enough for fans to wonder about what ultimately happens to Grace and Sam. Overall, I enjoyed to the story (even though a couple of the scenes lagged a bit).
Stiefvater definitely sets the bar high when it comes to character development. Hopefully, Nox and Kalliste will stand out in readers minds equally as well (*crosses fingers*).
Gold Conference 2011
The Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Gold Conference (wow, that’s a mouthful) is coming up in a couple of weeks, and I’ve signed up to participate in two critique workshops Friday.
The morning session is with Jennifer Unter. Ms. Unter sounds like an amazing agent, with a full range of experience, including a legal degree to help us poor hapless writers navigate those daunting contracts. She does represent YA, but hasn’t found any sci-fi/horror stories as of yet.–Full interview courtesy of Absolute Write, HERE. I’m a little concerned because my story is YA, but it is also very much sci-fi, so I’m not sure it will be a good fit for her. Still, it will be good to hear her feedback.
The afternoon session is with Brian Farrey, currently the acquiring editor for Flux (working with authors like Maggie Stiefvater), who also sounds amazing. He even has his own book out–Chasers.
I was a bit sneaky when I set up my sessions. Since my novel is told from alternating POV, I gave one agent my first chapter (as requested), but I gave the other agent chapter two. I wanted to make sure chapter two is equally as good as an introduction to my second character. What do you all think–good or bad idea?
Actually if it’s a bad idea, you probably shouldn’t tell me. I’ll only stress out about it. 
Deweeding Your Adverbs
I was rereading one of my favorite writing books, Stephen King’s On Writing, and I came across a great analogy for adverbs. I had to share it with you all…
I believe the road to hell is paved with adverbs, and I will shout it from the rooftops. To put it another way, they’re like dandelions. If you have one on your lawn, it looks pretty and unique. If you fail to root it out, however, you find five the next day… fifty the day after that…and then, my brothers and sisters, your lawn is totally, completely, and profligately covered with dandelions. By then you see them for the weeds they really are, but by then it’s–GASP!!–too late.
Ever since I read The First Five Pages, by Noah Lukeman, I’ve tried to nab those weeds whenever they sprout, but it’s always good to go back and double check the garden every now and again.
Happy gardening!
