Post NESCBWI 2015 conference thoughts

It's been a while since I've written, mostly because I'm trying to wrap my head around this depression thing. Sometimes it's wrapping around me instead, coiling through my brain and lungs and heart, squeezing tighter and tighter until I cannot think, breathe, or feel. I'm working on it. It certainly won't win. I've never failed at anything, and I certainly won't fail at this.

So back to this post...

I attended the NESCBWI conference this past weekend for the first time. The workshops were so engaging, and the people were just incredible. I'd forgotten what it was like to be surrounded with people who love writing as much as I do. It was better yet because they all write for children, and that's where my heart lies.

I don't want to spend too much time blabbering on here, so I'm only go to describe what I feel has been the biggest thing I noticed at the conference: that I'm extremely lucky. Why? Because I have such an awesome support group of writers.

Over the duration of the conference, I spoke with tens of people. The subject that came up the most was critique partners, beta readers, support groups. Who do you bring your manuscript to once it's completed? How do you know you have what it takes to be a writer? When should you give up? Should you?

To quote agent Lauren MacLeod, "writers are crazy." We are. And we doubt ourselves and our abilities. One moment we feel we've written the next Harry Potter, and the next moment we're curled up in an empty party-sized pizza box with cheese in our hair and marinara down our chins. I've been there. Oh have I been there. And one thing has made a difference through it all. My support group.

Writers, we are not alone. We don't need to go it alone. Finding my group, a group of 2014 PitchWars mentees and alts, has made all the difference. If I need to cry, they're there. If I need to laugh, they're there. If I need to vent, to inquire, to joke, to hope, to celebrate, to staunch the crazy, to share a hotel room even though we'd never technically met (thanks, Rachel!), to find out where the hell in the world makes a pizza bigger than party-sized...they're there.

It's taken me almost three years to find mine, but I saw at the conference, those writers who seemed happiest, who seemed the most sure of themselves, all had their own version of a group. Writing is lonely, and, let's face it, most people don't understand exactly what writers go through, which is why finding a group is so important.

So yes, at the NESCBWI conference, I learned new exercises to open my mind to writing. Yes, I now understand the importance of blending emotions to create more complicated emotions, and I have more confidence adding diversity to my characters. But I also know how lucky I am to be a member of a strong writing group. The conference reminded me of it, solidified it really.

Making readers feel

So I had this epiphany.

It was too cold for me to work up the nerve to get our of bed to write, so I lay there, not thinking about my WIP, but thinking about a novel I'm reading for my work's book club. This isn't something I normally would have chosen for myself, but it was the first non-nonfiction book they'd chosen AND it was YA. As I lay there, analyzing it, I started to think about this one point where the main character is really just a jerk to the love interest. He doesn't intend to be--he's dealing with his own feelings about what's happening to his love--but he's being a jerk nonetheless, and he's really making me not like him.

I began thinking about why I felt so strongly against him. Here was a character that had been engineered for readers to like, and up until this point I had. Then I got it. It was because his girl needs him, and the more she needs him, the more he backs off. He can't deal with the stress--I get that--but that doesn't mean I need to like it.

Usually, when I read while I'm writing, I go through this phase of hating my own writing, a phase of insecurities so large that it backs my own manuscript into something black and deep. But then it hit me. I want my readers to think my main character is a jerk, too. I've always known this, and just yesterday I was speaking with someone about how I feel my WIP is falling short in this way. It's not as powerful as I want it to be.

So ready for the epiphany?

I could use this author's technique, tailor it to fit my novel, and make my readers feel the way I want them to. Why hadn't I thought of this before? There are a million excellent novels out there. Instead of letting them make me feel insecure, I should really focus on how they make me so invested in their characters.

I'm not talking about mimicking them or turning my novel into something tropey. The last thing I want is a pile of pages about mysterious boys and average girls. I'm talking about really discovering what these successful authors do to make their readers feel, analyzing it, and then looking for that thing in my novel, the thing that will make my readers feel, too.

MSFV Drop the Needle Contest on Anger

If you write and you've never heard of Miss Snark's First Victim, a blog by the currently anonymous Authoress Anon, then you're missing out on some great writing and critiquing opportunities. With the exception of the Baker's Dozen--a yearly contest--all her contests are free, and they're excellent ways to connect with fellow writers and receive feedback on your own writing. Go there.

Last week, she called for entrants for her Drop the Needle Contest, this time looking specifically for 400 word scenes from novels in which the characters exhibited anger. I was lucky enough to have a scene near the end of WINTER ON BRIMSTONE HILL chosen. 

One commentator wrote: "This is really great -- so much tension! The dialogue felt very realistic, too. I wish I could keep reading!" Take a look for yourself and let me know if you agree. Although, SPOILER alert. (Yeah, it gives away a huge chunk of the ending.) Any and all suggestions are welcome!

Oh, and I plan to introduce my new beta readers in the next week or so. I so so so look forward to working with them to make WINTER the best it can be. :)

#8 Critique Partner Series - Tightening Up Sentences

I am in no way a professional.  I don't have a fancy education to back up writing (that is reserved for mathematics), but I do know what I like to read and I do know when I read something that doesn't quite jive for me.  So WELCOME to my CRITIQUE PARTNER SERIES! Much of my advice you can find everywhere else on the internet.  None of it is professional.  Annnnnd BEGIN!

#8 Critique Partner Series – Tightening Up Sentences
I took a short hiatus from my CPS because I needed to recharge after an invigorating week at the writers' conference.  Now I'm back, and having workshopped LitD, I want to take a moment to talk about one thing I learned.  Let's start with that lovely television series we all know and love:  Law and Order.  Now let's talk about the most well known part of Law and Order: the DUN DUN.  What I love about the DUN DUN is all the force packed into it.  You hear that sound and you know justice has been served.  

After workshopping LitD, the fabulous Paul Cody told me that my sentence structure and grammar were all where they needed to be.  The problem with my writing was my DUN DUN.  My sentences say, "DUN DUN...dun."

Here are a couple of before and afters:

Before: I think about it for a moment.
After:  I think for a moment.

Before: I inhale and few deep breaths before returning to my bed.
After:  I inhale deeply before returning to bed.

Before:  My thoughts break off when I hear a noise--something akin to a thud--from outside my window.
After:  I hear a noise--a thud--outside my window.

Before:  Perhaps she is lost and afraid to be out beyond curfew.
After:  Perhaps she is lost and afraid.

Before:  The boy shouts at her.
After:  The boy shouts.

Before:  She releases the can, and it rolls into the shadows.
After:  The can rolls into the shadows.

And so on.

Notice how each new sentence is more succinct.  Each says the same thing as before, but now they're better.    They pack more punch.  Justice is served.  DUN DUN!

My Question for you:
What are some of the things you do tighten up your sentences?

#7 Critique Partner Series - Focusing Your Opening

I am in no way a professional.  I don't have a fancy education to back up writing (that is reserved for mathematics), but I do know what I like to read and I do know when I read something that doesn't quite jive for me.  So WELCOME to my CRITIQUE PARTNER SERIES!  It is minus the partner, because I don't actually know any of the writers whose work I am reading, but here I will offer my advice.  Much of my advice you can find everywhere else on the internet.  None of it is professional.  All of it is...I can't think of anything to finish this sentence with.  I liked the whole "Much of it, none of it, all of it" thing I had going on at the start of each sentence, but I'm far too lazy to spend time thinking how to end that sentence, especially when this is only a blog developed for my personal enjoyment.  Ready…set…go!


#7 Critique Partner Series – Focusing Your Opening

Book 1:  Chapter One of your novel opens with detective Miles Gumby finding the body of Brianna Kelley on the roadside.  Miles turns to see homeless man George Georgeson lurking nearby.  Miles speaks with George, but then goes home.  There, Miles speaks with Cindy, his loving wife of twenty years.  Who’s the main character?

If you think it’s Miles, you’re wrong.  Actually, it’s Cindy’s younger sister Mary who falls in love with Kyle.  And the novel is a romance, not a police procedural.

Book 2:  Chapter One of your brother’s novel opens with the Huns attacking.  They rape and pillage (not that I know if Huns rape and pillage, but that’s what they do in the novel).  A mysterious boy jumps from a window, knocks a Hun from his horse, and kills the Hun.  The other Huns run in fear.  Who’s the main character?

If you think it’s one of the Huns or the boy, you’re wrong.  Actually, Chapter Two fast-forwards twenty years when we discover the main character is a young woman who’s going to spend the next two hundred pages breeding horses and finding a husband.  In fact, that heroic boy doesn’t make another appearance for the rest of the novel.

What do both of these novels have in common?  Their opening doesn’t have focus. Yes, both openings may grab your attention, but when those openings have nothing/little to do with the overall plot, the reader begins to feel swindled.  Your reader won’t be able to tell who or what is important.

If your main character is Mary; I recommend starting with Mary.**  Let’s say Miles and Brianna and George and Cindy and Larry, Curly, and Moe are all main characters, though.  I’d hazard to guess you have too many main characters and need to pare it down to a few.  The reader wants to know whom she is supposed to care about.  If you don’t show the main character until later on, she’ll be able to figure it out eventually—your readers are smart—but she might not get that far.

If your brother starts with a battle and that battle is important, but he feels he needs to jump forward twenty years before he introduces us to the main character, I’m willing to guess there are pieces from the first chapter that can be added later in the story.  Tell him to try slashing the entire first chapter and start with chapters two or three.  Get rid of all that extra stuff.  That’s what I had to do when I wrote Celia.  Then insert little bits of what was important from the battle into chapters throughout the novel.

Let’s start with the real story!  Let’s start with the characters we’re supposed to care about!

**That’s not to say you have to introduce your main characters all in the first paragraph.  We don’t need alphabet soup either.

My question for you:

How much do you find yourself cutting from your opening?

#6 Critique Partner Series - Author's Voice

I am in no way a professional.  I don't have a fancy education to back up writing (that is reserved for mathematics), but I do know what I like to read and I do know when I read something that doesn't quite jive for me.  So WELCOME to my CRITIQUE PARTNER SERIES!  It is minus the partner, because I don't actually know any of the writers whose work I am reading, but here I will offer my advice.  Much of my advice you can find everywhere else on the internet.  None of it is professional.  All of it is...I can't think of anything to finish this sentence with.  I liked the whole "Much of it, none of it, all of it" thing I had going on at the start of each sentence, but I'm far too lazy to spend time thinking how to end that sentence, especially when this is only a blog developed for my personal enjoyment.  Tally ho!


#6 Critique Partner Series – Author’s Voice

Women are supposed to be very calm generally: but women feel just as men feel; they need exercise for their faculties and a field for their efforts as much as their brothers do; they suffer from too rigid a restraint, too absolute a stagnation, precisely as men would suffer; and it is narrow-minded in their more privileged fellow-creatures to say that they ought to confine themselves to making puddings and knitting stockings, to playing on the piano and embroidering bags.  It is thoughtless to condemn them, or laugh at them, if they seek to do more or learn more than custom has pronounced necessary for their sex (Charlotte Brontë in Jane Eyre, Chapter XII).

Why you may ask—or maybe you don’t—do I begin this week’s post with a quote from Jane Eyre?  Those who know me also know this is my favorite novel.  They know I have read it nine times and that throughout high school and college I continuously chose to write papers on it.  And those who know me even better, they know I incorporated a passage of it into my wedding vows.   But as much as I love Jane Eyre, I do not love this passage.

Wait!  Before you shoot me and claim all sorts of feminist claims, and before you hate me forever, listen!  It’s not that I don’t like the message.  It’s a very fine message.  Power to women and all that.**  What I don’t like is that this passage is about Brontë and not about Jane.  Think of where we are in the story:  Jane has just entered Thornfield.  She barely knows Mr. Rochester.  She’s seen so little of life.  In fact, Jane is just too naïve at this point in the novel to be this angry.  Brontë breaks into Jane’s character.  She has a message for her readers, and she uses Jane as the podium to relay that message.

It’s going to happen.  As writers, we pour so much of ourselves into each page that, eventually, part of ourselves seeps into our characters as well.  The trick is to make certain when we do it, we do it true to the character.  I know, I know.  It’s presumptuous of me to speak of Literature (with a capital L) in this way, but if Brontë had just waited until after Jane spent some time with St. John—enough that Jane could get good and suppressed—I’d say, “Go ahead!  Preach away, sister!”  It wouldn’t stand out to me as Brontë’s words.  I wouldn’t feel as if I’d been swindled into reading propaganda.

Be aware of your own voice when you write.  If you have a message, go ahead and write it, but only write it if your character is ready for it.  Only write it if it fits in with what your character thinks.  If you don’t, readers (I) will humph and think thoughts like, “Does Brianna really feel this way about the rebel attacks in Alpha Centauri, or is that how you feel?”

**I admit one of my papers was about how Jane needs a man in her life, only she needs one on her own terms.

My question for you:

How do you feel when you recognize the difference between a character’s thoughts and the author’s?  Does it matter to you?

#5 Critique Partner Series - Motivation

I am in no way a professional.  I don't have a fancy education to back up writing (that is reserved for mathematics), but I do know what I like to read and I do know when I read something that doesn't quite jive for me.  So WELCOME to my CRITIQUE PARTNER SERIES!  It is minus the partner, because I don't actually know any of the writers whose work I am reading, but here I will offer my advice.  Much of my advice you can find everywhere else on the internet.  None of it is professional.  All of it is...I can't think of anything to finish this sentence with.  I liked the whole "Much of it, none of it, all of it" thing I had going on at the start of each sentence, but I'm far too lazy to spend time thinking how to end that sentence, especially when this is only a blog developed for my personal enjoyment.  Always forwards, never backwards (unless it’s the delete key)!


#5 Critique Partner Series - Motivation

Why does Cinderella need to go to the party?  Why does the prince have a party in the first place?  Why does Cinderella leave behind her slipper?  Why does the prince seek out the owner of said slipper?  Why do Cinderella’s sisters chop off their toes and heels?

What are your characters’ motivations?  They’ve got them, or at least, they should.  However, sometimes it doesn’t quite come off the way we want it to in our writing. 

When I read, I have an annoying tendency to question everything from why a character twirls her hair to the secret reason behind the empty coffee pot.  I usually see foreshadowing an hour before the sun rises.  That’s annoying because my sense of wonder at the sunrise sometimes dies when I already have a sneaking suspicion (because all suspicions sneak) the sky will be pink, but it also allows me to wonder why I’m up so early.  Couldn’t I have slept in?  Am I a morning person?  Did the kids get me up early?  Did I even go to bed last night?  Why was I awake all last night, if I didn’t go to bed?  You get the point.  What’s my motivation for watching the sun rise?

When I write, it’s also a terribly wonderful tendency.  It helps me delve into my characters’ minds, and it certainly helps me understand why my characters make their choices. I over think everything, too.  Each word is specially crafted for the character.  She says “maintain” here instead of “keep.”  I’m the only person in the world who will notice that my character could have said “keep” but she that she chose to say “maintain” instead.  I’m the only person in the world who will think about why she said “maintain” and not “keep.”

In the last manuscript I critiqued, I found myself filling the margins with questions like these:   If she’s scared, why doesn’t she run away?  This is funny; why doesn’t she laugh here?   When you write, you’ll want to ask your characters the same questions.  Question everything your characters say and do.

I’ll leave you off with a few lines from Weezer.  I know exactly what his motivation is.

-Your mom cooked meatloaf, even though I don’t eat meat. I dug you so much, I took some for the team.

My question for you:

What are some tips you can give for making your characters' motivations clear?

#4 Critique Partner Series - Dialogue Quirks

I am in no way a professional.  I don't have a fancy education to back up writing (that is reserved for mathematics), but I do know what I like to read and I do know when I read something that doesn't quite jive for me.  So WELCOME to my CRITIQUE PARTNER SERIES!  It is minus the partner, because I don't actually know any of the writers whose work I am reading, but here I will offer my advice.  Much of my advice you can find everywhere else on the internet.  None of it is professional.  All of it is...I can't think of anything to finish this sentence with.  I liked the whole "Much of it, none of it, all of it" thing I had going on at the start of each sentence, but I'm far too lazy to spend time thinking how to end that sentence, especially when this is only a blog developed for my personal enjoyment.  Onwards and upwards!

#4 Critique Partner Series - Dialogue Quirks

Today's advice is short, but it's something I've seen in every manuscript I've reviewed so far.

Brianna laughed, "That's so funny."  She took a bite of the cake and moved it around in her mouth, chewing.

Kevin shrugged, "I don't know why you think so."

She sighed, "Oh, you're no fun."

"That's not true," he rolled his eyes.

Comment 1: That was painful.

Comment 2:  In each one of these paragraphs, the first comma should be replaced with a period.  Think about it this way:  When you laugh, shrug, sigh, and roll your eyes, are you actually saying words?  I know! I know! I really want Brianna's words to come out as a laugh too, but it doesn't work that way.  It's even more absurd to picture Kevin's words shrugging.  Go ahead. Try it.

Comment 3:  There are only two people talking.  We don't need all the "he said" and "she said" tags.  
a.)  It slows down the dialogue. Sometimes you want to slow things down, but make sure you don't have so many "he saids" that it bogs the dialogue down.
b.)  And honestly, our readers are smart; they can figure out which person is saying what thing.  Now, if it gets to a point where the reader has to go back to the top of the dialogue and count the lines to determine who is speaking, that's when you need to put in a tag.

Comment 4:  If it's not important that Brianna took a bite of cake, don't write it.  Yes, I know you want your readers to see everything the same way you see it, but they don't need to. There be beauty in simplicity.

Comment 5:  All that shrugging and eye rolling makes your characters appear twitchy.  Yes, go ahead and show your characters shrugging and rolling their eyes, but do so with intent.  If your dialogue makes nonchalance clear, without the shrug, don't write the shrug.

My Question for You:
What are some "quirks" you witness in dialogue?

#3 Critique Partner Series - On Beginning with Memories

I am in no way a professional.  I don't have a fancy education to back up writing (that is reserved for mathematics), but I do know what I like to read and I do know when I read something that doesn't quite jive for me.  So WELCOME to my CRITIQUE PARTNER SERIES!  It is minus the partner, because I don't actually know any of the writers whose work I am reading, but here I will offer my advice.  Much of my advice you can find everywhere else on the internet.  None of it is professional.  All of it is...I can't think of anything to finish this sentence with.  I liked the whole "Much of it, none of it, all of it" thing I had going on at the start of each sentence, but I'm far too lazy to spend time thinking how to end that sentence, especially when this is only a blog developed for my personal enjoyment.  And forward ho!

#3 Critique Partner Series - On Beginning with Memories

Today's manuscript begins with a bang.  We've got an old man overlooking a sea, thinking some great thoughts.  Brrr, it was cold.  I could really feel his isolation.  I was completely connected...until the fifth paragraph when he goes into a memory.  It's not that the writing was poor.  By all means, it wasn't.  It's just that it was a memory.  And it's not that I don't like memories; it's just that I don't like memories.  Kidding!

Here are two things I want to focus on today:
1.) Memories that rid the book of mystery.
2.) Memories as info-dumps.

Memories Minus Mystery
I love mystery when I read, especially in the first few pages.  Mystery keeps me turning those pages.  When the car backfires and the main character jumps and looks for the gunman, I want to know what in this man's history makes him think he's going to get shot.  Does he suffer from PSTD?  Did he lose a loved one in a hunting excursion gone bad?  Maybe he's a retired assassin and he thinks his past has caught up with him.  I don't know, but I want to know.  And I turn those pages.

But when the memory informs me he has mob ties and someone threatened him because he didn't want to sell his property, I'm like, "Eh.  No big surprise there.  I'd probably be jumpy, too."  Even though the car backfire didn't kill the man, the mystery is dead dead dead.

Moral of the story?  If you use a memory, especially in the beginning of a novel, make sure it is essential to the plot without taking away that drive to turn those pages.  Readers don't need to know everything.  They don't want to know everything...yet.

Memories as Info-Dumps

This particular manuscript did not begin with an info-dump (thank the stars!).  I realize they are sometimes unavoidable, but info-dumps in memories?  Probably avoidable.  When Suzie remembers the day her grandmother died, it better be for a good reason.

I'll be blunt here.  I don't care that the memory tells us Grandma was a kind woman who loved her family, went to bingo on Thursdays and church on Sundays, enjoyed planting herbs in window boxes, own seven cats and twelve birds (all of which have names beginning with the letter H), and that the day she died she was wearing a pink dressing gown and had a checkered blanket across her lap.  Oh, by the way, Grandma also lived on the third floor apartment in a run-down city that in its heyday was The Place to live.  She worked as a receptionist for a law firm that specialized in domestic violence cases until the lawyers fired her because she had to take her birds to the vet too often because the cats would try to eat them (eat the birds, not the lawyers; although, that would probably be grounds to fire her, too).

You probably didn't read all of that.  I don't blame you.  You didn't read it because it's boring.  I was bored writing it.  Yes, we get a lot of information about Grandma, but it doesn't tell us much about Suzie.  When your main character begins to reminisce about the good ol' days, even when she wasn't part of those days, make sure the memory is essential.  If it's not, cut it.  

Did you want to illustrate how much Suzie misses and loves Grandma?  You can insert those little bits of information into later scenes.  A brief sentence here and there (Look how much Suzie thinks of Grandma! Everything reminds her of the poor ol' gal!) will go a lot further in explaining Suzie's relationship with Grandma than a single memory in which you dump it all at the reader's feet.

A good rule of thumb is to make sure everything you put into your novel plays double duty.  It advances the characters while advancing the plot.  You'll hear me talk about this a lot.  Readers don't need to know everything.  In fact, they don't want to know everything.

My Question for You:

What do you like about memories in books?

#2 Critique Partner Series - On Regional Dialect in Dialogue

I am in no way a professional.  I don't have a fancy education to back up writing (that is reserved for mathematics), but I do know what I like to read and I do know when I read something that doesn't quite jive for me.  So WELCOME to my CRITIQUE PARTNER SERIES!  It is minus the partner, because I don't actually know any of the writers whose work I am reading, but here I will offer my advice.  Much of my advice you can find everywhere else on the internet.  None of it is professional.  All of it is...I can't think of anything to finish this sentence with.  I liked the whole "Much of it, none of it, all of it" thing I had going on at the start of each sentence, but I'm far too lazy to spend time thinking how to end that sentence, especially when this is only a blog developed for my personal enjoyment.  I digress!

#2 Critique Partner Series - On Regional Dialect in Dialogue

The manuscript I am critiquing is set in small town Massachusetts.  Reading through it at first, something felt...wrong.  I couldn't put my finger on it right away, but when I did, it was an aha! moment.  The characters didn't feel genuine.  When I finally pinpointed the flaw in the writing, I discovered the characters didn't use the right words in the right way. 

So today I want to focus on dialect.  Not dialect in the they-have-a-funny-accent way, but dialect in the why-did-they-use-that-word way.  Here's how I discovered the flaw:

Having lived all my life in small town MA, I have a fairly good idea what these people -- my fellow Massachusites -- sound like.  Within the small state of MA, there exist regional dialects.  Yes, most locals can do a decent job determining if someone is from Boston, Worcester, or Western, MA* by listening to that person's accent, but we tend to use words differently too.  

There are small things you wouldn't necessarily notice if you've never spent much time outside of your town.  For example, when I worked in Worcester, all my students would call me Miss instead of Miss Rose.  The moment I moved twenty miles west, it was all Miss Rose all the time.  Go west one hundred miles and wicked cool turns into mad cool (although this is falling out of favor), and one hundred miles to the south-east we have wicked pissa (because people like to drop Rs).  And, depending on where you are, a pisser is definitely a bad thing.

Geographically, Massachusetts is small, but we still maintain many different dialects.  I imagine there are states out there in which the same thing occurs.  When you are writing dialogue, you'll want to make sure you pay attention to dialects.  Now, I know the majority of my readers aren't going to be centered in MA, and yours probably won't either, but if you set your novel in MA, you want to be sensitive to how people from MA talk, just like if you set your novel in Great Britain, you'll want to be sensitive to their dialects.  I'm not saying you need to change all your going to's to gonna's (in fact, I find that annoying), but you want to make sure your dialogue works for the setting.**

This goes for what your characters discuss too.  Again, I'm not talking about making an artistic point.  I'm talking about making sure that, if your characters discuss a topic, people from the region would speak about it and speak about it in the way your characters present it.  For the manuscript I'm reading now, this is where my little red flag finally stuck in the ground. I found myself saying, "I don't know a single girl who would ever say that," and yet all the girls talked that way.  Also, "Wait a minute.  He said what?  Did I read that right?  What???"  

Instead of going into particulars about the manuscript, I'll summarize my thoughts.  Sex and swearing were the two big examples that stood out to me.  The characters didn't sound like any people I know -- they didn't hit home for me -- and it was because of how they talked about sex (although, I'm sure you can insert any other topic and it would still be relevant).  In some regions, the locals would be offended to discuss sex, or they might discuss sex in a very different manner from someone living in another region.  Also, people of different ages discuss sex differently. They name body parts differently.  They use different words.  When my first reaction to the dialogue is, "This nine year old would never say that," it means the words aren't right.  If you are looking to write something genuine, you want to be aware of this.

Take two moments to read the following lines.  Try to picture a middle-aged woman in a suit saying each of these things:

"Pass the peas."
"Hand me the peas."
Reach over and grabs the peas without asking.
"Will you pass me the peas?"
"May I have more peas?"
"May I pretty please have more peas?"
"Peas...pees. Ha ha ha!"

It doesn't always work.  The same goes for fitting a region to your characters' words.  If you're not careful, your readers will notice something doesn't fit.  Maybe they won't be able to pinpoint what is wrong.  Maybe they will know exactly what is wrong.  Maybe, just maybe, they will become offended.  Just saying.  It's important.

*Many of us, myself included, don't own any particular "Massachusetts" accent. **I especially love when, in Veronica Rossi's Under the Never Sky series, Perry is aware of Aria's use of the word champ.  It fits.  It shows how different they two are.  It builds their relationship.

My question for you:
How do you maintain authentic regional dialect in your dialogue?  Or, do you try to avoid it altogether?  

#1 Critique Partner Series - On Characters

As I gear up for my writers' conference in the end of June, I'm doing a lot of reading "outside my box." I've recently had several people ask me what I read.  My standard response is, "Oh, you know, just about everything.  I'm not a huge fan of non-fiction, but I've read a few.  I mostly read YA now, but I'm a huge fan of Literature with a capital L."  Now, as I race to read and critique four novels in four weeks (one of which is nearly 500 pages long--yipes!), I've discovered how my answer of "Just about everything," doesn't quite fit the bill.  I guess I never realized how limited the range of genres I read actually is.

But this isn't the point of this whole post.  After spending three hours last night reading through 25 pages of another's work, I've decided that some of the many things I write on that writer's work would be nice to record here.

I am in no way a professional.  I don't have a fancy education to back up writing (that is reserved for mathematics), but I do know what I like to read and I do know when I read something that doesn't quite jive for me.  So WELCOME to my CRITIQUE PARTNER SERIES!  It is minus the partner, because I don't actually know any of the writers whose work I am reading, but here I will offer my advice.  Much of my advice you can find everywhere else on the internet.  None of it is professional.  All of it is...I can't think of anything to finish this sentence with.  I liked the whole "Much of it, none of it, all of it" thing I had going on at the start of each sentence, but I'm far too lazy to spend time thinking how to end that sentence, especially when this is only a blog developed for my personal enjoyment.  I digress!

#1 Critique Partner Series - On Characters

The manuscript I am currently critiquing comes with a list of characters.  There are 46 characters on that list.  About 14 of them are introduced in the first 25 pages.  6 of them are introduced in the first 2 pages.  None of them have English names.  Most of the names start with F, K, W, and T.

Perhaps it is because the first time I read my books, I prefer to devour them instead of savoring them, but I found having so many characters with so many similar and foreign names to be difficult to track.

Suggestion #1:  Don't name all your characters.  Not all of them are important, and if they aren't, don't give them names unless you have to.  Naming a character shows me, as a reader, he is important.  Sometimes characters aren't.  Sometimes they are.  Of course, there are times when several people interact in a scene and you need to give them names to keep them straight, but mostly, if they are present in the scene but not pivotal to it, they don't require names.  Think about how much time you personally spent (or spend) thinking up a name for your first child; that sort of dedication and timing should go into naming your characters.  Your characters are your children.  If they aren't your children, then they probably don't need names.  There is a reason the credits in movies say "Soldier #3."  I'm more likely to remember Soldier #3 (because he was a soldier and that identifies him) than "U'gruk the Minor."

Suggestion #2:  Narrow down your characters.  If you feel 20 of your characters are important, ask yourself, "Can each of the 20 stand on his own?  Or, should I combine some of them into one character?"  Yes, in real life we know hundreds of people, and yes, in real life there are probably 20 we interact with on a daily basis, but how many people in our life are truly important to us?  Such is the case when writing.  Yes, our main character (or characters) will interact with many people, but if you can combine your plethora those people into a few key characters, then it's easier to read.  I'm not saying you want your characters to have multiple-personality disorder--not at all--but you want your characters to be multi-dimentional.  Sometimes combining a few characters together achieves this without overwhelming your reader.

Suggestion #3:  Know your audience.  If your characters have foreign names, but those names are unusual to your readers, chances are your readers will become bogged down keeping the names straight.  I find this happens the most with fantasy and historical fiction.  We're set in some unusual country with names that are not Jane, Sally, and Rob.  They are U'rus (the healer), U'rai (the shaman), and Uhrik (the mother).  I can't keep those characters names straight, and your readers probably can't either.  Unless your audience will easily recognize the difference among the three names (because they are from that country), you might want to make it easier to distinguish among the names while still being true to your genre.

My question for you:
What are some other things you take into consideration when you create your characters?  When you read, what about characters sometimes bogs you down?

Tips from an Aspiring Author

Now that I am well established among my friends and family as an aspiring author, I have decided to impart some of my brilliant wisdom (ha).  In all seriousness though, I think some perspective from someone who is "new to the game" is sometimes helpful.  And, if it's not, this blog post allows me to sort through some of the major things I've learned since pursuing writing.

Tip 1:

Set measurable goals.  Just this week, I was feeling a little down and unmotivated.  After spending three days on the first page of Chapter Thirteen (no symbolism there), I finally decided what my problem was, and it wasn't the head cold I've been sporting.  I had forgotten my cardinal rule of goal setting.  Once I said, "Geez, April, you really should set a goal for this weekend," and I did, I found myself chipping away...at the next four chapters.  Nice.

I am not one of those people who struggles with procrastination.   The earlier, the better.  Do your work.  Get it done.  Afterwards, have some fun.  That's me.  But if you are a Procrastinator, set goals closer together.  If it's Monday, set a writing goal for Wednesday instead of Friday.  Even if you procrastinate, you'll still have something done by Wednesday and even more done for Friday.

Tip 2:

Find beta readers after you have completed the majority of your manuscript. Beta readers are super awesome people who will read your work and give you super awesome honest feedback. Usually, they read in exchange for you reading their work. My beta readers come free (about which I'm always a little guilty). Since I write YA, they are a small group of students from my high school. They are fantastic and LitD is better because of them.  Seriously better.

Tip 3:

Start following the social media sites of both writers and agents. I have found blogs to be the most useful learning tool.  They post excellent things including upcoming events I wouldn’t normally have known about, great books to read, tips for writing and querying, what the market looks like, etc.  

It also gives me perspective and makes these people whom I aspire to be like less intimidating.  Let's face it.  Established Authors = Scary.  Agents = Terrifying.  However, when you find that A-List-Agent tweeting about her cat or the new dress she bought, she's a real person now.  Nothing to be afraid of...much.

Tip 4:

Research, research, research. Lots of this can be done by reading the blogs of legitimate people, but you never know what good advice comes up just because you happen to stumble on a good site.  Case in point:  I never would have guessed that the title of my manuscript should be in all caps.  I had clicked on a blog through a blog through an agent's website when I discovered that little gem.  Now I tell everyone about it because, heck, I'm proud I found it.

Tip 5:

Interact with as many writers as you can.  Now you must understand, I live nearly as close to the middle of nowhere as you can get in central Massachusetts.  Except for the small grocery store in the center of town, my nearest grocery store is 25 minutes away.  My closest neighbors are cows and coyotes, so interacting with other writers is not easy.  I'd join a writing group if the nearest one didn't meet on school nights and wasn't an hour away.  My main source is through forums and larger blogs, but let me tell you one thing: When I do connect with other writers, it keeps me feeling motivated, and I like feeling like part of a community.

And finally, because I had to call my high school English teacher (I graduated 11 years ago, by the way) and have a four-way conversation on speaker phone with her husband and cutie little toddler son while they drove to some unknown Saturday morning destination before I had even the slightest idea of where to start, here are some very helpful places to start:

http://www.literaryrambles.com/
This place is wow.  Just wow.

http://www.rachellegardner.com/
A lit agent with fantastic posts about writing/market/everything. I’ve gone to one of her webinars where I learned tons of things I didn't even know I should ask.  She also posts regularly, which is nice for someone like me who creeps the internet.

http://askaliteraryagent.blogspot.com/
He’s got a very extensive ebook that is free to download. I recommend reading it.  Some of the things he says don't particularly jive with me, but the ebook is so jam-packed with info that I couldn't help learning something.

http://www.pw.org
Check this out. You can get an account for free and you don’t have to buy the magazine. They’ll send you emails with tips. I love their Speakeasy Forum to connect with other writers. You can ask questions and find out the skinny on stuff like conferences.  From real people.  Who aren't selling stuff. Score.

http://theblabbermouthblog.com/
Another literary agent with some helpful posts. Several of them have already helped to tighten up my writing.

There are a bajillian more out there, and it wouldn't do to list them all, but 

My favorite is: YA Highway! It’s very much YA driven (good for me), but they have a lot of good tips. I aspire to be like some of these fantastic women.  And actually, *they* tagged *me* in last Friday's Field Trip Friday for an article I brought to their attention! Can you imagine? Little ol' me? Okay, so it's not a big deal to anyone but me, but this blog had THREE extra hits because of it.  I'm not being sarcastic when I say that excites me.

Goals

Pessimism ALERT!
I sometimes find it difficult not to become bogged down with my own feelings of self-doubt and inadequacy. The moment I began writing LitD, I said to myself, "This is for me, and if nothing comes of it, well, that's okay too.  It will be a great journey."  That is still true, but now that I've completed my first draft and am very slowly crawling through a meticulous edit of my manuscript, I sometimes feel discouraged.

Writing LitD has been a rather manic experience.  There are times when I have the utmost confidence in what I write and other times where I can't help but second guess myself.  There are times when I am confident there is a market for my novel and other times when I doubt the market can hold any more dystopian YA fiction.  I don't want my novel to be just another book with fangs (like what happened after the Twilight craze).

After reading a very expressive post from the Crowe's Nest, I think I've come to a conclusion about part of what causes my mania.  I knew I was doing it, but I didn't fully acknowledge it.

I compare myself too much to other successful writers.  Fact:  I sit with copies of my well-loved novels next to me when I write.  They are a constant reminder of what I am not.  They are a constant reminder of what I long to become, of what I will become.

Long term goals:
A.) To become a successful writer.
B.) To become published.

Short term goal:
A.) To get through the second draft.

So what I am currently doing to achieve my goals?
I'm working to put together a panel of students who will read my manuscript and offer me feedback.  It will be a wonderful (albeit scary) experience to hear from my target audience.  Thank you, already, for those of you who have volunteered.