Tuesday's Teaser: Thoughts on Characters...Or Dreams...Or...

I woke up at 3:45 am and thought I was coming out of a dream. After a couple of minutes, it was clear that it wasn't a dream, it was a new character screaming at me. I mean, actually screaming because she was being chased through a forest. Okay, I thought, enough of this. I do not write fairy tales, so shut up and let me go back to sleep.

Except...she was being chased, she was in a forest, and it was not a fairy tale.

Her name is Gabriela, she is Italian, the forest is in New Jersey (?), and somehow a town called Whitesbog is involved.

The thing is...I'm not writing about a character named Gabriela, I know little to nothing about New Jersey ( except that one of the Mafioso Families is there), and I never heard of some place called Whitesbog...if such a place actually exists.

Obviously, this new character has a story she wants me to tell, but right now I have no idea what it is. Whitesbog, New Jersey?? Now I'm intrigued. I must do some research!

A dream? Or can a character actually come into your head, and demand that you tell her story? Even if you have absolutely NO idea what that story is?  Actually, I did have that happen with my very first novel. AJ woke me up one morning about the same time as Gabriela...uh oh, now I'm talking about HER as if she's really going to exist...anyway, AJ wanted her story told, too. But with AJ, I had some idea of what she wanted me to tell, and eventually her story became The Year of the Scream. 

What does Gabriela want? What is her story? Frankly, I can't imagine. Perhaps if I start researching some place called "Whitesbog" to see is there is such a place, I'll have a better idea. Why is she so insistent? I can't get her name out of my head, it's like it is plastered there. When something like that happens with me, I know nothing is going to matter until I get started on the story. Usually, I have at least a few thoughts about the direction it will take. Today? My mind is blank...all I can hear or think about is this little voice saying...Gabriela Gabriela Gabriela.

It's driving me crazy!!

Do you ever have a character wake you up and make demands on you? If so, do you always know WHY this character has shown up so unexpectedly? Please, share your thoughts...you might help me know what to do with this girl !

Until next time,
That's a wrap.

Monday's Meanderings: Teacher in Reverse: Daughter and Father

Today I went to the library, and while I was there, I saw something so touching I had to write about it.

I was in the YA stacks of the Children's Library, and I heard this soft voice saying, "No, Dad, that word is 'running.' You know the word 'run,' so just put the 'ing' to it."

Another soft voice, somewhat deeper: "He wa...was run..running too far.." "No, Dad, not 'too far,' 'too fast.' Try it again."

A silence. Then the deep voice said, "I don't know, honey. I don't think I'll ever learn again."

The sentence was spoken in bits and pieces, with pain evident in each word. I didn't want to be a snoop, but I guess I am. I had to know what was going on. I stepped quietly around a couple of bookcases, and stopped. In front of me was one of the round tables for small children, complete with the little chairs. On one chair, stooped over and barely sitting on the seat, was a tall, thin man with his face in his hands. Sitting next to him, on the table itself, sat a young girl about fourteen. Sweet face, dark curly hair, dark eyes full of tears. She sat with one slim hand on the man's shoulder.

"Dad, you will learn again. Look how far you've come this year. I won't let you stop learning until you can read all your own books again."

He raised his head and smiled at her. He got up slowly and painfully ( any adult who's ever sat in one of those kindergarten chairs knows you can't get up any other way, no matter how strong you are!), held out his hand to his daughter, and they carefully picked their way around the other tables to the check-out counter.

I checked out behind them, and as I walked out, I saw the father pointing at various trees, cars, a rabbit hopping by...and naming them all for his daughter. She was laughing and hugging him around the waist as I drove off.

Teacher in reverse: daughter teaching father all the things, and in the same loving, patient way, that father had once taught his daughter.

How wonderful. How remarkable. Courage, love, and patience all bound up in one beautiful, 14 year old package.

What remarkable thing have you seen lately?

Until next time,
That's a wrap.

Wednesday's Wanderings: The Wonderfu, Remarkable, Frustrating World of Websites: Part Two

Today I'm going to add some more websites that I hope will be of use to my readers. Without further ado, here they are:

Bookends: www.bookendslitagency.blogspot.com
Two agents, Jessica Faust and Kim Lionetti, have a great site with a large array of posts on proposals, contracts, editing, story conflict, and a lot more. Their advice is good and it's free!

QueryTracker:  www.querytracker.net
This is the best place in the world to go if you are at the point of wanting to find an agent. Much of the site is free, but if you are really serious about agenting, pay the $40 yearly fee, at least for a year, and take advantage of all the premier things you can do here.

The Market List:  www.marketlist.com
For those of you who want to make some extra money doing freelance writing. If you're writing genre fiction, there are hundreds of market listings here for you to look into.

Ed 2010:  www.ed2010.com
There are young magazine editors here who offer excellent advice about writing for magazines. There is a section called "WhisperJobs" that is a great resource for both freelance and full time magazine jobs.

A Newbie's Guide to Publishing:  www.jakonrath.blogspot.com
J.A.Konrath is a thriller-writer who isn't the least bit shy about sharing his opinions on the best way to seek out traditional publishers, as well as those for self-publishing ebooks. He also offers an array of good writing-related resources.

Writer Beware Blog:  www.accrispin.blogspot.com
This is a writing watchdog who tracks, exposes, and raises awareness about scammers and the other many questionable activities in and around the publishing industry. A good place to visit, to see what is the latest "worry spot" in our business.

Stephie Smith's Writers' Resources:  www.stephiesmith.com/resources.html
There aren't any articles here, just links to everything imaginable concerned with writing. They are all broken down by category, including a list of resources especially valuable to writers of historical fiction. ( That's me, guys!)

Once Written:  www.oncewritten.com
This site gives a lot of solid information, writing prompts, contests, and allows writers an opportunity to have their books reviewed.

Pimp My Novel:  www.pimpmynovel.blogspot.com
This is one site that many of you already know about, but it's worth repeating here. It is authored by a publishing sales rep who gives the inside scoop on what happens to books after they've been acquired. Be sure to check out the Profit & Loss ( P&L) series, which tells about a little-known aspect of how book publishing really works.

Resources for Children's Writers:  www.resourcesforchildren'swriters.com
Rachelle Burk's site links to hundreds of articles for children's writers who are trying to improve their writing skills, network with other writers, and get published and sell their work. It's a great site for us!

Mystery Writing Is Murder:  www.mysterywritingismurder.blogspot.com
Mystery writer Elizabeth Spann Craig uses her blog for good, not evil...except when she is explaining how to craft antagonists.

Murder By 4:  www.murderby4.blogspot.com
Great tips on writing the thriller genre by four masters of suspense.

Don't be afraid to check out some of the sites about genres you haven't thought of writing. You might find just the spark you need to step out of your comfort zone and try something new!

Until next time,
That's a wrap.

Monday's Meanderings: The Remarkable, Wonderful, Frustrating World of Websites

Do you ever wander from one writing website to another, looking for information, help, advice, ideas? Do you ever get frustrated because nothing seems to be just what you are looking for? For the next couple of posts, I'm going to give you some of the best websites I've come across in the years I've been writing. Most of these came from the  Writer's Digest "101 Best Websites," but I've used many in the past, and have found them useful, humorous, and sometimes, just plain frustrating. I hope you find some you can enjoy.

Grammar Girl:  www.grammar.quickanddirtytips.com
We can all use a little help with grammar from time to time, and this is a good place to get that help.

Long, Story Short: An E-Zine for Writers: www.alongstoryshort.net
These editors offer great writing tips and personally reply to every author who contacts them for writing and publishing advice.

Plot Whisperer for Writers & Readers: www.plotwhisperer.blogspot.com
A great place for help and tips on writing plots.

Easy Street Promps: www.easystreetprompts.blogspot.com
If you're having trouble getting your muse to come back from her vacation, this is the place for you. Lots of picture prompts and video story-starters.

Six Sentences: www.sixsentences.blogpspot.com
For those of you who can "write short," something I can't seem to do. Here you can submit a six sentence story and take a chance on getting published.

Agent Query: www.agentquery.com
I've used this off and on for a couple of years, just got serious with it this year. If you're looking for an agent, this is the place to come. There is a lot you can do for free, but if you're seriously looking, pay the annual fee of $40, because it is well worth it.

Babbles from Scott Eagan: www.scotteagan.blogspot.com
Scott Eagan is the founder of Greyhaus Literary Agent, and writes multiple columns on querying tips, defining your genre, the pros and cons of social media, and much more. It's worth checking out.

Fundsfor Writers:  www.fundsforwriters.com
A great site if you're looking for money, grants, contests, awards, and markets. Hope Clark is an editor and her free email newsletter is a good one.

Slush Pile Hell:  www.slushpilehell.tumblr.com
What more needs to be said?! The tag line is "One grumpy literary agent, a sea of query fails, and other publishing nonsense." Check it out!

That's all for now, I'll have a few more in the next post.

Until next time,
That's a wrap.

Wednesday's Wandering: Bookstores, Or The Lack Thereof

My daughter was up visiting all of last week, and one day we went down the mountain to our local mall...such as it is. We wandered through the shops, did a little buying, and as we walked down the sidewalk ( we don't have the luxury of an inclosed mall), we passed a large... and empty...building. She asked me about it, and I told her it once was a beautiful bookstore... one of Border's Bookstores. We walked over to the windows and looked in. Empty. Deserted. Not even the bookshelves were left. Another window looked in on the small cafe where I had sat for many an hour, drinking coffee, talking to my husband as we both leafed through the myriad of magazines available. Gone were the tables, the chairs, even the glass-front cabinet where the "goodies" had lain in all their delectable glory. It was so sad.

Bookstores are becoming a relic of our society. Everywhere you look, the wonderful buildings that have for so long been home to literally miles of books are now standing empty. Their shelves are crumbling, the floors are filthy with dirt, crushed out cigarettes, and remnants of rotting food workers didn't bother to throw away. Their glass fronts, once so clean and shiny, are now home to dust bunnies and spiders busily spinning their webs. All that is left are the ghosts of the characters which once peopled their many books, remaining behind to sigh and whisper their laments.

The closing of so many bookstores seems to be symbolic of the coming ( or already here) changes in our literary world. Ebooks and their accompaning readers, the Kindle, the Nook, the iPad, and so on, are encroaching upon the written word at a speed approaching that of light...or so it appears. It is causing a major upheaval in the way we read books, and are able to publish books.

I have a Kindle, and many books on it, but I will always prefer to read the printed word. I love strolling down the aisles of a bookstore, stopping to admire the cover of a book, picking up another to read the jacket flap, still another to flip through the pages, until finally I decide upon the one ( or several) to buy. I love the smell of books, and the feel of holding one in my hands. I enjoy turning the pages by hand, placing a pretty bookmark between them when I have to stop reading and return to something I should be doing instead... like writing.

Those pleasures are rapidly being taken away from me and everyone who enjoys a "real" book. Is the convenience of having 500 to 1,000 books ( given that you can afford them) ready and waiting in a small 8" x 5" electronic reader really more important, more enjoyable, than being able to linger leisurely among the stacks of books, as you decide which one to buy? Well, not for me!  And I suspect, not for a few thousand others... at least.

Ebooks and digitalization are becoming the "buzz" words of the future, except... the future is now. Even traditional book publishers are opening small sections of their business to begin publishing electronic books. Many new and smaller publishers are open only to ebook publishing, and others specify they will publish in print only those books which do well in ebook format first.

Another trend that is becoming fashionable is self-publishing in the ebook format, or in ebooks that are POD. While there are several reputable ways to do this, there are also many scam artists out there who are out for your money and nothing more. Self-publishing in any format has always been the "stepchild" of publishing, and those who wish to take that route must now be all the more diligent in finding an honest and reputable way of doing that with ebooks.

For me, ebooks will always be a poor second choice, for both reading and publishing.  I always seek out the bookstores, even though now most of them are of the "second-hand and antique book" variety!  Still, it's far better than not having one at all.

Until next time,
That's a wrap.

Wednesday's Wandering: Writing MG/YA Fiction That Sells

Today's blog concerns a workshop I took at a Writer's Conference in September. The presenter was Jonathan Maberry, a multipublished author of teen and middle grade fiction. Please check out his website at: www.JonathanMaberry.com.

I think we all have trouble sometimes deciding if our story is for "middle grade" or "young adult." I keep seeing publishers who claim that YA is from age 12 to 18. As a parent and grandparent, I know there is a big difference between the emotional/mental maturity of a 12 or 13 year-old, and a kid who is 16, 17, and older. Therefore, some stories aimed at the later teens are not appropriate for early teens, and those for early teens the older kids wouldn't want to read.

Mr. Maberry has broken down the age groups in very much the same way I would, and I was glad to see I wasn't the only one who felt like this! His break-down is:
Middle Grade =  8 to 12 years
Younger YA   =  12 to 15 years
Older YA        =  15 to 17 years

I don't think he mentioned it, but I assume he figures 18 and up is adult.

There is more money right now in YA than there is in adult books, which came as a surprise. More YA books are being sold, and are bringing in better royalites. The biggest seller is for the younger YA, 12 to 15 years.  They are given the biggest print run, and there is no limit to genre or a mixture of genres, but there are fewer appropriate themes than for the older group.

Kids read up, especially in the middle grades, but that doesn't mean writing for them in the same vein as writing for the YA groups. No heavy romance, or sex, or hard horror books for this age group. Most MG novels run from 20,000 to 40,000 words, and CAN bring as much as $60,000 for new authors. Steam punk is selling well, but he says historical fiction is not. That part I would debate him on, as I'm getting the opposite information from agents.
There are more themes available to write about in the 15 to 17 year-old YA, such as drugs, sex, abuse, abortions, gangs, anorexia-type themes, rape, and etc.     Many YA are now heavily into romance, which can range from the hand-holding, first kisses to those who steam up the pages a bit with more sex.

Boys, however, are not reading the older YA, which presents an open door for those who want to write for the older YA boys. Anyone who can write a good multi-cultural story with a strong boy protagonist, or a Western with a strong boy protagonist would automatically be a good sell.

When Mr. Mabeery was asked if there is still a market for vampires, he replied that werewolves were probably a better seller, and some unique version of a werewolf would be great. The example he gave was: A boy comes from South America and becomes, not a werewolf, but a werejaguar.

That example stirred the room up a bit!  However, this was a real happening in South American folklore.

Most of the houses are looking for series for both middle grade and young adult. They want two to three books in each series, but each one must be a "stand alone" book.  He suggested saying something in a query about the manuscript was a single story but with a series potential.

He said that libraries are buying more books than school systems, due to the budget cuts. However, in my state, libraries have been cut as much as the schools, so even they are not buying new books. He also mentioned that audio books were selling well in both schools and libraries. I would liked to have had him discuss ebooks for these age groups but there wasn't time. With so much controversy surrounding ebooks right now...are they for kids or not...that subject would probably make a whole new workshop, anyway!

In his closing remarks, Mr. Maberry said one of the most important... and ... and necessary... things you can do as a writer is to have a one sentence pitch that gives an accurate idea of what your book is about. That brought a groan from the audience, as we all know how difficult it is to sum up 20,000 to 50,000 words in one sentence, even when the one sentence is 2 or 3 lines long!

I hope this has given a bit of new insight into what writing for teens and middle grade kids is all about.

Until next time,
That's a wrap.

Friday's Fare: Review of Millicent Min, Girl Genius

Today I'm going to review a book much lighter in vein than recent ones. It is a book to read for fun, to relieve a hard day at work or serious writing, or even just because you don't have anything else on hand to read. Whatever your reason, it is, first, a book you will laugh about, and second, a book you SHOULD read if you're writing anything for girls aged 9 to 14.

Millicent Min is an eleven year old genius. She began kindergarten at the age of three and now, at eleven, she is in the eleventh grade in high school, is taking a college advanced poetry class, and is looking forward to being a full time college student before she enters her teens. She has appeared on television seven times, and has been the subject of six articles on highly gifted children.

The first sentence of this book---"I have been accused of being anal retentive, an over-achiever, and a compulsive perfectionist, like those are bad things"---perfectly sets the stage and captures the unique voice of this charming and amusing story.

Millicent must spend the summer between awaiting the start of her last year in high school. Unfortunately,  she has the social and athletic skills of a gnat, and consequently, has no friends her own age, or even of high school age. She has no trouble in espousing her knowledge about any and all subjects, so anyone who might be considered her peer tends to shy away from her. She spends her spare time with her grandmother, who often gives advice she has gained from watching her favorite TV show, Kung Fu.

Her parents decide she must have a more well-rounded life, so they sign her up for summer volleyball at the high school, something that Millicent says "It reminds me of kindergarten--something I tried but was just not suited for." Even
 more horrendous, her mother informs her that she is to tutor Stanford Wong, son of a family friend. Millicent would rather go back to elementary school than take on the task of trying to teach this annoying and totally obnoxious boy anything, but she has no choice.

Her first day of volleyball practice turns out as badly as she expected it to, but she does meet Emily Ebers, a new girl in town her own age, and who hates volleyball as much as Millicent. They become friends, but Millicent goes to great lengths to hide her mental capabilities, fearing that like everyone else, if Emily finds out Millicent is a genius, she will dump her. Needless to say, this deception leads to comic disaster, especially when Emily  runs into Millicent and Stanford at the library, and Stanford immediately tells Emily HE is the one tutoring Millicent. There is more than one hilarious complication resulting from the Emily-Millicent-Stanford trio.

To be expected, Emily accidentally finds out about Millicent's IQ, and true to form, she dumps her. However, this is not because Millicent is a genius, as she believes, but because Emily is hurt that Millicent didn't think their friendship was strong enough for her to tell Emily the truth. Now Millicent is faced with a problem she can't solve as easily as she does any academic test question. How can she earn back Emily's trust and friendship?

There are several colorful characters in Millicent's life, including her down-to-earth mother, her very laid-back father, and of course, her often out-in-left-field grandmother. Her interactions with her family, with Emily and Stanford, and her journey to the discovery that true friendship, trust, and the acceptance of herself and others is something not measured by IQ but by one's inner spirit make for an engaging and heartfelt story. It deserves an A+ by any grading system, and a place of honor on your bookshelf.

Until next time,
That's a wrap.