This WOW Wednesday is from our very own Cam--YAY!--who just landed an agent and finished the first round of revisions on her fabulous manuscript. She is represented by represented by Vickie Motter at Andrea Hurst Literary Management. In addition to finding her here, you can catch her on her own blog. And yeah, she really is this humble, sweet, and gracious. How lucky are we to have her here with us?
Shortly after I signed with my agent, Martina invited me to write a WOW Wednesday post. My first thought was – DUDE! I’m a nobody! What kind of wisdom or inspiration do you think I have to give?!? I can’t even bake brownies without destroying them! And then I promptly read every WOW Wednesday post on the blog and spent about fifteen minutes shaking my head because there were legitimate authors like Melissa de la Cruz and E. Lockhart who actually had wisdom to impart. Like, real wisdom.
Loving Your Writer's Butt
by Cambria Dillon
Shortly after I signed with my agent, Martina invited me to write a WOW Wednesday post. My first thought was – DUDE! I’m a nobody! What kind of wisdom or inspiration do you think I have to give?!? I can’t even bake brownies without destroying them! And then I promptly read every WOW Wednesday post on the blog and spent about fifteen minutes shaking my head because there were legitimate authors like Melissa de la Cruz and E. Lockhart who actually had wisdom to impart. Like, real wisdom.
I was fully prepared to tell her she had the wrong girl. That my path to getting an agent wasn't anything special and who wants to read about my path anyway? But then I recalled something from R.L. Stine’s keynote speech at SCBWI NY this past January. He said (and I'm summarizing here) that when he first started out, he made sure to say yes to everything. At the time, he was writing for a humor magazine and his editor had asked him to try writing something scary. Even though he wasn’t sure if he could pull it off, he said yes. Why? Because he loved writing and instead of focusing on the huge challenge in front of him, he focused on the fact that he loved writing in all its many shapes and sizes.
And now look at him.
So yeah, I told Martina – ABSOLUTELY! SIGN ME UP!
But the more I thought about it, the more I realized something…
Yes, I have an agent, but…nothing has changed. I don't feel like a different person. I don't drink champagne for breakfast or have a gold-foiled keyboard or anything silly like that. I’m still a “nobody” and still can’t bake to save my life. The only thing I have now is a new nugget of experience I can refer to and an updated Twitter bio. Sure, I just turned in my first round of revisions to my agent and am currently waiting to see if she likes the changes or is going to print them out for her cat to use as kitty litter. But really…
NOTHING HAS CHANGED.
I was writing, revising, and making sure cats didn't pee on my work prior to getting an agent. And I suspect I'll always be doing those things because when you’re a writer, you don’t do it to become an overnight success story. You don’t do it to make butt-loads of money. You don’t do it for the cool factor of having a business card that says AUTHOR on it. And you certainly don’t do it
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By: Adventures in Children's Publishing,
on 1/18/2011
Blog: Adventures in YA Publishing (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Giveaways, Voice, Writing Craft, Writing Prompts, Cambria Dillon, Add a tag
"A writer's voice is not character alone, it is not style alone; it is far more. A writer's voice line the stroke of an artist's brush- is the thumbprint of her whole person- her idea, wit, humor, passions, rhythms."
Patricia Lee Gauch
There are a gazillion and one posts out there about Voice and how important it is in order to make your book UNIQUE. And pretty much every one of those articles mentions how ‘you know good voice when you see it.’ And yet, no one can really define what makes a Voice good because, like pretty much everything else in the publishing world, it’s subjective. But all good depictions of Voice have two things in common – it’s seamless and addictive. It’s packed within the pages of every book you’ve stayed up until the wee hours of the morning reading because you Couldn’t. Put. It. Down.
So…why is that? What’s in Voice that makes a book unputdownable?
Let’s break out the two reasons I just listed:
Seamless (adj)
(of a fabric or surface) smooth and without seams or obvious joins : seamless stockings | figurative seamless dialogue between the two pianos.
I’m going to shine a spotlight on the one word in the above definition that I think says it all. Smooth. What do you think when you see that word? I think of melted chocolate. Bailey’s Irish Cream. Expensive perfume. Velvet and silk and glass. I think of things I can touch and taste and smell. Good voice is rich. It’s full of senses that immediately draw you in and make you feel like you’re the one experiencing what’s in the book. Good voice is like putting on 3D glasses—like living in a virtual world…but through WORDS. That’s pretty darn powerful stuff.
Here are some examples of how Voice can suck you into a landscape—even with no context of the story—just by using seamless language to engage your senses.
I knew it was coming, but it’s still hard to understand that after I read this, there will be nothing left of her for me to discover. I turn my flashlight off and all the light that’s left comes from the moon and the living room of my house. A gust of wind comes. All the leaves above and below and around me rustle. It’s the sound of losing, or of starting over. I can’t decide which.
I turn my flashlight on. I read. (Hold Still, Nina LaCour)
The last mourner was always a boy, whatever boy I had a crush on at the time. He’d be a wreck, totally destroyed by my death. When he saw me in my coffin, he’d suddenly realize that he’d loved me all along. The other kids in school, the fools who had ignored me all year, were wrong, so very wrong. The injustice of it would overwhelm Crush Boy, who’d run into the street and throw himself in front o
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By: Adventures in Children's Publishing,
on 1/11/2011
Blog: Adventures in YA Publishing (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Cambria Dillon, Characters, Craft of Writing, Writing Prompts, Worksheets, Add a tag
"Plot springs from character... I've always sort of believed that these people inside me- these characters- know who they are and what they're about and what happens, and they need me to help get it down on paper because they don't type."
- Anne Lamott
Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve shown you a few tools to get your story in shape to make good on all those new writing resolutions. Important stuff, sure. But all that pre-writing work is just a warm-up for the real thing. The story doesn’t really feel like a story until your characters come alive. Until they seem so real our nose wrinkles with the smell of acne medicine in the morning.
There are tons of awesome character cheat sheets out there. Like here. And here. And here. Also here.
Shameless plug, I know I know. But if you’ve got a shred of OCD in you, these worksheets are like chocolate-covered espresso beans in an empty cupboard. Are they necessary? Maybe not. Are they the equivalent to Match.com between you and your character? Totally.
Great! But… are they fun to do?
Well, depends on who you ask. It’s no Scrabble night, that’s for sure. But much can be learned during the discovery process of fine-tuning all the details you see and don't see on the page. There are writers galore who hug on their character sheets like they're…well, like they're chocolate-covered espresso beans.
For me, I always start out wanting to create a sparkly encyclopedia for each character, complete with charcoal renderings lovingly sketched by hand…or something. And the ‘character bible’ method is practically a must if you plan on writing a series with lots of characters or species, each with their own set of rules to track. I get it. I do. But it’s not really FUN-fun, you know what I mean? (Although I know there will be plenty of you who will still argue with me on this. I bet you also enjoy cleaning, huh? :))
So if, like me, you want the value of discovering more about your characters without the mundane task of notating where each birthmark, scar, or stray hair rests, then maybe this craft tip is for you.
My friend and 2011 debut YA author, Gwen Hayes, mentored me last year and as her first order of mentorly business, she told me I didn't know diddly-squat about my characters (she may have put it more tactfully than that). Obviously she had something up her sleeve, so I wholly expected her to send me one of those standard character worksheets to fill out. I’d be lying if I didn’t say I wasn’t already sharpening my pencil to drive through my hand in an attempt to get out of it, but luckily she didn’t have me do that. Instead, her homework was this:
Create a blog (or Myspace, Facebook, or other social networking page) as if you’re your character.
• What is the blog called?
• What song plays when the page opens?
• Are there pictures posted of friends or family?
• Is it used as a public diary or more for updating friends with a quick recap of the day?
• What kind of wallpaper is in the background —does it ooze school spirit or flou Add a Comment
By: Adventures in Children's Publishing,
on 12/21/2010
Blog: Adventures in YA Publishing (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Writing Craft, Writing Prompts, Craft and Teasers, Shannon K. O'Donnell, RENNS, Cambria Dillon, Giveaways, Add a tag
“To write something, you have to risk making a fool of yourself.
- Anne Rice
My fabulous critique buddy, Cambria Dillon, will be joining us for this regular feature. She and I will work on the craft aspects together, and she will coordinate the prompt photo and the giveaway—including the excellent prizes. Please welcome Cam to the blog! You can read her bio in our About Us section, which includes her blog and twitter links.
And now, on to this week’s craft tip and prompt. Last week, Shannon K. O’Donnell did a blog post on using the Lynn Quitman Troyka’s RENNS Model of Sensory Details to add specificity to your fiction writing. RENNS stands for Reasons, Examples, Names, Numbers, Senses, and the system is often taught in schools for helping to enhance student work in essays and papers. Applying it to fiction is a stroke of genius.
Reasons Why: Goals, Motives, and Conflict
In any given scene, you have to know why every character is acting and reacting the way they are. Every sentence in your story has to move the story forward, add complications, and provide something new for characters to scramble to fix—or fail to fix. And if, in each scene, the motivations of the characters are opposed to each other, or if the main character has several goals that conflict, you have tension. Tension is what keeps a reader turning pages.
Examples: Voice, Backstory, Symbolism, Metaphor, and Foreshadowing
Telling is when your character or narrator makes a statement about what is going on or how they feel. This can usually be replaced by showing to increase immediacy and make the story stronger. However, even choosing what to show contributes to the voice of your story. It adds perspective and depth. Be specific and deliberate about:
· what your character sees or thinks.
· the examples he chooses to illustrate a point.
· how he feels about a situation.
· the words he chooses to describe it.
· &n
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Great post. Thanks for reminding us of the realty once we get an agent if we're so lucky. We're still the same. Good luck with your book.
"Writing chooses us. And so we grit our teeth and keep pushing because life is so much sweeter with it, than without."
So true - great post!
Great post! It's so easy to forget why you're writing once you start to chase after the publishing dream. But once you forget, it's so easy to lose the magic.
Love this post! This is fantastic kick in the writer's booty. Good luck with your novel's round of revisions!
For the record, Cambria has the furthest thing away from a saggy butt!
That said, I loved this post!
Most definitely--write because you love to. Very important! It's certainly not for the $$. And here's to revising your novel into something truly outstanding, with your agent's guidance. Good luck!
Great post, Cambria! I can totally relate!
Cam you're awesome! I LOVED this post. :) Though I am sad that landing an agent does not automatically mean husbands will empty dishwashers. I swear I heard that somewhere.
Awesome post! I saw R.L. Stine's speech at SCBWI and loved what he said about saying yes to everything.
I definitely feel like writing chose me and I have to do it, regardless of whether I have an agent or book deal. Congrats on getting an agent and good luck with your revisions!
I'm loving this post as well. I write because I love it first and foremost. Everything else is gravy!
My beautiful Cambria! I've said it a million times already but I'll say it again--CONGRATULATIONS on finding an agent!
What an inspirational post. There's so many good lines here I can't pick my favorite.
And it sounds like our husbands would totally get along. :0)
Great post Cam! You summed it up perfectly--as writers the only thing that should matter is sitting down and telling our stories.
Yep, definitely hard to do, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world! P.S. I love R.L. Stine, he was one of my favorite authors as a teen.
Congrats and best wishes!!!
I LOVE this, and I agreed with every bit. Well maybe not the kitty litter part. I've never consciously tried to avoid that, but now that you brought it up, I'm going to be asking my agent if he owns a cat... :D
Great post! I had just been thinking how my butt was feeling a bit flat ;) And you do have wisdom to share: I love the part about 'the writing chooses us' as I can't seem to escape mine. I found that encouraging. Thank you!
Couldn't agree more -- and beautifully said! :-)
Terrific post! I didn't know that about Stine - thanks for sharing :)
It is all about the business cards...and the writing. Always the writing. Cheers.
Thank you all so much for your kind words! Who knew me referencing "butt" (or some variation of the word) FOUR TIMES would be inspirational to some? ;)
I'm humbled and glad to pass along the reminder that it really IS about the spark behind the flame. (And now I'll stop my Hallmark Card speech!)