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9 rules I use to write YA fiction

1. I never choose my next story; instead I let the story choose me.

Why: because if it doesn’t choose me, I just walk around my apartment, eating snacks and thinking I should rather be a plumber!

2. I don’t start working on a story until I can summarize it in a single simple sentence

Why: to keep a simple compass I can use anytime I get lost during writing and resume walking around, eating snacks and thinking plumbing would have been a very decent career indeed

3. I outline the story very precisely, and then I completely forget about the outline while writing

4. I let my characters act and speak freely; I never impose a line of dialogue or an action on them.

Why: because it’s incredible the stuff they come-up with when you leave them on their own!

5. I stick to themes that were important to me when I was a teenager (romance, the on-going war against adults and parents, girls, rebellion against the machine, sex, the supernatural etc.)

6. I don’t write for a given audience or market. I write to impress the kid/teen I used to be, and I try to make him laugh too, because he never was a very serious type of guy.

7. I try to picture three of four highly dramatic moments that will take place during the story.

Why: because sometimes I keep writing just to be able to reach one of those moments

8. During the story, I try to transform everything from one thing to its opposite (the weak become strong, the strong become weak, the living become dead and the dead come back to life, etc)

Why: because any good story is about something transforming into something else; the caterpillars figured that millions of years ago

9. This is not a rule, but a fact: whenever I start a new story, I feel like I’ve never read or written a single sentence in my entire life, and I’m scared shit less that I will never be able to do it ever again… and then I go back to rule number 1

Gary Ghislain – Author of “How I Stole Johnny Depp’s Alien Girlfriend” by Chronicle Books – May 2011

And thanks Cheryl for this post... I love Vonnegut's check list... but then again, I love Vonnegut full stop :)

These are my fundamental rules for writing - the ones that don't vary, no matter what the subject matter or the form.

1. Always be writing. Always.
2. Never leave a piece unfinished, for good or ill.
3. Serve the story, not the ego.
4. Bring your passion to the table.

Thanks for this! B.A. Chepaitis, author The Fear Principle, Feathers of Hope, and many more. (wildreads.com)

I think "rules" are silly-- people like formulas, but formulas don't always work. Especially not with something like religion, relationship, or art.

But I guess I'd say:

1) Write a lot.
2) Don't condescend.
3) Don't worry.

I love this post. You've really got me thinking. Here's my blog post:
http://mfantaliswrites.wordpress.com/2011/04/26/guidelines-for-writers/

Read others. But.
Know thyself.
Write thyself (reincarnated or no).

Munk Rules!...er... Munk's Rules.

http://munkdavis.blogspot.com/2011/04/munk-rules-off-cycle-blog-post.html

Love these links - thanks for posting them. I heard you speak at a conference in Missouri in 2006. My boys are that much older now and just beginning to read the Harry Potter series. I was so thrilled to brag on having heard you speak. Loved your insights then, and I love them still. I need to accomplish a few more finished projects before I settle on my rules. I follow a few though, the main one being that I want to write characters who are earnest. One of these lists worded it this way: Every character should want something. I like that.

Janni Lee Simner had some wise words on the subject of writing rules in general on her blog: http://janni.livejournal.com/725580.html

This question could not have come at a better time. Thanks Cheryl, and everyone, for pushing me to find my "unconscious lodestones." I posted mine at http://bethanydellinger.blogspot.com/2011/04/guidelines-for-writing.html

Hope to see you there.

1) Trust your voice.
2) Find alternatives to the stereotype of absent/checked-out parent. There are ways to neutralize parents besides killing them off or making them dreadful.
3) Don't try to impress your readers with the superiority of your writing. Most kids are smarter and more savvy than you. They can spot a fake on the first page.
4) It's a big responsibility to write for children. Be careful to create the effect you intend.
5) Don't work too hard at giving your story a moral. A well-written manuscript will have one naturally.
6) A teen's world changes hourly. If you want to stay relevant, let willing teens alpha-read your book.

Great job, Eliza T.

I did some more thinking and wrote a second, follow-up post this morning. Hope you don't think I'm too greedy:

http://mfantaliswrites.wordpress.com/2011/04/28/notes-from-hlidskjalf-guidelines-for-writers-ii/

Here are mine: http://cynthiaswanson.blogspot.com/2011/04/finding-write-rules.html

I think the best rule for me, or at least the one that sticks in my head is simple:

Butt in chair!

Researching, planning and talkin', talkin', talkin' is good and necessary but does not produce a written story.

(Cheryl, I enjoyed reading the above entries. Now... armed with these rules, I am typing away to corral my WIP, thanks.)

Thanks, Cheryl. I'll be thinking of my list. Fitch's list is hard to beat. Loved your book!

Totally! It’s the emotion in a story that makes me love the book, even if I don’t realize it. I think that’s true with most readers. But it needs to hang on a good plot or I drift away too.

I couldn’t agree more. It’s all about that emotional connection for me. If I don’t care about the characters and feel connected to them then chances are I won’t keep reading.

This makes so much sense! I am reading Among the Mad a Masie Dobbs novel and I’m just not getting anywhere. I can’t connect with this book though I loved a previous Masie Dobbs novel. Perhaps I am NOT emotionally connected to the story. However, I still crack up at certain scenes of Mr. Monk is Miserable! Loved that book and can read it over and over!

Laura: Yes, emotion just by itself still needs some plot action to really make a novel compelling. You need both.

Heather: Exactly, if I can’t connect to a character in the first chapter, I’ll most likely put the book down — I may come back to it but much later after reading other books that speak to me better.

Saba: Isn’t that funny how that happens. I’ve been reading a series and now that it’s on Book Six, I’m sort of losing the connection. I think this is the reason also — I’m not emotionally involved anymore.

Anything written by Jonathan Carroll touches me on an emotional level. He’s a magnifcent writer.

Cheryl, I love your honesty. Thanks so much for the nail-on details of invisibility. I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of writers identify with the feelings you've expressed. I know I do. If I was a comfortable exhibitionist, I'd be an actor, but instead, I create worlds and characters with words and prefer being behind the curtain. I think it used to be easier to be a mystery author, but not in today's world of blogs and twitter. I guess authors need to buckle up and smile. Such a price!

Cheryl, this is a lovely post, but I have to tell you, you haven't been invisible for quite some time now! Perhaps you haven't noticed all the people who read your blog, and come to conferences to hear you speak, and submit their manuscripts to you with crossed fingers and hope-filled hearts. But we are thankful for your visibility! Your book is just one more view of your work.

As for me, my very favorite thing about being an author is connecting with readers. Royalty checks are nice, but so far they haven't made much of a difference in my life. What has made a difference is fan letters. Knowing that strangers have read and loved my books is what keeps me going. So I guess I like being visible!

Awesome that you raised $300 for Women for Afghan Women... and loved your invisibility longings. I am not there yet but can imagine a similar response myself.

I would love to be invisible.

I think your conflicted feelings of wanting people to read the thoughts you simply MUST write--combined with the desire to be invisible--are extremely normal and shared by a good many (particularly introverted) writers. So--maybe you can feel invisible among all the other writers feeling the same way? :)

I can totally relate to wanting to be invisibility. I'm shy though learned to be comfortable talking in public being an attorney. But that would be the hardest part of getting published. Share your tips as you go through the process.

THIS is why I read your blog.

I love the honesty, too.

I've been having this very argument with myself over my blog (not even a book!): I hate to even think about writing, because it means that I'll have said something in public, but it also makes me feel very happy once I've settled down and done it.

Great interview. I'm looking forward to reading part 2. I'm so excited for Cheryl and glad she listened to us begging her to write a book. My copy is in the mail so I won't enter the giveaway. Can't wait to see the section on voice, which I struggle with. I was fortunate that Cheryl let me interview her last Friday and I'm also giving away two copies at Literary Rambles. The winners will be announced on Monday.

Cheryl is amazing. I had the opportunity to attend a workshop with her and it was so worthwhile. Definitely swinging back for part II here!

Thanks for the interview! I'm one of those people who have Cheryl's talks from her website...well, not quite memorized yet, but I quote them to my writers' group all the time. :)
I'm really looking forward to the book.

Thanks for interviewing Cheryl! She is amazing, and I'm thrilled to know she'll have a book out. Very awesome! I already know I need it. :)

Looking forward to part 2 - and to picking up the book - sounds awesome!

Really great interview so far, Shelli! It's so interesting to see an editor's approach to books and why they pass them up. Sounds like a book I need to read!

Great interview, Shelli. I love her sense of humor too! :-) That will be a really helpful book!

I have already ordered this book! Can't wait to dive inside the pages!

I love how each bookanista is described! That is too cute! I myself am about to dive into the world of reviews on my blog! I think its important to showcase what we love!

Sweet interview! I've got to check this book out. Thanks, Shelli.

This sounds absolutely amazing! Great interview, and thanks Cheryl!

I've got to go and order this.

Stat.

She's a genius, and as soon as I'm through with my illustrations (deadline--eek!!!, I'm digging back into my novel.

With Cheryl's help, of course!

sf

So awesome, rock star.

la la LA!!!!!

That's a great picture of you! You look as happy as you rightly should! :)

Wonderful!

Congratulations! I can't wait to read it--so I can learn how to have a la la la moment of my own one day! So excited for you!

Congrats, I can't wait to read it!

Yayyyy!

Congratulations, Cheryl!! That's awesome!

La la la indeed. :)

How awesome! It's a great picture of you. Can't wait for your interview with me on Literary Rambles on Friday.

Totally La! With extra helpings of LA and LAAAA! Yay, you!

Your picture says it all! And I love the cover! Congratulations! Yes, La LAA LAAAA.....

Congrats, Cheryl. Bet these aren't ALL your thoughts, though.

Congratulations!

Definitely A but hold out for C. It does have potential in the right hands. I'm thinking of Jo Rowling's flash-based website myself.

Are you wed to SECOND SIGHT? How about PECULIAR SIGHT? Or perhaps that should be the sequel to SECOND SIGHT....

I like A. Nevertheless, I think that C could be fun -- what if you also had some editorial markings/or copy editor markings on the cover (and title) as well? I can think of at least one problem with this approach, which may end up being insurmountable: as in "B", these little markings might be too hard to read on a screen.

I like A okay, but it's also something I've seen done before. I get your issues with B, but it looks the freshest to me. I could imagine yes, the cartoon glasses and varying fonts of text, perhaps all in bright colors on a dark background. It would just need to fill the space well enough. Maybe it's because the top glasses looks a little like the Chronicle Books logo, which is just cartoon enough to have character, and stands for something interesting inside the book. I'm not saying that the cover as a whole would make me think of Chronicle (I know, wrong house!)--but it *would* make me think that the content inside wouldn't be just the same-old, same-old.

Um, but I'm not a cover designer. :)

I don't know what you're talking about. There is nothing more serious or academic than a daschund in glasses.

alternatives:

1) Your original title was something like Leaves and Stems? From the moment I heard that title, I imagined a pair of glasses sitting on the arm of an Adirondack chair, with fall foliage (out of focus) in the background.

2) Spectacles sitting atop a handwritten manuscript or letter (perhaps Mr. Darcy's to Elizabeth), with inkpot and quill--rolltop desk (out of focus) in the background


I'm eagerly awaiting your book!

i think A does a nice job of what you're aiming for, though i also agree that C could be good. if the notebook paper is made to look haphazard and crinkly, it might be a good contrast to the seriousness of the glasses, and might convey a sense of the personal aspect of what you do.

I’m a graphic designer and love typography. Here is my suggestion.
Have the background crisp white with a pair of sharp black glasses on top.
Instead of the glasses sitting on a stack of books, have them sitting on typography that represents books. Your title comes first, and use a nice bold font with a color that will stand out from the rest. Then follows the remaining text, just like how you have it arranged in sketch A. You can select different colors but make sure they go well together, and not as prominent as your title. The fonts should be arranged within the space of an imaginary book (rectangular), and each line staggered. Last, your name as a signature (and maybe black). This should be legible. A tool in writing is by hand and type. And your type represents books. If executed well, I think this will look very nice. Just a thought. Good luck!

I like A best, B second best, and I really, really don't like D.

I immediately liked A, but then I saw C and I think that one most accurately captures the content of the book. I especially like the idea of adding a pencil or pen and some sticky notes.

I might try two handheld devices viewing the stack of books, one a magnifying glass (close inspection of content) and a distance glass that makes things seem small, (most often used by sign painters to view their handwork as if seen from a distance). This will signify that you look closely at the contents but stand back to see the whole — keeping the end product interesting.

I like Chieu's idea the best!

I like Chieu's idea the best!

As you were describing it, I was picking A. It seems more colorful and I think that's one thing that makes a cover more attractive. Can't wait to read the book.

Second Sight, true and modern rewording of revision. Nice.

I wanted a job for the dachshund somewhere in your book, thought it was a good tie-in: if the basset hound's a hush puppy, with your little fellow's scholarly look, he would be a slush puppy.

I saw him sitting on a big pile of books, reading their spines, or maybe trying to climb down... then realized, egad: Slush Puppie is liquid sugar posing as a fresh fruit kids' drink. Sorry. Will crawl back to the home planet in a moment. Just one more plug for the slush pup:

adults writing for kids is serious business, but I like to think our type never quite grows up... I'd buy such a book in a heartbeat if it had something to say, and like it more for the tongue-in-cheek sense of fun.

Might the pup apprentice in some small, nicely drawn sketches inside? The childlike critic-- child advocate-- tailing you around the chapters, waiting to pee on the books or chew them up if they don't have the stuff to get past the slush.
Online, he could morph into a rather sophisticated, sketchy kind of animation.

Okay, I admit it: I'm his agent.

Best wishes with your book!