I read an interesting article the other day.

http://community.nytimes.com/comments/www.nytimes.com/2009/12/31/books/31babysitters.html?sort=oldest&offset=2

The article talks about Scholastic re-releasing certain books to help bring back popularity.  One of the series mentioned was The Baby-Sitter’s Club by Ann M Martin.  Now, I must admit I was an avid fan of this series when I was in my tweens and even belonged to scholastic book club for it.  So I have to say I was happy to hear that they are trying to revive it.  Another author mentioned was Christopher Pike, another favorite of mine. They are re-releasing his last vampire series with new covers and titles.  The re-release is called Thirst and I believe combines a couple of the books. 

I think the concept of re-releasing with new covers and possibly new titles has been happening for awhile and is becoming more popular in order to bring in new readership.  Let’s face it if you are starring at two books and one has a snazzy recent cover compared to cover art from the 80’s chances are you will pick up the snazzy new one. Even though they do say don’t judge a book by its cover. 

I think it’s a smart idea and we will see what other books and authors turn up as re-released and what happens to their books as a result.  

In the meantime I encourage you to go pick up a favorite book of yours from your childhood or youth and give it a re-read, chances are it will be worth your time.

If you’ve read my blog then you know that I like to use mind maps to help me brainstorm and organize my plot.  I generally use www.wisemapping.com which is a free, Internet based program.  It works really well and the one big plus is that I can log into my maps from any Internet connection.

However, there is another program that I really like.  It’s called Inspiration.  It is software that you have to buy and runs around $70.00 for a single license.  You can also download a free trial to see how it works.  The one big plus of this program is that you can visually create a mind map and the software automatically creates a typed outline, based on your mind map.   When you edit your mind map, the outline gets edited, and visa versa.  The outline format also has drag and drop capability for easy reorganization.  So if you have the extra money, it is worth looking into.   To download a free trial for Inspiration 8, go here:

http://www.inspiration.com/Freetrial

Sometimes as writers we get bogged down in trying to pace a sentence correctly or finding the perfect punctuation, but sometimes we have to let it go.  Often when I’m stuck I just have to write.  Who cares if there are fragments or if the phrasing is awkward.  It’s  first draft, it’s about capturing the basics of that scene, well for me at least.   We were discussing in my critique group that this concept of just writing is classified as organic writing.  I guess you say it’s writing in it’s raw form.  Yes, you have to go back and clean it up and pay attention to those fragments and punctuation but often, that first spark and those first words are where the magic happens.  So don’t be afraid to let go and just write.

One particular member of my writer’s critique group is blessed with the incredible ability of strong word choice, verbs in particular.  I envy him.  Sometimes I feel like I fight for every verb I choose, and I finally decided it was time to invest in some help.  So, I bought The Synonym Finder by J. I. Rodale.  Basically it is a large book that is like a thesaurus on steroids.  I’m impressed with it thus far and I feel it was worth the money.

No, just using the Microsoft word thesaurus is not enough and so far this book beats out thesaurus.com too.  I haven’t actually found a website that is organized in the same manner and has the same results as the book I just purchased.  If I ever do find a website that matches or rivals this book, I’ll be sure and let you all know.

As you might already know, I am writing a YA series.  The first book is called Pelegra and the Son of Merek.  Writing this book has been an ongoing process that has taken about two years.  One year of writing, and another year of re-writing.

For this particular book the hardest chapter for me was chapter one.  It wasn’t the issue of getting started but of figuring out my main character’s background and how I wanted to introduce him as well as how to hook the reader all in the first chapter.  It’s hard to find that balance between enough back story and too much back story.

My point is that I did complete a first draft and did several rewrites with the helpful feedback of the critique group that I belong too.  But, the first chapter still just wasn’t working as well as the central plot conflict.  So I made a drastic decision.

Start Over.

Now I haven’t really started over, most of what I’ve written is usable, I just have some specific edits to do and a few chapters to add to the overall manuscript.  But I was willing to start over and the first step I took was to play the what if game.

I opened a fresh mind map ( I use www.wisemapping.com) and typed what if.  Then I let go of everything but my most basic plot line and started typing out fresh ideas.

That brain storming session completely changed the first chapter into something I’m happy with, added two characters to the novels, and added an entirely new dimension to the central conflict making it more engaging for the reader.

So if you are stuck and have been for awhile, throw away all your preconceived notions about your plot and characters and play the what if game.  Who knows what will happen.

Something that you are seeing more of is the concept of commercials and/or trailers for books.  Honestly, I’m surprised that it’s taken this long to become more popular and I feel that it still has a ways to go.  I think that as a society we rely too much on t.v. and/or internet to tell us about things and that includes new books.  It only makes sense that trailers are a step in the right direction for book marketing.  I still don’t see many trailers on t.v, but I have have seen a few.  Anyway,  I stumbled across this trailer for the Gifted series by Marilyn Kaye. It looks like a good read.  The Gifted Series trailer can be found here:

http://www.publishersweekly.com/flashVideo/element_id/2140398090/taxid/34194.html.

Just a warning.  I am doing some work on my site.  If the sites goes down, I promise it will be back up by Tuesday, 12/1/09 at the latest.

***spoiler alert****

Well, I must say I was impressed with New Moon.  I think I liked it even better than the first one.  The CGI was amazing.

Here’s a quick overview of my thoughts:

Pros:

They stuck to the book for the most part

Most (not all) but most of the things they did add in, were plausible based on what is in the book

They nailed the werewolves, they were big, and the phasing was fantastic

I thought the acting was well done and loved how they developed the relationship between Bella and Jacob

There was some beautiful cinematography throughout the movie

Book to Movie Discrepancies:

Jacob does not give Bella a birthday present (not to be confused with the scene in Eclipse where he gives her a graduation bracelet) in the book

They left out the CD that Edward made for Bella in the movie

Bella does not get on the back of some random guy’s motorcycle in the book

Bella does not hit Paul in the book and the movie reversed the beach scene and the scene at Emily’s house

Jacob did not promise Bella to take her cliff diving in the movie–they just have her want to do it on her own.

Edward does not fight the Volturi in the book ( I mean seriously who could get the jump on Alice, like they had happen in the movie)

They don’t have Charlie and Harry “hunting” wolves in as much detail in the book but I felt that scene worked very well and was plausible based on what was written.

Jacob did not get angry during the movie scene with Mike and Bella, in the book.

Jacob did not rat out Bella’s motorcycle to Charlie in the movie.

I did imagine the Aros, Caius, and Marcus as being much older and having translucent skin.  I also imagined Jane and Alec looking more alike since they are twins in the book.  However, that’s just my personal opinion.

Those are the main differences that I can think of and honestly, they didn’t make much of a difference to me.  They captured the essence of the book and left all the key scenes in without adding a bunch of nonsense.  I am greatly looking forward to Eclipse this summer.

This book is the sequel to The Thirteenth Reality. Read that one first; just my opinion.

If you like a book that has great characters, adventure, and is  just plain fun, then read this. I really enjoyed the first installment and this second one is even better. Of course, I don’t want to give too much away. The main character, Atticus, Tick for short is once again helping Master George with the aid of his new friends. We have a new villain, an odd ally, a deadly plague, and surprising twist of Chi karda at the end of the book. It kept me on my toes and I couldn’t put it down, so go give it a read. To learn more about the author, James Dashner, check out his blog. http://jamesdashner.blogspot.com/

~Keep Reading

Occasionally my life derails my writing schedule. Being pregnant has caused a prolonged derail. I’m not using that as an excuse, but I’ve been more interested in sleeping that just about anything else. Oh maybe eating that’s another priority of mine ;).

Anyway, my point is what to do when you get derailed? I think a good start is to go back to the beginning. I don’t mean re-writing your story or even editing but re-reading it. Hopefully your first chapter is enough to re-captivate your imagination and pull you back in. If not the first chapter then perhaps where you left off, or those pages and pages of notes on what needs to happen next.

Often we simply don’t even give ourselves the chance. We put it off for the sake of sleep, dishes, laundry, more sleep in my case. It’s important to peruse through these things, re read your favorite parts, and let yourself be sucked back into your story. Your motivation may come from that original spark that has kept you going this far. So re-read, fan the flame, and happy writing.

We all have those times in our lives where nothing makes sense, we see no hope in whatever it is we are doing, we are time crunched, scatterbrained, and in dire need of a vacation.  For me, these are the times where writing gets shoved to the side and forgotten about for weeks at a time.  I know, bad me.  I guess the point of this post is that we all face obstacles that stop us from writing either by stealing away our time or blocking us creatively.  I think the key thing for working through these times is relaxation and hope.

I know that with the economy the way it is those two things are much easier said then done.  Still though find things that help you relax, once you are able to relax your mind is free to wander and it is through these random thoughts that one often finds a path they didn’t see before that can lead to renewed hope.

If you like to walk or run, do it.

If you like music find something soothing.

For others simply taking a shower helps clear their mind.

It’s easy to get bogged down in the every day crap.  You have to remember to mentally step away from it on occasion.  Yes that may mean neglecting the laundry or the kitchen for one afternoon.  But in the grand scheme of things is one afternoon of undone dishes really going to matter?  No.  Especially if it brings you peace of mind.

Another thing for you to consider if you currently feel you are surrounded by chaos, is to stop and remember what you were doing in your daily life the last time you did not feel chaotic.  Myself, I listened to music at night, brainsync music.  I wrote often in a journal, just to vent.  Typically when I find I stop doing little things like that, life starts making less sense to me.  So remember, little acts of relaxation, often lead to thoughts of hope and sometimes that’s enough to get through the crazy times in our lives.

A couple of website I really like for music sources is www.brainsync.com where you can purchase brainsync music and www.pandora.com, which is a free internet music project.

I know some writers think that if they have a great book that their editor loves then it will surely makes it’s way to best seller status.  Yeah, I use to think that too, a long time ago.  There is one thing you have to remember, you may write because you love it, but for publishers, it’s a business.  Writer’s should always be honing their craft but you also have to learn about the business end, and I don’t mean contracts and royalty checks.  I mean marketing.  As a writer you will need to know how to market your book.  While I was at the Willamette Writer’s Conference, I attended a workshop called Red Hot Internet Basics with Penny Sansevieri.  Now I do not consider myself a ‘basic’ internet user.  I honestly thought I would sit there and hear the same old same old about have a website, have a blog, get on facebook, etc.  While she did talk about these things, she talked about HOW to make them work for you.  HOW to use them to market.  It was an incredible workshop.  Her website is http://www.amarketingexpert.com

It offers a free newsletter that has really helpful tips.  I recommend subscribing to it.  She also has a book out, Red Hot Internet Publicity.  I haven’t read it yet, but it’s on my to get list.

She talks about using Google Alerts and being active on other sites to help get your name out there.  Also she talked about using www.twitterfeed.com to feed your blog to your Twitter account.  She provided some great info and I recommend signing up for the newsletter, which is also packed with marketing tips.  Just go to her site and a box pops up to sign up for the newsletter. http://www.amarketingexpert.com

I hope that you’ve done some ‘fun’ writing lately.  I know, all writing is fun, it’s the editing that can be a pain in the rear.  At least, that’s how it is for me.  While I was at the Willamette Writer’s conference, I was extremely lucky to be able to sit down at a table with Charlotte Cook, one of the agents and presenters at the conference.  She graciously allowed anyone who wanted to meet her one morning to sit and chat.  This was in follow up to her workshop: An acquisition editor polishes your first pages.  I wasn’t able to stay for the whole thing because I had to go pitch, but it was incredibly nice of her to do and it was helpful.  Something she talked about it something that you’ve probably already heard about.  Spacing, margins, font.  I know that getting that detailed seems silly, but it’s important to remember that editors and agents do care about and look at those things.  Don’t change your margins to cram in more words. Don’t use times new roman font (unless submission guidelines say to), it’s harder on the eyes.  Read the submission guidelines.  Simple things.  If you don’t already have a ‘formatting’ book I recommend Manuscript Makeover by Elizabeth Lyon.  Great book; lots of good advice.  Reading something like this if not this book will help save you from some of the sillier mistakes that can be made.  Such as putting two spaces after a period.  I’m not that old but that is how I learned how to type.  I think I’ve started rambling so I’m going to sign off for today.

~Keep Reading

This is going to be short and completely not related to writing.  I am currently 16 weeks and 3 days pregnant and was able to get a good listen to my baby’s heartbeat today for the first time.

Click the link below to hear the heartbeat.

heartbeat-10-10-091

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This is probably going to be quite obvious but I wanted to talk about showing versus telling. I know we’ve all heard that. I know that sometimes I do it and don’t even realize it. So I’ve written three sentences below, each giving more detail and hopefully, showing more and telling less.

1. He laughed at her while she hopped around comically.

2. He laughed at the funny expression that flitted across her face

3. He laughed at her wrinkled nose and pursed lips as she hopped on one foot, clutching the other in her hand.

“Damn chair, who put that there!”

“You did.” He grinned at her.

As you can see with the third sentence I continued, going further into the scene. For me, the writing flowed easier. I also want to point out something about the dialogue, something that I only learned this year, 2009. The second line of dialogue is punctuated with a period and then a separate sentence. Why? Because a person cannot grin words, at least so I’ve been told. It is one of the ‘rules’ you can get bogged down in but it is still important. Interestingly enough, I haven’t found a book that deals with the punctuation of dialogue to an extent that I would like. So, if you want to learn more, you are probably best off going to your local library or bookstore and perusing several books to see what their dialogue sections say.

Something you can try to practice showing versus telling is to write a scene, showing an emotion.  Never use any adjective or adverb that can be linked to the emotional word, such as angry.

So, give it a go.

Anger

Happiness

Morose

I read an interesting article today, talking about Hybrid Books.  The concept of authors incorporating other forms of media into a “book” and in my opinion it’s impact on the very definition of reading.  I thought that it was an interesting concept of adding video clips and sound to say an e-book.  I’m all for exploring new media, creativity is creativity but I also feel that the more that is given in the form of visual and even audio, means less for the reader’s own imagination.

Once area of the article that struck me as interesting was Harper Collin’s “The Amanda Project” as having an online community that may very well end up adding to the plot of future books. That is very interesting.  I think it might bring fans and authors together, hopefully in a positive way. That kind of interaction is needed and I think will keep readers attention between book releases.

It will be interesting to see how this concept of a hybrid book develops and what it means for new authors trying to enter the market.

The whole article can be found at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/01/books/01book.html?_r=2

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Well, I’ve said all I have to say about pitching.  If you have further questions drop me a line.  Moving on to other topics, I think I will be talking bout some basics, so to speak. I think as a writer we sometimes get bogged down in all the ‘rules’ of the trade. Remember that even though the rules are important, writing an incredible story is more important. Personally I like books that put me there. So I suggest to you, to practice writing with your senses. We have five senses, six depending on your genre. So use them and use them well. The key thing is to not go overboard. I know it’s hard to find that balance between engrossing and information overload, especially with today’s short attention spans. If you have a truly hard time with this, read other books that use the technique well.  That will help you get a feel for it. 

So, you’ve written the perfect pitch.  You’ve practiced until you’ve got it memorized.  So you’re done right?  Not quite.  When we speak we use different tones, inflections, gestures.  It’s important to incorporate all of that into your pitch.  No one wants to listen to someone recite something from memory in a monotone voice, with their arms glued to their sides.  Practice your tone inflections and gestures.  Remember to speak slowly.  The rate that you should speak will feel too slow to you, but will be just right for your listener.  Nervous?  Don’t worry, no one else can hear your heart pounding, they can’t see if you are shaking, and they won’t mind if you pause once in awhile to catch your breath.  Breathing while pitching is important–it will help you keep a good pace.  Also, pay attention to your audience.  If they laugh at a joke, then pause, let them laugh, and then continue.  Don’t try and talk over them.  So, now that you’ve practiced with your tone and gestures, you are now read to stand and deliver your well practiced pitch.

So you know all the basic parts of the pitch, but you are still having problems, turning your 80,000 word masterpiece into a three minute pitch.  Yeah, I had a lot of problems creating my pitch too.  That’s why I got help.  I turned to my writer’s group and they helped me hone in on what needed to be said and what didn’t. Never be afraid to ask for help and if you don’t already belong to a writer’s group–join one.  A good group will provide you with priceless help by critiquing you and encouraging you.  Plus, practicing in front of other people will help put you at ease.  Once you have your pitch fully written, it is important to practice, practice, practice.

The why should I care aspect of the pitch should be throughout the pitch with a big push at the end.  We previously talked about what your character was doing and how you need to mention what they are feeling throughout the plot.  Knowing how the character is feeling, helps us a reader connect with them more, and makes us care what happens to them.  It’s also good to summarize the main dilemma at the end of your pitch, but don’t tell me the ending.  If an agent or editor asks, then tell them.  Now this is only true for pitching–not the synopsis, which needs to have an ending.  Remember, the point of the pitch is to hook your audience and make them want to know more, to make them want to read your book.

It’s important to mention where your story takes place, normally.  This is especially true if we are dealing with historical fiction; time travel; or fantasy worlds.  So if it’s relevant to your story be sure and mention where it takes place, and if necessary when it takes place.  An editor/agent will want to know up front if you are pitching a historical novel set in Greece, vs a modern story in small town USA.  They will also want to know if this is present day Earth, futuristic, or a whole new world that has yet to be discovered.  You would also want to mention if you are dealing with an alternate reality.  Where and When are two things that should be in the beginning of your pitch.

You’ve narrowed down your book to the main character, now you have to tell the person that you are pitching what they are doing. The key thing to remember here is make it interesting and don’t overload them with details. Sure, you probably have several subplots, but your pitch is not the place to mention them. What is the key plot line? What is your main character doing? What is driving them to do it? Typically when I think of what is driving a character I think about what the character is feeling. So as you are creating your pitch, be sure and mention what your character is going through. Were they stunned when something happened? Were they betrayed? Were they in a state of disbelief? Often the emotional high points or low points in a book coincide with plot points.

I previously talked about the 5 Ws.  So we are going to focus in on that.  Who is the main character?  Most plays have a lead, maybe two.  If your book was a play, who is the star?  Let’s look at a common book.  Twilight.  It’s arguable that Bella and Edward are the leads, but really it’s just Bella, especially since it’s told from first person.  In the Harry Potter series, it’s Harry.  Yes, I’m trying to use obvious examples.  Both of these books have a whole cast of characters, but narrow your pitch down to just one person and maybe their enemy.  The character you want to focus on is the character that drives your plot and that we come to care enough about to keep turning the pages.  That is the only character who really needs to be in your pitch.  So, who is your main character?

~Keep Reading

Well, I’m going to be starting off a series of blogs regarding pitching. What prompted me to do this was my own pitching at the Thursday night Pitch with the Pros session at the Willamette Writer’s Conference. I was in the room on the right, if any of you are curious. I did get to pitch and was hence forth known as the refrigerator vortex pitch person. The panel gave me very positive feedback and I had several people come up to me over the weekend, regarding my pitch. I’m not trying to toot my own horn (okay maybe a little) but my point is that people asked me HOW I pitched so well. That got me thinking. Well, for starters, I do have to say that I did theater in high school and speech and debate in college. Now if that wasn’t your thing in school, don’t worry about it. All that means is that I’ve had practice. Practice, practice, practice. So, I think a solid pitch can be broken down into two main components, what you’re presenting and how you’re presenting.

We are going to start with what you are presenting. You’ve written a book. You now have about three very short minutes to convince an agent or editor that they should represent you and ultimately publish your book.

How do you that?

Stick with the five Ws.

Who is your main character?
What are they doing?
Where are they?
If necessary, when are they?
And why would I care about them enough to keep turning the page?  What is their ultimate dilemma?

That is all they need to know in a pitch. That’s it for today. Much more to come. Please subscribe so you don’t miss out and if there is something specific you would like me to talk about, drop me a line and let me know. Happy Pitching

I’ve spent my weekend at the conference and as usual it was amazing, and I learned loads. I have lots of notes to sort through, but rest assured I’ll be blogging about it very soon. Probably tomorrow. So please do stay tuned, lots of good information to come.  I’m going to be starting off with a series about pitching and how to pitch sucessfully.  That will start tomorrow.