Blogiversary Thoughts and 1st Chapter Critique Giveaway

by Martina Boone

March 10th is going to be our one-year blogiversary. OMG. And we’ve got a very special announcement about a first-chapter critique from literary agent, Natalie Fischer. (Scroll all the way down for that, if you don’t want to read the touch-feely-we-love-you-all stuff that’s about to come.)

A very little less than a year ago, Marissa and I had barely heard of blogging. I couldn’t have explained a Tweet if someoned threatened to have a bird poop on my head. Then the two of us grabbed our Starbucks and made an early-morning trudge out to Middle-of-nowhere, Maryland for a regional SCBWI conference. After a lot of great craft stuff, we listened to Mark McVeigh talk about how important it is for writers to blog. He made it sound so easy. Just write something (right, like we had anything to say!), comment on a couple of other blogs, and next thing you know….

It’s the Community, Stupid

I don’t even remember how we found the first blogs to read. I know Casey McCormick’s Literary Rambles was one of the first we followed. But the magical thing we discovered is that blogging isn’t about what you have to say. It’s about plugging into a community, sharing thoughts, learning together, and growing together.

Over the past year, Marissa and I have cheered when writers we’ve come to love and respect finished projects, found agents, got contracts, or hit the bookshelves. We’ve commiserated with those that are out there struggling (um, yeah, we’re not alone). We’ve watched ideas being born, met new critique partners, made friends we will have for the rest of our lives…. We’ve been humbled (and daunted) by the sheer amount of talent out there that we are competing against. Thing is, it doesn’t feel like a competition. The YA and Kidlit world is incredible that way. Instead of tearing writers down or feeling closed-off and elitist, the world of children’s publishing is generous, welcoming, and dedicated to genuinely developing the best writers and books to put in the hands of our kids and young adults.

Learning Together

Marissa and I didn’t start ACP to share what we know (which isn’t near enough). Like so many others, we’re here to share what we’re learning and reading. The best part of starting to blog was discovering all the amazing blogs that are already out there for writers.

The blogosphere is a free MFA program. Heck, there are so many great posts every day, we’ve had to stop visiting them individually and resorted to Google Reader to keep up with our favorites.

Even then the blog has grown beyond us. Marissa is kept hopping connecting with all the authors who are kind enough to provide interviews and giveaways for the In Stores This Week Feature. Cambria Dillon has come in to help with the Tuesday craft posts. We’ve learned so much from all the debut and seasoned writers who join us on WOW Wednesdays to tell us about what they’ve learned on their road to publication, and Clara Kensie is really digging in to the Google Reading to help us scout the best posts for the Friday This Week for Writers round-up.

First Announcement

Staring this Saturday, we will begin a monthly workshop going over the first five pages of the first five manuscripts submitted. The brilliant Lisa Gail Green will be joining us to help with that.

And Now, Natalie Fischer!

In the past year, Marissa and I have discovered that blogging in the world of children’s writing and publishing is about sharing and giving back. So that’s what we want to do. And we’re very lucky to be able to give back to one of the generous people who have supported us by giving them an opportunity to get a step closer to publication.

Wonderful agent, Natalie Fischer, formerly at Sandra Dijkstra and now at the Laura Bradford Agency, has very generously agreed to donate a first-chapter critique. The rules will be simple. We’ll put up a post on the 10th, which is our actual anniversary. Then we’ll pick the winner from among our followers who comment on that post.

A Shameless Plug

We are so grateful to all of you who follow us via Google blogs, Networked Blogs, Feedburner, email, and Twitter. We’re blessed, astonished, and awed by how many that is. We’d love to hit nice round numbers like 1000 blog followers and 2000 Twitter followersby our anniversary so we could celebrate everything all at once. If you know anyone who might enjoy what we do here, please spread the word.

Thank You!

Thank you to all of you who have been with us on every step of our journey. We’ll have a special thanks coming on the 10th for all your reading, commenting, retweeting, cheerleading, and just plain hanging with us. But since we can’t possibly say it enough–thank you, thank you, and thank you.

With much love and appreciation,

Martina and Marissa

Martina Boone

Martina Boone is the award-winning author of the romantic southern gothic Heirs of Watson Island series, starting with COMPULSION from Simon & Schuster, Simon Pulse and the Celtic Legends Collection of novels set in Scotland, Cornwall, and Ireland beginning with LAKE OF DESTINY. She’s passionate about improving lives through literacy and the love of books, and she runs the Compulsion For Reading program to distribute books to underserved schools and libraries.

She lives with her husband, children, Shetland Sheepdog Phinney, and Zoey the lopsided cat, and she enjoys writing contemporary romantic fiction with a hint of magic set in small towns and beautiful places. When she isn’t writing, she’s addicted to travel, horses, skiing, chocolate flavored tea, and anything with Nutella on it.

Post © Martina Boone and/or Adventures in YA Publishing. All rights reserved.

Posted: Mar 3, 2011

Category: Imported from AYAP

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The first slide is an animation of a science/magic room in a castle. A cartoon character of a mad-scientist looking man in in the foreground says: “Hello! Dr. Frankenstein here to say, Well Done on kid lit zombie week! I’m an expert at reviving the dead, and let me assure you, with a little spark, you can bring dead projects to life. Especially if you dig up parts from other dead things. I’ll even let you have a sneak peek at my laboratory’s store room to consider potential parts for your dead project. If you see something with a yellow glow, that means you should click it. Have fun!”

He points to the right side of the screen and a new scene slides in of a castle science/magic storage room. There are various cartoon Frankenstein body parts scattered around. Some of them have a yellow glow. If you click on them, the images below appear (I’ve added alt text to them, so I hope it works).

The Heart of your story is the main character. The protagonist is the beating core that truly brings your story to life. If your MC doesn't make kids (and their grown-ups) care within the first few pages, your story will flatline. </p>
<p>Your main character needs to be:<br />
• Relatable enough for kids to see themselves<br />
• Unique enough to stand out in the slush pile<br />
• Active enough to drive the story<br />
• Memorable enough to survive multiple readings at bedtime</p>
<p>Where do you find this amazing donor heart? It might be the very thing you loved so much about the manuscript you want to revive. It might be the younger sister from your shelved YA novel. Or maybe it’s the hilarious kid you blogged about meeting at a school visit. Find a character beating with potential and place it in the center of your story.<br />

The Brain of your story is the theme or central message. The theme is the big idea that controls everything else. Picture books are more than stories - they're tiny life lessons disguised with humor and heart.</p>
<p>But your theme needs to be:<br />
• Subtle enough not to trigger the dreaded "didactic" rejection<br />
• Clear enough for a four-year-old to grasp<br />
• Universal enough to speak to both kids and adults<br />
• Fresh enough to prevent agents and editors from responding with "Not another sharing/bedtime/first-day story!"</p>
<p>Check your other dead manuscripts to see if there is a recurring theme, something that really seems to be speaking to you. Find the bit of poetry you scribbled on the back of a receipt to see what theme inspired it. Reread the pep talk you texted your critique partner at 1am. Pick the theme that will drive your story, giving it purpose, direction, and deeper meaning.<br />

The Legs of your story is the plot. Not to be confused with a grave plot.🤪 The plot is what keeps everything upright and moving, as well as providing support for all the other elements. You have very few words to use in a picture book, so you need to do a lot with each plot point.</p>
<p>In general, your plot should:<br />
• Hook readers fast<br />
• Build tension that a child can follow<br />
• Create page turns that feel natural<br />
• Wrap up in a way that satisfies</p>
<p>You can borrow a plot twist (a leg) from one manuscript and the opening (the other leg) from a different manuscript. Consider if the subplot of the middle grade novel you trunked would work better as a picture book. Or maybe your Facebook post about a disastrous camping trip could become a story for kids. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other until you have your storyline.

The Arms of your story are the side characters.

The Torso of your story is the setting. Setting helps a story breathe and connects all the elements of the story. It isn't just where your story lives, it's what makes your story ALIVE. It's the difference between "this happened in a park" and "this happened in that park, the one with the twisty slide that burns your legs and the creaky swing that sounds like a baby crying.”</p>
<p>Your setting should:<br />
• Make your character's world feel real<br />
• Contain your story in a way that makes sense to young readers<br />
• Connect different scenes and moments organically<br />
• Give your illustrator enough room to add visual subplots</p>
<p>Half-finished manuscripts are a great place to dig up settings, since you worked out the place details before the plot petered out. Or maybe you had to cut a second fantastic location from your chapter book. You can also revisit the detailed caption from your Instagram carousel documenting your tour of that delish candy shop. Disinter a robust setting that can house all of your story's vital organs.

After you press the Click When Done circle button, the lights flash with the sound of electricity buzzing. Then the screen goes black and lightning zaps across the screen with the sound of thunder.

The screen then lights up to show the storage room, and all the Frankenstein pieces have been assembled into the whole monster. An upbeat song plays in the background. Then a speech bubble pops up with the words, “I’m alive! I’M ALIVE!” Then the screen goes to black.

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