Character Bucket List: Tracy Deebs and Pandora from DOOMED

by Jan Lewis

Hi Everyone! First of all, I want to say thanks so much for having me today. I really appreciate the chance to come on and talk a little bit about Pandora, the main character in my new YA book, DOOMED. DOOMED is a modern re-telling of the Pandora’s Box myth, where she opens an attachment instead of a box and hearkens technological Armageddon—which was great fun to write because I got to destroy the world as we know it in ten days (I even blow up London).

I’ve always been interested in the Pandora myth, largely because I’ve always thought Pandora got a raw deal. She was created, by Zeus, specifically to open that box—she was a punishment for Prometheus for stealing fire from the gods and giving it to man—and yet we blame her opening the box. That’s never seemed fair to me considering her whole existence led up to that exact happening.

So when I sat down to write a character bucket list for Pandora, I had to think about pre-Armageddon and post-Armageddon. The Pandora who starts the book has a list of things she wants to do that’s very different than the one who unleashes cyberarmageddon. But in the hopes of letting you get to know, Pandora, here’s a quick look at what she wanted pre-Apocalypse:

See Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam and Smashing Pumpkins perform live (I’m a huge fan of nineties grunge bands)

Visit Outstanding in the Field and Madrona Manor, two awesome restaurants in California that grow their own food. (I’m a garderner myself, though nowhere on this scale)

Climb the Great Pyramids at Giza (enough said, right?)

Meet the actors/writers of Supernatural (my favorite TV show)

Get my bff, Emily, a boyfriend so she stops trying to set me up.

Visit Machu Picchu

Learn to snowboard

And her bucket list AFTER unleashing the worm that brings down technology as we know it:

Stay alive

Keep from getting arrested

Find my father and stop the worm

Kiss Theo

Stay alive

Thanks so much for having me today and giving me a chance to talk about Pandora.

About the Book

Pandora’s just your average teen-glued to her cell phone and laptop, surfing Facebook and e-mailing with her friends-until the day her long-lost father sends her a link to a mysterious site featuring twelve photos of her as a child. Unable to contain her curiosity, Pandora enters the site, where she is prompted to play her favorite virtual-reality game, Zero Day. This unleashes a global computer virus that plunges the whole world into panic: suddenly, there is no Internet. No cell phones. No utilities, traffic lights, hospitals, law enforcement. Pandora teams up with handsome stepbrothers Eli and Theo to enter the virtual world of Zero Day. Simultaneously, she continues to follow the photographs from her childhood in an attempt to beat the game and track down her father-her one key to saving the world as we know it. Part The Matrix, part retelling of the Pandora myth, Doomed has something for gaming fans, dystopian fans, and romance fans alike.

Buy DOOMED on Amazon
Find DOOMED on Goodreads

About the Author

Tracy Deebs collects books, English degrees and lipsticks and has been known to forget where—and sometimes who—she is when immersed in a great novel. At six she wrote her first short story—something with a rainbow and a prince—and at seven she forayed into the wonderful world of girls lit with her first Judy Blume novel. From the first page of that first book, she knew she’d found her life-long love. Now a writing instructor at her local community college, Tracy writes YA novels that run the gamut from dark mermaids and witches to kissing clubs and techno-Armageddon stories… and she still has a soft spot for Judy Blume.

Find Tracy on her website and her blog
Follow Tracy on Twitter

Fun Facts about Tracy:
• I used to surf and hang out on the same beaches in La Jolla that Tempest does.
• I’m a total techno-phobe.
• I’m addicted to lipstick.
• When I was five, I fell in love with the original Grimm’s fairy tale movie of The Little Mermaid.
• I am terrified of sharks.
• My birthday has been on Friday the 13th five times.
• I read between five and eight books a week.
• I nearly drowned when surfing off of Oahu when I was a teenager.
• I’m an expert at Guitar Hero.
• I’ve climbed the Pyramids in Cairo.
• I like to skydive.
• Good Will Hunting is my favorite movie.
• I am obsessed with all things Matt Damon, Aerosmith and zombies.

Jan Lewis

Jan Lewis writes YA fantasy of the contemporary and traditional varieties. She lives in Oklahoma with a husband, two kids, two cats, a dog, and a mother. Instead of unpublished, she prefers to call herself pre-published. While she enjoys drafting, her heart is truly in rewriting and editing. She loves ladybugs, fairies, blue roses, cats, musical theater, and pretty much all things geek.

Post © Jan Lewis and/or Adventures in YA Publishing. All rights reserved.

Posted: Mar 14, 2013

Category: Imported from AYAP

Tags: Character Bucket List

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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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