Feeling the Fear by P.J. Hoover

by Jan Lewis

Hi! P. J. Hoover here, author of the dystopian/mythology YA novel, Solstice (Tor Teen, June 18, 2013), and today I’m talking about fear.

I’m not sure how many of you out there have seen Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, but because I have this theory that everything in life can relate to either Star Trek or Star Wars, we’re just going to go with it.

So Star Wars. Yes, we could have done without Jar Jar Binks. And we could have totally done without the romantic scenes between Padme and Anakin. But there is one scene in particular from the movie that I love. It’s the scene where Obi Wan Kenobi is getting reading to fight General Grievous. General Grievous, of course, has two arms that split into four, and each appendage wields a light saber. And he starts spinning these things at like a million miles an hour. And our hero, Obi Wan Kenobi, has to fight this guy.

Now I don’t know how you guys would feel in this situation, but if that were me, I would run away so fast that no one would ever see me again. Forget about saving the universe. Get me out of there.

Obi Wan Kenobi though? I’m sure he has those nervous butterflies in his stomach. I think he’s pretty scared. But he looks at the situation, takes a deep breath, and jumps in and starts fighting. Why? Because he knows he has to. He has to feel his fear. He has to accept it and move forward.

Right, so being an author is exactly like that*. It’s a scary galaxy out there. I mean, as authors, we spend all this time alone, writing stories that we love, and then the time comes when we have to escape from our cave and let somebody else read them. And we have to listen to their feedback. Even hear the things we might not want to hear. And then, we have to put ourselves on the line and start submitting our projects to agents and editors. As guess what? We’re going to get rejections. Possibly lots of them. It’s frightening.

But it doesn’t stop there. Let’s say we succeed. We get a book published. Yay! It’s an amazing accomplishment. It should be celebrating in a major way. Until we remember that reviewers are going to read our stories. And sometimes they’re going to love them. And sometimes they are going to hate them with a burning hot passion. We know this. We know there will be bad reviews. I was terrified the very first time my book was reviewed. But then, I read a bad review written about a friend’s book, and I realized that I would survive. I would get through it and live to fight another day.

So the next time you find yourself in a situation where your palms go all clammy and you feel a bit sick to your stomach, think about Obi Wan Kenobi squaring off to fight General Grievous. He faced his fear because he had to in order to save the universe. We face our fears because it’s the only way for us to grow and succeed as authors.

*except there are no light sabers

About the Author

P. J. Hoover first fell in love with Greek mythology in sixth grade thanks to the book Mythology by Edith Hamilton. After a fifteen year bout as an electrical engineer designing computer chips for a living, P. J. decided to take her own stab at mythology and started writing books for kids and teens. When not writing, P. J. spends time with her husband and two kids and enjoys practicing kung fu, solving Rubik’s cubes, and watching Star Trek. Her first novel for teens, Solstice (Tor Teen, June 18, 2013), takes place in a global warming future and explores the parallel world of mythology beside our own. Her middle grade novel, Tut (Tor Children’s, 2014), tells the story of a young immortal King Tut, who’s been stuck in middle school for over 3,000 years and must defeat an ancient enemy with the help of a dorky kid from school, a mysterious Egyptian princess, and a one-eyed cat.

Website | Facebook | Twitter

About the Book

Piper’s world is dying. Each day brings hotter temperatures and heat bubbles that threaten to destroy the earth. Amid this global heating crisis, Piper lives under the oppressive rule of her mother, who suffocates her even more than the weather does. Everything changes on her eighteenth birthday, when her mother is called away on a mysterious errand and Piper seizes her first opportunity for freedom.

Piper discovers a universe she never knew existed—a sphere of gods and monsters—and realizes that her world is not the only one in crisis. While gods battle for control of the Underworld, Piper’s life spirals out of control as she struggles to find the answer to the secret that has been kept from her since birth.

Amazon | Indiebound | Goodreads

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: Sep 4, 2013

Category: Imported from AYAP

Tags: WOW Wednesday

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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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