Jaye Robin Brown, author of NO PLACE TO FALL, on getting out to have fun

by Adventures in YA Publishing

What book or books would most resonate with readers who love your book–or visa versa?

The comp that I used when querying was Sara Zarr’s Story of A Girl and I think that still holds true. No Place To Fall is kind of gritty at times and Amber’s life isn’t easy. Some authors who I admire in contemporary are Nina LaCour, Sarah Dessen, Holly Cupala, Robin Constantine, and Emery Lord, to name a few. I would think if readers like contemporary, these might work.

How long did you work on NO PLACE TO FALL?

I’m a consistent drafter, and first drafts typically take me between 8-10 weeks. I write almost every morning for an hour or so and manage to get in, on average, 7k words per week. Then I usually go through one revision on my own, call in my first line reader, then revise as she reads, then on to a beta read or two, and now that I’m agented/editor’ed, on to one of the two of them. I probably wrote/revised the draft of No Place To Fall that my agent signed, in about 9 months. Then my editor and I worked on it for another six months before it went on to fun things like copy edits and first pass pages. I realize that’s not a compartmentalized time line, but publishing doesn’t really work like that.

What did this book teach you about writing or about yourself?

That I’m more tenacious than I realized. I had a couple of pretty major revisions and though it would have been easy to curl into a ball and stay that way, I didn’t. I pulled myself up (after a weekend of horse back riding and forgetting about it) and got to work. And miraculously? I managed to make it through!

What do you hope readers will take away from NO PLACE TO FALL?

That small-town girls from Appalachia have dreams as big as anyone else. And just because your family screws up, or you screw up, it doesn’t have to mark your future actions and choices. Oh. And that banjo players can be super cute!

What advice would you most like to pass along to other writers?

One of the biggest things we can do as writers is continue to live our lives. It’s hard to bring anything to your stories if your entire worldview is the bright screen of a laptop. Get out. Have fun. Take classes unrelated to writing. One of the best things in my life was a couple of years when a group of my friends had a sort of challenge. We would search for the most interesting and unusual places and experiences to share with each other. It got us off our beaten paths and into parts of our surroundings we might not otherwise have experienced. All of that stuff is great fodder for storytelling!

ABOUT THE BOOK

No Place to Fall
by Jaye Robin Brown
Hardcover
HarperTeen
Released 12/9/2014

Amber Vaughn is a good girl. She sings solos at church, babysits her nephew after school, and spends every Friday night hanging out at her best friend Devon’s house. It’s only when Amber goes exploring in the woods near her home, singing camp songs with the hikers she meets on the Appalachian Trail, that she feels free—and when the bigger world feels just a little bit more in reach.

When Amber learns about an audition at the North Carolina School of the Arts, she decides that her dream—to sing on bigger stages—could also be her ticket to a new life. Devon’s older (and unavailable) brother, Will, helps Amber prepare for her one chance to try out for the hypercompetitive arts school. But the more time Will and Amber spend together, the more complicated their relationship becomes . . . and Amber starts to wonder if she’s such a good girl, after all.

Then, in an afternoon, the bottom drops out of her family’s world—and Amber is faced with an impossible choice between her promise as an artist and the people she loves. Amber always thought she knew what a good girl would do. But between “right” and “wrong,” there’s a whole world of possibilities.

Purchase No Place to Fall at Amazon
Purchase No Place to Fall at IndieBound
View No Place to Fall on Goodreads

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jaye Robin Brown, Jro to her friends, lives on a fourteen acre farm in the mountains north of Asheville, North Carolina. She is fond of dogs, horses, the absurd and the ironic. She truly believes laughter and music are the best medicine. When not writing you can find her in the art room of the high school where she teaches.

Adventures in YA Publishing

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Posted: Dec 13, 2014

Category: Imported from AYAP

Tags: YA Author Interviews

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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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