My Writer’s Road by Lisa Amowitz

by Martina Boone

For today’s post, we welcome YA author Lisa Amowitz. She’s also a graphic designer, who designed the gorgeous header for my website, and one of my fellow contributors on The Enchanted Inkpot. Her debut novel, BREAKING GLASS, releases from Spencer Hill Press in July.

The Weekend Trip that turned into an Epic Journey

by Lisa Amowitz

If I had known just how long the road to publication would be when I first started on my journey, I might have sat down by the side of the road and taken a nice long nap. I’m not even sure I knew I was embarking on a journey. I only packed enough clothes for a weekend getaway.

As a girl, I always wrote. Snippets, poems, comics, story ideas. I guess you would say I was a creative type. But mostly I was an artist and did not take writing seriously at all—it was just a path to that 5 I received on the English AP exam—something academic to get everyone off my back so I could slink off to draw in peace.

That changed fundamentally an MFA and two kids later when I read the first three books of the Harry Potter series OUT LOUD (with a horrible British accent no less) to my daughter each night at bedtime. Not only did I enjoy these shared moments, but I would grab the book with me after she had fallen asleep and keep reading well into the night. And reading. And waiting for the next one to come out with obsessive glee.

Harry Potter changed me forever. It may have been the experience of seeing firsthand how a child reacts to an amazing story, or it may have been that kooky creative child inside of me reacting as well. Or maybe it’s both. But a fire began to burn in my heart. There were so many things I needed and wanted to say, and Harry Potter taught me that a book can tell a great story, but also express deep emotions and themes there are no other way to express.

And so, I began to write—in secret, too ashamed to tell anyone what I was doing—the story pouring out of me. I filled spiral notebooks with my twisted and overcomplicated plot. I started to do art to accompany my story. Yes—I thought I was on a very quick journey to fame and fortune. How could anyone refuse such brilliance?

Did they ever.

Despite my child prodigy writing skills, and my trained art skills, I was a rank amateur. I am grateful for the editorial review I got from a from a highly-placed friend of a friend. In so many words she told me not to quit my day job. I guess I was a bit crushed. But the story burned so brightly inside of me now, I couldn’t stop even if I tried.

Luckily for me, I stumbled upon an online critique group. Most of us were clueless, but somehow we easily recognized flaws in each other’s work. In a single year my writing improved dramatically. My little weekend jaunt was starting to look like a longer trip.

Fast forward. It took me three more years and three finished manuscripts to land my first agent. But that did not pan out and I parted ways with nothing even submitted.

This was the second turning point in my writing career, nearly five years after I first started writing in secret. I had to stop writing for publication. I had to write for the love of it.

So, here I am, FOUR years later—with my own online crit group of savage hand-picked critters we call the Cudas (some of them from that very first now defunct group)—awaiting the release of my first book, BREAKING GLASS, which is actually the fifth book I wrote. BREAKING GLASS happened because I stopped worrying about what would sell and what the trends were. I did the hard, hard work of honing my craft. I listened to advice and trusted my gut. But mostly, I stopped worrying about fame and fortune and even getting published. I took chances. I refused to stop believing in myself.

So the weekend trip, turned cross-country road trip has become an epic round the world journey, which is not yet finished and never will be.

Getting published is by no means the end of the road.

It is just the beginning.

You can’t focus on your destination because there is no destination. You just need to march on, and on, and on. If you think of quitting, it is only because you are too focused on the rest at the end of the road. Instead you have to look at your feet as you march, and enjoy every step. Just make sure you have comfortable shoes, a thick skin, and friends to keep you company along the way!

About the Author

Lisa Amowitz was born in Queens and raised in the wilds of Long Island, New York where she climbed trees, thought small creatures lived under rocks and studied ant hills. And drew. A lot.

When she hit her teens, she realized that Long Island was too small for her and she needed to escape. So she went to college in Pittsburgh. Go figure.

On leaving college, Lisa became a graphic designer living in New York City. She eventually married her husband of a zillion years, had two lovely children, and was swept away to a fairy tale life in the Bronx, where, unbelievably there are more trees and wilderness than her hometown. She can see the Hudson River from her kitchen window.

Lisa has been a professor of Graphic Design at her beloved Bronx Community College where she has been tormenting and cajoling students for nearly seventeen years. She started writing eight years ago because she wanted something to illustrate, but somehow, instead ended up writing YA. Probably because her mind is too dark and twisted for small children.

BREAKING GLASS which will be released in July, 2013 from Spencer Hill Press, is her first published work. VISION, the first of the Finder series will be released in 2014, along with an unnamed sequel in the following year. LIFE AND BETH will also be released in the near future, along with graphic novel style art.

Buy Breaking Glass on Amazon
Buy Breaking Glass on Indiebound
Find Breaking Glass on Goodreads

About the Book

BREAKING GLASS from Spencer Hill Press, July 2013
by Lisa Amowitz

On the night seventeen-year-old Jeremy Glass winds up in the hospital with a broken leg and a blood alcohol level well above the legal limit, his secret crush, Susannah, disappears. When he begins receiving messages from her from beyond the grave, he’s not sure whether they’re real or if he’s losing his grip on reality. Clue by clue, he gets closer to unraveling the mystery, and soon realizes he must discover the truth or become the next victim himself.

Check out Lisa’s website
Read Lisa’s blog
Follow Lisa on Twitter

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: Jun 19, 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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