New Contest Announcement, Introducing Judge Marisa Corvisiero

by Adventures in YA Publishing

Hello and happy Thursday, everyone!

In five weeks to the day, on October 20th, we’ll open our next contest here at AYAP. It will be another round of Red Light/Green Light, and if you’re not yet familiar with how our Red Light/Green Light contest works, here are the details.

As before, this contest focuses on developing the strongest possible
idea or manuscript. In the lead up to the contest, you’ll find helpful resources here on AYAP to assist as you polish your opening pages. Some previous posts you may find beneficial as you ready your submissions are Resources for Crafting a Strong Opening, Promising Form and Content: The How of Great Openings, and 40 Questions to Help You Nail Your Manuscript.

On entry day, contestants will submit the first pages of their manuscript along with a standard three paragraph pitch, such as you would include in a query letter. The
first 50 entries will be given a spot in the contest–25 from our first entry window, which begins at noon EST/9am PST on the opening day, and 25 from our second entry window, which begins at 3pm EST/noon PST.

An agent judge will choose the top 25 entries from the contestants’
first sentences. The top 25 will be narrowed down to 10 by said agent judge based on the
first two sentences of their manuscript. Next, the agent will read the
top 10 contestants’ first pages to narrow the contestants down to 5.
Lastly, in the final round, the agent will read 3 paragraph pitch
from the top 5 contestants to determine the winner.

Contestants
and observers alike will be able to see which manuscripts start with a
great first sentence and continue to build a strong foundation, and will
hopefully be able to learn something new about what makes a strong
start to a manuscript!

I’m very pleased to announce that our agent judge for this round of Red Light/Green Light will be Marisa Corvisiero of Corvisiero Literary Agency. Later this month, we’ll introduce you to her more fully, and in October, we’ll be hosting a live chat with Marisa on Twitter, during which you can pose any of your writing or querying related questions to her. This is a fantastic opportunity for those preparing to query or actively querying, so stay tuned to find out the date and time of the chat!

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Posted: Sep 15, 2016

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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