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On Giving Up by Hannah Barnaby

by Lindsey Hodder
This week, we’re welcoming Hannah Barnaby, author of WONDER SHOW and the just-released SOME OF THE PARTS, to the blog. In a world where writers pressure themselves to meet fast-paced writing goals, Hannah’s story of success is utterly reassuring. She’s here today to speak on the importance of not giving up.

On Giving Up by Hannah Barnaby

Let’s talk about giving up. Well, not exactly giving up. Let’s talk about giving up’s little sister: not starting in the first place.

Elizabeth Gilbert (currently the patron saint and fairy godmother of all us creative types) says that everything that holds us back from creating is based in fear. Procrastination, writer’s block, all of it. Ideally, we find our inner strength and push through that fear and come out on the other side with something we’re proud of. Sometimes this is what happens, and sometimes it’s not.

I don’t like to give up. Which is why I often don’t start things that seem like they’ll be difficult to finish. Like writing a novel.

I put off novel-writing as long as I could. I graduated from college with a BA in English, I finished an MA program and an MFA program without completing a novel-length manuscript. Then I decided to really challenge the universe and I applied for a grant from the Boston Public Library to be their first children’s writer-in-residence. If I won, I would agree to spend twenty hours a week at the library for nine months and hand in a finished first draft of a novel at the end of it.


A finished draft.

But that was fine, because of course I would not win.

But then I did.

I’m happy to tell you that I managed to complete that draft, but there were plenty of times I didn’t think I could. I kept myself going with research, music, chocolate, and dogged refusal to stop. I had no idea what I was doing and the draft I “finished” was full of holes, but I was proud of myself for having written it and I handed it to the nice people at the library and I didn’t touch it again for two years.

When an editor who had been one of the judges on the library committee wrote to ask about the project, I had to admit that it had been a while since I’d looked at the manuscript. But she wanted to read it and I could hardly pass on such an opportunity—so I dusted off the pages and read through them, and I embarked on a full revision. Then a second. Then a third.

Eventually, that story was acquired by another editor altogether and became my first novel, Wonder Show. I was proud of myself—I hadn’t given up!—and then I went another two years without starting my second novel.

I think you can see the pattern here.

Prior to the beginning of every new project, there’s a giant, looming question mark that appears and haunts me for a while. Do I know what I’m doing? If I start this, can I finish it? Knowing that I will be tempted to quit along the way, I make the choice again and again to take the first step, and I trust that my intense dislike of giving up will carry me the distance.

Now, here’s some pragmatic advice for getting started and not giving up.
1.     Make a list of what you need to know about your character, her environment, her family and friends. Use those question marks to your advantage! Let them fuel your curiosity.
2.     Make yourself accountable. To a writing partner, a critique group, a public word count calculator on your website, whatever works. Track your progress and make sure someone else knows that you’re writing.
3.     Avoid the comparison game. Don’t worry about whether someone else is writing a story like yours, or convince yourself that they’re writing it better or faster or with more kissing. Blinders on. Your story is yours and no one else’s.

4.     Reward yourself! Every three chapters, every five thousand words—whatever you decide—treat yourself to something special. (Not chocolate, because be honest: you’ve been eating that the whole time.) Take a moment to be proud of yourself. Then get back to work.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Sometimes bad things happen, and we are not the same when they are over.

For months, Tallie McGovern has been coping with the death of her older brother the only way she knows how: by smiling bravely and pretending that she’s okay. She’s managed to fool her friends, her parents, and her teachers so far, yet she can’t even say his name out loud: “N—” is as far as she can go. But when Tallie comes across a letter in the mail, it only takes two words to crack the careful façade she’s built around herself:

ORGAN DONOR.

Two words that had apparently been checked off on her brother’s driver’s license; two words that her parents knew about—and never confided to her. All at once, everything Tallie thought she understood about her brother’s death feels like a lie. And although a part of her knows he’s gone forever, another part of her wonders if finding the letter might be a sign. That if she can just track down the people on the other end of those two words, it might somehow bring him back.

Hannah Barnaby’s deeply moving novel asks questions there are no easy answers to as it follows a family struggling to pick up the pieces, and a girl determined to find the brother she wasn’t ready to let go of.

Amazon | IndieBound | Goodreads

About the Author

Hannah Barnaby has worked as a children’s book editor, a bookseller at independent children’s bookstores, and a teacher of writing for children and young adults. She holds an MA in Children’s Literature from Simmons College and an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College. She began writing Wonder Show, her first novel, during her time as the first Children’s Writer-in-Residence at the Boston Public Library. Ms. Barnaby lives in Charlottesville, VA.

Lindsey Hodder

Lindsey is an aspiring artist, writer, zoologist/biologist and knower of random information.

Post © Elizabeth Dawson and/or Adventures in YA Publishing. All rights reserved.
Posted: Feb 24, 2016
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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