This Week for Writers 1/5/13 – 1/11/13

by Jan Lewis

Writing

On Being a Slow, Inefficient, Imperfect Writer – an amazing post by Jessica Spotswood on not being perfect.

Interview with Sarah LaPolla – and a query contest.

Breaking Down Story Structure – Lydia Sharp breaks down the story structure of Act One of Morning Glory.

Query Techniques – Ink in the Book posts some basic query tips.

The Writer’s Guide to Rocking it on Twitter – Molly Jaffa talks about how to use Twitter to your advantage.

Lessons From Being Critiqued – Elana Johnson talks about character flaws.

What I’ve Said No To Lately – Kristin Nelson lists recent rejections.

On Advice From Interns – Pam van Hylckama Vlieg talks about taking advice from interns.

Not Another Book Without a Hook – Janet Kobobel Grant on hooks.

Three Revealing Quotes About Writing and Life – Jurgen Wolff talks about three amazing quotes.

Understanding Your Agent – Rachelle Gardner on how to understand your agent.

More on Promo and Approaching Promo in 2013 – Elizabeth Craig on promo.

About Villians – Cassandra Claire talks about villians and not apologizing for them.

Editing After Critique – Dahlia Adler guest posts on Pen and Muse about editing after you receive critiques.

Check out these great posts from Operation Awesome’s Revision Conference:
Revisions from An Editor’s POV – Erin Molta
Secondary Characters Who Sizzle – Georgia McBride
Agent Q&A Part 2: Querying
Letting Characters Be Themselves – Elana Johnson
Writing and Revising a Different Culture – Cole Gibsen
Goal, Motivation, and Conflict – Phoebe North
Devil in the Details: Editing for Content – Christine Fonseca
Revising Your Teenage Voice – Lauren Morrill
Write Drunk, Edit Sober – Gretchen McNeil
Agent Q&A Part 3: Marketing & Publicity
How I Revise – Gennifer Albin

Writing a Believable Male Character – John Hansen guest posts on YA Highway.

9 Tips For Writing a Really Good “Shitty First Draft” – Lisa Cron on drafting.

First Pages and Beginnings – Cait Peterson of YA Misfits talks about beginnings.

Bringing the Past Into the Future – Mary Kole on progress and making things matter.

The Finishing Touches – Jael McHenry posts about putting the finishing touches on your manuscript.

Good Storytellers Show (And Don’t Tell ((Except Sometimes))) – Bethany Griffin visits show vs. tell.

Awareness of Language – Kaitlin Ward on being deliberate in your choice of words.

The Art of Productive Communication – Mary Keeley at Books & Such give tips on communicating professionally.

When Should You Stop Revising – Janice Hardy on how to know when your novel is done.

Fifty Shades of Editing – Stina Lindenblatt talks about levels of editing.

How Chuck Wendig Edits a Novel – you guessed it, it’s Chuck Wendig on how he edits a novel.

How To Start a Novel Right – Jessica Strawser gives five tips for starting a novel.

Structuring Your Story’s Scenes Part 5 – K.M. Weiland gives options for disasters in a scene.

5 Tips for Avoiding Query PTSD – Kat Ellis shares tips that will make the query process easier on you.

3Vs of Fiction by Darcy Pattison: Vision, Vulnerability, and Voice

Connect With Readers’ Emotions: How To Make People Cry – Karen Woodward gives three ways to reach your readers.

Are Writer Conferences a Worthwhile Investment? – Chip MacGregor talks about conferences.

Reading

We’re Glad We Survived the Apocalypse – the Publishing Crawl gals tell what books they are looking forward to in 2013.

Reading For Pleasure? Who Has Time For That Anymore? – Jody Hedlund wants us all to make time for reading.

Other Weekly Roundups
Cynsational News and Giveaways
Twitterific by Elizabeth S. Craig
Field Trip Friday by YA Highway
Field Trip Friday: Writing Highlights by Kate Hart
Cool Links Friday by Stina Lindenblatt

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: Jan 12, 2013

Category: Imported from AYAP

Tags: This Week for Writers

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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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