Wish I’d Written by Kim Miller

by Adventures in YA Publishing

I love reading as much as I love writing. There’s nothing better than reading a book by a new author that amazes me. One of the best reasons to go to Book Expo America is all the great new talent!

The Twilight series is what got me started writing books for teens. I loved the strong emotion, the young love, the uncertainty over which boy was truly right for her. I also loved how, no matter what choice Bella made, she’d be giving something of her old life up. Personally, I was on Team Jacob and would have loved to see her end up with him. But, if that had happened, I honestly believe the books wouldn’t have held that amazing I’d-die-for-him love that made them so popular. Twilight is an older book by now, but I really would have loved to have written that story!

A few recently published books stand out as books I would have loved to write:

SANCTUM by Sarah Fine: When Lela’s best friend commits suicide, she does all she can to try to save her friend from a horrible afterlife she is familiar with—because she attempted suicide in the past and lived. Aware of her friend’s suffering, Lela has the opportunity to help her friend move to a happy resting place—but she goes through Hell to achieve her goal.

Sarah’s “Guards of the Shadowlands” series is a well-written YA series about friendship, love, and death. She especially does an amazing job dealing with the subject of suicide and how others may or may not be able to help. Most of all, I love the main characters she created and the deep emotional connection they develop to each other as they journey through a very dark part of the afterlife together. FRACTURED, the second book in the series, is just as amazing and has me dying to read the final book due out later this year.

THIS IS W.A.R. by Lisa Roecker & Laura Roecker: This is W.A.R. is written in a very interesting way. After a friend is murdered, four girls with four different motives to avenge her get together to make sure the murderer pays for what he’s done. The book is told from four points of view, and as each girl tells her story, the details and events are slowly revealed. I really enjoyed the way this book was written, starting with the murder, then backtracking and digging into the head of each character who wants to avenge her. As each character recalls the events of the night of the murder, we see more of what really happened as opposed to what they reported. We also see a reason each girl feels guilty about the murder. As the story unfolds, we see that not everything is as it seems at first. It’s only after reading each section that you get the entire story of what happened the night the girl was murdered. The Roeckers did a great job of using those alternate points of view to keep readers turning the page and to allow us to get into the head of each girl.

About The Author

Kimberly Ann Miller received Bachelor’s degrees from Georgian Court University and Rutgers University and a Master’s degree from The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. She is an avid reader and particularly enjoys true crime and young adult novels. She grew up in New Jersey and currently resides in Monmouth County with her husband and three cats. When she’s not writing, she loves to travel to sunny islands where she snorkels by day and stargazes by night. She always takes her Nook with her.

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Blog | Goodreads

About The Book

A cruise ship. A beautiful island. Two sexy guys. What could possibly go wrong?In the Bermuda Triangle–a lot.Hoping to leave behind the reminders of her crappy life–her fathers death years ago, her mothers medical problems, and the loser whos practically stalking her–seventeen-year-old Autumn Taylor hops on a ship with her sister for a little distraction. When she wakes up in the Bermuda Triangle, she fears shes gone nuts for more than one reason: that losers suddenly claiming theyre a happy couple… a hot guy is wrapping his arms around her and saying Happy Anniversary… and suddenly, shes full of bruises, losing her hair, and getting IV medication. Autumn visits the ships doctor, hoping for a pill or a shot to make the craziness go away. Instead, shes warned that these alternate realities could become permanent.She just has to ask herself one question–how the hell is she going to get out of this mess?

Amazon | IndieBound | Goodreads

Adventures in YA Publishing

This is the user name for posts from Adventures in YA Publishing that did not have a specific author.

Post © Adventures in YA Publishing. All rights reserved.

Posted: Mar 29, 2014

Category: Imported from AYAP

Tags: What I Wish I Had Written

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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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