WOW Wednesday: Anita Laydon Miller

by Martina Boone

In this week’s edition of WOW Wednesday, we are pleased to feature middle-grade author Anita Laydon Miller. We first met Anita after reading about her achievement of signing with Nelson Literary Agency on Editorial Ass’ blog. Since then, we’ve followed her blog faithfully, where she recently posted her interview with WICKED LOVELY author Melissa Marr. Please give her a warm welcome!

Have you read Stephen King’s ON WRITING? Such a good book. Filled with oodles of jewels for writers.

One of my favorite sections in the book is about theme. King recommends writing without much thought to theme—story is king to King.

After your story is down, King says, chances are, it will actually have some kind of theme anyway. King suggests going back through your writing then and amping up theme elements. This should be done carefully, to avoid ruining the story just for theme’s sake.

My tip is to use mostly the same approach about marketing. First, get your story idea down (you haven’t actually written anything except the idea and maybe an outline).

Let’s say your idea is a middle grade book with an eleven-year-old boy as your main character. Call him Jack.

Jack’s grandfather comes to school to give Jack a ride home. Jack’s not at their designated meet point. Paw-paw gets out of the car and as he’s walking to the school’s doors to (presumably) find Jack, he gets hit by a delivery truck and dies. Jack—who’d been in the school screwing around—comes out just in time to see Paw-paw get flattened.

Of course, Jack blames himself for Paw-paw’s death. But through the story, Jack learns about other factors contributing to the death, like: The delivery truck driver was drunk, Paw-paw was on his way inside to see his old flame (now the school’s principal), Paw-paw was only Jack’s ride in the first place because Jack’s dad is too busy with work (instead of giving time to his only child).

So you’re getting ready to write this very bizarre story. This is where I encourage you to stop and ask yourself, “How can I make the story more marketable?”

Hmm. What if you make Jack a baseball player? Paw-paw (while he’s alive) can give Jack support at games…maybe the principal even shows up to one. Jack’s dad can miss an important game…providing more tension. And, hey, baseball can be a great symbol…if Jack strikes out and the team loses a game, is it really Jack’s fault or were other players’ bad plays a factor, too?

And why choose baseball? Well, more than 2 million kids play the game. And suddenly your book becomes more marketable, if you ask me.

It’s just like making your sleuth a knitter. Knitters can Google “knitting book” and “knitting book fiction” comes up as a choice. How could a nutty knitter resist the click?

Again, don’t use this think-about-marketing-before-writing tip to the detriment of your story, but if it works and the story stays cool, then bonus!

Anita Laydon Miller is the book columnist for the COLORADO SPRINGS GAZETTE and a wanna-be published author. Anita’s agent, Sara Megibow of Nelson Literary Agency, is currently submitting Anita’s middle grade mystery.

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: Aug 4, 2010

Category: Imported from AYAP

Tags: Promotion | Story Structure | 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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