WOW Wednesday: Robin Mellom on Finding the Right Outlet for Your Writing

by Martina Boone

Robin Mellom’s debut teen novel DITCHED—in which a girl finds herself lying in a ditch the morning after her prom with no memory of the last twelve hours, which includes a disappearing prom date, a Tinkerbell tattoo, and a dog-swapping escapade—will be published by Disney-Hyperion in March 2012.

I’m so excited to be over here today guest blogging! Except since I left my blog all alone I’m a little worried that it probably threw a raging party and there will be a big ol’ mess to clean up when I get back. Half-filled blog posts spilled everywhere…semi-dressed fonts running around…loopy comments that need a ride home. Naughty blog.

So I don’t consider myself an expert by any means on the topic of getting published, but I can speak about my experience. And the one piece of publishing advice I can offer is the same advice I learned about hair color…listen to the professionals.

Right after my son was born, I decided two things:

1. I want to be a middle grade writer.

2. I want to be blonde.

So I started writing during naptime and I paid a lot of money to get my hair dyed blonde. (Because Meg Ryan is so adorable, right?) But after a few years of that, I was suddenly confronted with a difficult situation: the opinion of a very passionate hair stylist.

“I can’t dye your hair blonde. I won’t do it.”

“Um…but I have money.”

“It’s not working. The color washes out your skin tone. And your eyes practically disappear! You are not a blonde.”

He literally refused to dye my hair. Didn’t he know about my dream to be blonde? My dream of having Meg Ryan hair!? I left the salon sad, wondering who I was if I wasn’t a blonde. I finally gave in and did it…I went dark. Like, Angelina Jolie dark. And remarkably my skin tone perked up and my eyes reappeared. And I started adopting babies! (Kidding.) But what I realized was: I am really a brunette! But a professional had to tell me that. Because I was too interested in being Meg Ryan, not me.

The same thing happened with my writing. I wrote middle grade novels for many years (I’ve written four of them, actually), and fortunately one of them landed me my agent, Jill Corcoran. We shopped a couple of my middle grades around, but no sale. There were some similar responses: love the voice, but it sounds older.

My agent then said to me, “I think you’re a teen writer. You need to write funny teen. That’s who you are.”

I was resistant at first. I had dreamed of being a middle grade author. I used to be a middle school teacher, and I love middle school kids. Love ‘em! But I had decided I want to write for them, not teach them. (Because teaching middle schoolers all day is like running a marathon on a Daily Basis. Exhausting!)

But once I gave in to the professional (yet again!) I found that I absolutely loved writing for teens. The words flowed out easily. It was an absolute joy! I am so thankful I listened to my agent. Now, certainly I hope we sell my middle grade novels, too. But if I had remained stuck on my dream, I may have never taken a chance on this teen novel. And trying something new made all the difference.

Sometimes we have to put aside our pre-conceived notions of who we are (or who we think we are) and work with the skill we’ve been given. Find the right outlet. The right age level. The right story.

And then nothing can stop us.

So now I think I’m going to listen to the advice of another professional in my life, my chiropractor (who also sometimes serves as my therapist)…

Relax your shoulders. Breathe deeply. Enjoy the moment.

Okay, now I’m headed back over to my blog. I don’t even wanna know what it’s been up to…

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: Jun 9, 2010

Category: Imported from AYAP

Welcome to Transmedia Mutts

Yellow origami dog on a teal background

Unleash your creative bark!

Shout out to AYAP!

Logo for Adventures in YA Publishing

Thank you to the women who started Adventures in YA Publishing and ran it for years. AYAP and TMM have merged to form Adventures in PUPlishing, and the legacy AYAP posts are now part of TMM. Click here to learn more about the earlier AYAP team.

Click to Join our Facebook Group

Share advice, practice pitching, celebrate successes, and support each other through writing and publishing adventures.

← Previous: Line-by-line Novel Opening Contest Sneak Preview Next: The YA/MG Line-by-line Contest with Agent Natalie Fischer →

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.

Dog holding a sign that says Pupdates!

Sign up for our newsletter for pupdates and publishing advice