tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53643377398905439042024-03-13T21:17:54.374-07:00My Life as a Teenage NovelistBrigid Gorry-Hineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15481935746189946137noreply@blogger.comBlogger66125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364337739890543904.post-37679149184276315842016-02-12T09:40:00.003-08:002016-02-12T09:40:48.212-08:00Join me at my new blog, WordFare!In case anyone ends up on this page: I just wanted to post a reminder that I<b> am no longer posting to this blog</b>. My current blog is called <a href="https://brigidrgh.wordpress.com/">WordFare</a> and you can follow me there!<br />
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- BrigidBrigid Gorry-Hineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15481935746189946137noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364337739890543904.post-65975899369296256092013-04-19T14:41:00.000-07:002016-02-12T09:42:59.542-08:00My Blog is MigratingHello everyone!<br />
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First of all, I want to apologize. I haven't posted in months and I don't really have a good excuse. I am a busy college student and all, but I've also just been lazy and I waste a lot of time doing other random crap on the Internet.<br />
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Secondly, I want to thank everyone who follows this blog for reading my posts and putting up with my craziness for ... how long as it been? Four years or something?<br />
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Unfortunately, I will no longer be posting on My Life as a Teenage Novelist. A quick explanation as to why:<br />
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A. Quite simply, I am no longer a teenager. I'm 20 now, so the title of this blog doesn't really apply to me anymore. I've thought about changing the title, but it just didn't feel right to me.<br />
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B. I think this blog is kind of a mess. It was my first experience blogging and I didn't really have any idea what I was doing. I was writing my first posts on here when I was 16 or so and I just wasn't that great at organizing my thoughts/advice or posting frequently enough. So, in other words, I feel like this blog is a bit outdated.<br />
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<strike>If you want to continue following me, my writing, and my advice, I will now be posting about writing on a Tumblr blog called <a href="http://brigidwritesthings.tumblr.com/">Brigid Writes Things</a>. (I decided to keep it simple, haha.) So, don't think of this as goodbye. Think of it as a new beginning. *Cue the corny music*</strike> <b>EDIT (2/12/16): </b>Actually, now my blog is at <a href="https://brigidrgh.wordpress.com/">WordFare</a>, so please join me there! I don't really post to my writing Tumblr anymore.<br />
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Once again, I'm sorry for taking so long to post this. And I'm sorry that I'm shutting this blog down. But it's been fun, and I hope to see you all on Tumblr! Thank you, wonderful followers! I love you all! <br />
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- BrigidBrigid Gorry-Hineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15481935746189946137noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364337739890543904.post-89204721702785396492012-08-31T08:04:00.000-07:002012-08-31T08:04:51.953-07:00It's Almost GUTGAA Time!<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Hello, blog world!</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ugh, I haven't updated like all summer because I'm a terrible person. I guess I was just distracted with my multiple jobs and all. <strike>Or I was just being lazy.</strike> Ah hem. Anyway.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Not much is up with my writing. I was trying to do Camp NaNo, but if I want to win I'll have to write more than 10,000 words today, so that probably won't happen. Plus, I ended up hating the thing I was working on. So, eh. Well, I recently wrote<a href="http://figment.com/books/416257-I-Chose-the-Monster"> this short story about zombies</a>, though! And that was fun.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But anyhow, now for the actual subject of this post. </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What does GUTGAA stand for, you ask? It stands for Gearing Up To Get An Agent––a month-long blogfest amongst writers where we will submit our book pitches, which will be judged by agents. And hopefully, by the end of September, some writers will be offered representation. ... *Winning smile*</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you're interested, check<a href="http://deanabarnhart.blogspot.com/"> Deana Barnhart's blog</a> for details. :)</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So, GUTGAA starts today with a little blog-hop meet & greet thing, so that other GUTGAA participants can get to know me. So, now I shall talk a bit about myself and answer the "get to know you" questions Deana provided. </span><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">About Me:</span></b><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Hi! I'm Brigid. I'm 19 now, although I'm turning 20 a month from tomorrow. (Eek, I can't believe it.) I'm a student at Hampshire College (which is in Massachusetts and not New Hampshire), where I am concentrating in creative writing. I'm the oldest of six kids. I write, I read I draw, I dance, I sing, I watch bad movies and laugh at them ... You know, stuff like that. ;) I've been writing books since I was 12, and at this point I've written eight––although none of them are published, and most of them most likely never will be (since the earlier ones were just ... frighteningly bad, considering my age and all). </span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So, yeah. I think that's a good start.</span><br />
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<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Questions:</span></b><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><u>Where do you write?</u></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Well, that depends whether I'm at college or at home. When I'm at home, I usually write up in my room. There's this little nook in one wall, next to the window, and that's where I usually sit. If I'm at school, I usually just write in my bed. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><u>Quick. Go to your writing space, sit down and look to your left. What is the first thing you see?</u></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Since I'm at home at the moment, I guess I'll use writing spot #1 for this. In which case, I would see the bunk bed that my sister and I share. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><u>Favorite time to write?</u></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I'm not really picky about it. If I find any time to write at all, that in itself is kind of a miracle. Haha. But I guess usually, I either write first thing when I wake up, or right before I go to sleep.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><u>Drink of choice while writing?</u></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">COFFEE COFFEE COFFEE. Oh, and I do enjoy the occasional cup of ginger tea as well.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><u>When writing , do you listen to music or do you need complete silence?</u></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It depends on my mood, I guess. Sometimes I don't feel like listening to music while writing, and other times it helps me a lot. There's a lot of wordless music that I really enjoy listening to while writing. If you're looking for suggestions, I recommend:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AEU5pBxY6E">E.S. Posthumus </a>- If you're writing something fantasy/adventure, their stuff is great. Very "epic" sounding. (In fact, one of the top comments on the song I linked to is "This song makes me feel like I could write an epic story.") </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2ANwPDv0Tw">The Chemical Brothers</a> - I especially love their songs from the movie "Hanna." Also good for adventure-writing, and I think their music has a good sci-fi vibe to it as well. </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XROVlvrrV9U">This Will Destroy You</a> - I recommend them if you're writing something more slow-paced, and/or just sad/dramatic. Always gets me in the mood to write something depressing. Yay! :D</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><u>What was your inspiration for your latest manuscript and where did you find it?</u></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ummm I guess it depends on what you mean by "latest manuscript," but I'll just use my most recently finished one. (And I use the word "recently" rather loosely, considering I finished it more than a year ago, but ... yeah.) So in that case, it would be UNRAVELING––the YA contemporary novel I'm currently concentrating on, and starting to seek representation for, etc.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And well, that question has a rather complicated answer. Haha. My ideas tend to come in pieces over time, and then they all kind of merge together to form a bigger idea.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So, I initially was inspired by THE CATCHER IN THE RYE, which I read when I was 16. It wasn't quite like anything I'd ever read before, and it really interested me. I fell in love with the idea of a teenager sort of temporarily "escaping" from everything, wandering around, trying to figure out the meaning of life and whatnot. After reading it, I wanted to try something similar at some point, but I wouldn't come up with an idea for about another year.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When I was 17, I was going through a somewhat rough time. School was really stressing me out, and a lot of the time I felt like I just wanted to run away from everything. So, this idea started forming in my head about this girl who runs away from home, just trying to get away from everything for a while. At around the time the idea started forming, J.D. Salinger died. ... It seemed like some kind of weird sign, and it made me want to pursue the idea even more. I just felt like it was missing something.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There had to be some kind of motivation behind the protagonist's actions. For some reason, I had this feeling that she had wanted to run away with her best friend––but then her best friend didn't show up. I couldn't really tell what was going on ... just that the main character had a best friend who was supposed to be there, but wasn't there for some reason. It was like, the protagonist was looking for her friend but the friend was gone. And it occurred to me, finally, that in a way the protagonist was "looking" for a friend who was already dead.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And that's how I finally came up with the idea for UNRAVELING. The protagonist ended up being a girl named Mia, who once shared a twisted friendship with a girl named Emily. Their friendship came to an explosive end, Mia moved away, and hasn't spoken to Emily in two years. But when Mia hears that Emily has committed suicide, she returns to her hometown to search for reasons behind Emily's sudden and unexpected death.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #353535;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">So, the story became much more than just a story about a girl wandering around and trying to find a purpose in life. It also became a story about friendship. I've had a lot of failed friendships in my life––and while Emily isn't based on anyone I've ever known, I did draw from past experiences to find my inspiration. I think everyone has had a close friendship that ultimately disintegrated––whether it was because of some huge argument, or merely because you drifted apart and/or lost contact with each other. With UNRAVELING, I hoped to bring up questions about the complications of friendship: Why do we hold onto some friendships even if they make us unhappy? Do the costs of having one really close friend outweigh the benefits? What would you say if you had one last chance to talk to a friend you lost? When do the boundaries between friendship and romance lie, and how does gender play a role in how we feel about that subject? </span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #353535;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #353535;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 19px;">Sorry, that was a super long answer. But, I think that about sums it up. ;)</span></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><u>What's your most valuable writing tip?</u></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It's hard to choose just one. I'll start off by giving the most clichéd tips, which are:</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1. Read a lot.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">2. Write every day.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">They both sound simple, but they're more time-consuming than they might seem. However, the time is worth it! Reading helps you get a better sense of how style and grammar work, explore the use of voice, and understand your market. Writing every day is like exercising a muscle; if you keep working on it, it will get stronger.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My third writing tip is a quote from "Little Miss Sunshine," which is one of my favorite movies. (Pardon my French in advance.)</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">3. "Do what you love, and fuck the rest."</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Don't be too worried about what others think of you. When you're writing that first draft, just write it for yourself. When you get to editing, you can be more concerned with how the reader will perceive your work. But even then, don't let other people's opinions shape everything you write. You have to write in a way that makes you happy, that makes you feel unique, that makes you feel like you. If you get too caught up in worrying about whether your book will be "marketable," it will only slow you down and probably water down your style. Remember to write for yourself and not just for other people. Remember that you can't please everyone, and that's just the way it is. And above all, remember to do what you love! </span></div>
Brigid Gorry-Hineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15481935746189946137noreply@blogger.com58tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364337739890543904.post-67699066895335131122012-06-30T12:00:00.000-07:002012-06-30T12:01:18.541-07:00Fun with WordleHowdy, y'all!<br />
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So, if you don't know what <a href="http://www.wordle.net/">Wordle</a> is, let me briefly explain how it works. It's a nifty little website, where you can enter a bunch of text, and then it creates a "word collage" based on what you enter. The more frequently you use a certain word, the bigger it is in the collage. Fun, right?<br />
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But not only is it fun, it's also a useful tool for writers––because it shows you what words you might be using too much.<br />
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For example, here's what happened when I entered the entirety of my book UNRAVELING:<br />
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Uh wow, the word "like" is freakin' HUGE! Same with the word "know" ... and there are a lot of other words that are relatively large. </div>
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Now, this is what happened when I entered six of my books at once:</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yeDIgjYJ5HY/T-9LuMXR3HI/AAAAAAAABqQ/HQ8xUFCAVm8/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-06-30+at+2.40.48+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="207" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-yeDIgjYJ5HY/T-9LuMXR3HI/AAAAAAAABqQ/HQ8xUFCAVm8/s320/Screen+shot+2012-06-30+at+2.40.48+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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The results are actually pretty much the same. Looks like no matter what I'm writing, I use a lot of the same words. Particularly "like" and "know," for some reason.</div>
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Well, I take this as a sign that I should go back through my manuscripts and take out some of those words that I'm using way too much. </div>
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So, my question of the day is: What are some words that you use too much? Have you ever used Wordle to find out––and if so, did the results surprise you?</div>
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<br />Brigid Gorry-Hineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15481935746189946137noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364337739890543904.post-32559492736729176102012-06-25T06:10:00.001-07:002012-06-25T09:07:59.991-07:00Interview with author Kristen Taber!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hello everyone! Today I interview the lovely Kristen Taber, whose book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Aerenden-Child-Returns-%C3%86renden-ebook/dp/B0084UZ5GM/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1340629060&sr=1-1&keywords=kristen+taber">Ærenden: The Child Returns</a> recently came out. I had the honor of beta-reading this book, and thought it was fantastic and exciting––so I hope you all will check it out as well!</div>
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<b>Q: How long have you known you wanted to write books?</b></div>
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A: I’ve wanted to write nearly my entire life and have toyed with poetry, plays, short stories, etc. since soon after I could talk. I began focusing on writing books in my high school years. At first, I tried collections of short stories in the suspense and horror genres, and then I stumbled on an idea that later turned into something much bigger. Something, as it turns out, which became my first publication, Ærenden: The Child Returns.</div>
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<b>Q: What inspired you to write The Child Returns? Do you remember where you got the idea?</b></div>
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A: I remember it clearly, though the original idea looks nothing like the finished product. I took Spanish in high school. While in class, a friend of mine and I joked around about being twins named Estrella (Star) and Cielo (Sky). We invented a silly backstory about being superheroes at night, and suffering Spanish class students by day. Throughout the year, I retooled the idea, casting the twins in a fantasy storyline where one is a wizard and the other is a military ruler. A janitor at the school they attend—a young, orphaned boy—turns out to be their protector. At some point in time, the twins became a single girl named Meaghan and the boy remained her protector, though his role drastically changed. I started writing the book about seven or eight years ago, put it down because I didn’t like where it was going, then picked it back up two years ago, changed the plot line, extended it into a series, and fell in love. As I said, it’s nothing like it was so long ago, but its origins still stem from my youth.</div>
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<b>Q: What's your writing process like? Do you outline or go straight into writing?</b></div>
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A: I do a bit of both. I have a general outline in mind when I write, but often, the books take on a life of their own. I plotted the Ærenden series to be one book, but around page 150, I realized I had a series on my hands. Characters, solutions for problems, even entire plot lines sometimes unfold on their own, much like watching a movie. I chase them, knowing full well I’ll be doubling my editing time later, but it works well for me.</div>
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<b>Q: Did you ever suffer writer's block while writing this book––and if so, how did you deal with it?</b></div>
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A: No major blocks, but minor ones, sure. Typically, I’ll hit a wall where the characters aren’t talking to me and I leave them alone for a while. Working out (running or the elliptical) tends to help, as does running errands or cleaning. Activities that allow my mind to wander often create situations where my creativity flows best. My best characters have popped into my mind during these times.</div>
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<b>Q: What was the revising process like?</b></div>
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A: I took a long time revising this book, mostly because it’s my first and I had a lot to learn about the process specifically, and writing in general. Initially, when I thought the book was “done”, I sent it out to friends and family for thoughts, as well as entered it into the ABNA contest where it made it through the Quarter Finals. The feedback I received in return showed me the book needed more work (as expected). I then entered it into a contest where people judge the first few chapters and provide feedback. This also helped me retool my style and learn more about proper vs. sloppy writing. After this, I began editing in earnest. I went through the book twice myself, then sliced and diced it several times with my editor (a friend who does a fantastic job with comprehensive editing), edited it again myself, and then sent it out to a few trusted people for beta reads. After receiving their feedback, I incorporated necessary changes, edited it myself twice more, and then called it “done” a second time. Though, of course, it's never truly finished. We’ve since found a few typos, despite all the eyes that combed through it, but reviews have proven the extensive editing process did its job. The final product is professional and all of us who worked on it are proud of what we created.</div>
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<b>Q: What was the most challenging part of writing this book?</b></div>
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A: Learning how to handle feedback was definitely the hardest part. Negative feedback is difficult to accept (to authors, watching someone tear apart our manuscript is like watching a pack of wolves tear apart our babies). And positive feedback, though easy to accept, can be dangerous as it’s often given to stroke our egos and not to help us grow. The truth lies somewhere in between and the trick is learning to discern it, which is not an easy task. Sure, if everyone says the exact same thing (that scene sucks or I love this character), then you can easily figure out what to keep and what to change. But this rarely happens. Art is subjective, so when people read a book (listen to music, view a painting, etc.) their opinions will often contradict each other. Taking all of the feedback I received became crippling. When one person liked a sentence or scene and another person hated it, I didn’t know what to do. I was constantly revamping the book and wondering if I would ever get it right. Then one day, after I changed a sentence for one person and changed it back for another, I realized my folly; I had found an infinite loop of madness.</div>
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I finally realized that with every piece of feedback I received, I had to be an emotionally detached</div>
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gatekeeper and ask the right questions. What is the reviewer’s motivation? What sort of books and</div>
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authors do they like? Am I getting this feedback the majority of the time? If so, why? Does it fit my style, the plot, the characters? Does it ring true to me? Once I learned to answer these questions and to own my manuscript instead of renting it out to each person who read it, I could move forward and create a solid, final product. I know it won’t please everyone, but that’s also something I have to learn to accept. If I’m true to analyzing the feedback I receive, I should be able to please most of the people and create something worthwhile in the process.</div>
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<b>Q: What writing projects are you working on now?</b></div>
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A: I’ve been working on marketing for Ærenden: The Child Returns and helping other authors do beta reads, but I intend to hole up in my office again in the near future. I have a lot of editing to do on Ærenden: The Gildonae Alliance, the second book in the Ærenden series, if I intend to make my Fall 2012 release.</div>
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<b>Q: If you could give one, most important piece of advice to aspiring authors, what would it be?</b></div>
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A: Learn everything you can. Never stop. Talk to other authors, read blogs, study grammar, read books, swallow whole everything you can get your hands on so that when you write, you’re teaching as much as you’re learning.</div>
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<b>Q: Anything else you'd like to share about yourself or your book?</b></div>
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A: I can be found on Facebook (<a href="http://www.facebook.com/kristentaberauthor">www.facebook.com/kristentaberauthor</a>) and Twitter (<a href="http://www.twitter.com/kristentaber">www.twitter.com/kristentaber</a>) and would love to connect with everyone on either or both sites. In addition, my book is currently available on Kindle and in Print, both through Amazon (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Aerenden-Child-Returns-%C3%86renden-ebook/dp/B0084UZ5GM">http://www.amazon.com/Aerenden-Child-Returns-%C3%86renden-ebook/dp/B0084UZ5GM</a>). Signed paperback copies can also be ordered by contacting me through my website (<a href="http://www.kristentaber.com/">www.kristentaber.com</a>). </div>
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<b>Thanks so much, Kristen! :)</b></div>Brigid Gorry-Hineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15481935746189946137noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364337739890543904.post-58211078340584113832012-06-17T19:01:00.000-07:002012-06-17T19:01:21.270-07:00ScheherazadenfreudeIn this post, I will probably sound like a creep and a psycho. But, you probably already know that I am both of those things.<div>
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So, earlier today I saw this funny post on Tumblr. (Oh yeah, and you should all totally <a href="http://how-strange-it-is-to-be-anything.tumblr.com/">follow me on Tumblr </a> because I'm addicted. Uh, just as long as you don't mind a lot of "Legend of Korra" spam ...)</div>
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ANYWAY ...</div>
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The post was about a made-up term called "scheherazadenfreude,"a play on the word "schadenfreude" (pleasure derived from watching other people suffer). If you don't know who Scheherazade is then I guess the joke's not really funny ... so uh, if you don't know who she is, then you should just <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scheherazade">read the Wikipedia page about her story</a>. But anyway, this Tumblr post defined "scheherazadenfreude" as "perverse joy in the suffering of one of your own characters in the story you are writing/telling."</div>
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And I found this particularly funny, because ... well, I really love torturing my characters. I don't know why, but I do. Maybe because it makes me feel powerful? Bahaha, I don't know.</div>
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But, seriously. For instance, one of my favorite characters has been ... um, let's see ... shot, stabbed, strangled, drowned, tortured, beaten to a pulp ... Well, I think that about covers it. You get the idea. It's like, the more I love a character, the more I want to harm him/her. Because that's totally normal, right? Heh heh. </div>
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I've heard some other writers say pretty much the opposite thing––that is, they love their characters so much that they're afraid to hurt them in any way. But, personally I just find a story more compelling if the characters suffer a lot. I mean, if I finish reading a book, and none of the major characters have died (or <i>almost </i>died) I find myself feeling rather disappointed. And the same goes for my own stories; I just can't imagine myself writing something where nobody dies-or-at-least-almost-dies. I would get super bored.</div>
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Don't get me wrong, there are definitely exceptions ... I do love a lot of books where no one dies-or-almost-dies. Just, in general I guess I find it hard to get excited about writing a story if there isn't any violence in it.</div>
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So ... Is it just me? Or are you all running away from me, screaming? ;)</div>Brigid Gorry-Hineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15481935746189946137noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364337739890543904.post-7429589119222029502012-06-04T09:09:00.000-07:002012-06-04T09:09:05.464-07:00My Perspective on PerspectivesSo, lately I've been worrying more than usual about perspective. Well, and tense as well. I'm just going to put them both under one, broad category.<br />
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I, for one, love experimenting with both. Whenever I get an idea, it just comes to me in a specific tense and point-of-view that feel right for the story. It's kind of hard to explain, but I think tense/perspective play an important role in whether a book works or not; they have to be done correctly in order to fit the mood, the message, etc.<br />
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Whether I'm reading or writing, I personally don't really care if the story is in past or present tense, if it's in third person or first person or second person or thirty-fourth person ... Whatever. Like I said––as long as it fits the story, it doesn't make a difference to me.<br />
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But lately, I've been encountering more people who are much pickier about the subject. For example, somewhat recently I got into a debate about it in a Goodreads group, and I was surprised to see how many people absolutely loathe present tense. There was one girl who even said that, if she reads something in present tense, she automatically thinks it's horrible writing, and that she had never read anything well-written and in the present tense. Mind you, I'm not attacking her, and she's entitled to her opinion of course ... I was just a bit shocked that it made such a difference to her and other people. It hadn't really occurred to me before that it could mean the difference between good and bad writing to someone. Sometimes, a story just comes into my head in present tense, and that's the way I feel it should be written. And after that, I don't really think twice about it.<br />
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Then there comes the issue of choosing what person to write a story in. Most of the time, stories naturally come into my head in first person. Although sometimes––usually if there are a lot of important characters in a story I'm writing––I prefer third person.<br />
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Now, there's the problem of UNRAVELING––one of my books that uses a lot of second person. Before this story, I had never felt particularly compelled to use second person, but in this case I had a specific reason for doing so. It's kind of difficult to explain, but I felt that it was a very personal story between the main character and her friend (to whom the story is narrated)––the kind of story she wouldn't really be telling to anyone else. However, I received a lot of feedback saying the second person was confusing and that it "shut the reader out" in a way, which isn't something I wanted to do.<br />
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Currently, I'm doing another revision of the manuscript in which I try replacing the second person with third person, but I feel like it drastically changes the overall "feel" of the story. And I'm not sure if I like it. But on the other hand, I don't want to lose the interest of readers or literary agents just because I chose the "wrong" way to tell the story.<br />
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GAHHH you guys, I really hate being a writer sometimes. I hate when it comes down to deciding how much I want to change just for the sake of pleasing other people. Of course I want my writing to be enjoyable and understandable to my audience, and I'm willing to let go of a lot of things for that purpose. But when it comes to something this big and important, I'm more hesitant. I want to do what I feel is right for the story, but what I think is right might seem wrong to everyone else ... if that makes sense.<br />
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Anyway ... I don't want to turn this into a self-pitying rant. I guess my point is to ask you all what you think about tense and perspective. Which ones do you most often use? How much do you think they matter? Do you notice them a lot when you're reading something?Brigid Gorry-Hineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15481935746189946137noreply@blogger.com32tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364337739890543904.post-91529446302590818762012-05-21T15:05:00.002-07:002012-05-21T15:05:49.450-07:00I hate page 100.Hello jell-os.<br />
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So, last night I finally got to page 100 in my current work-in-progress. Exciting, right? Well ... except this is like, the most slow-paced story I've ever written (and for me, that is saying something). I haven't even gotten into the main plot yet. Heck, the main characters haven't even met each other. (WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?) And judging by the ridiculously slow pace, and the fact that it has taken me about two years to get to this point in the manuscript, I predict I will finish it when I'm around 70 years old.<br />
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The other problem is, page 100 is always where I get really stuck. I don't really know why it is, but it always happens. Always.<br />
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I guess that whole "shiny new story" feeling has totally worn off by that point, and that makes it harder to be excited about writing it. And it's like, the point where I'm done with all the introductory stuff and then it's hard to transition into the real "meat" of the story.<br />
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<a href="http://www.carlsjr.com/system/product_photos/30/medium/Menu_BigHamburger.png?1285096075" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="174" src="http://www.carlsjr.com/system/product_photos/30/medium/Menu_BigHamburger.png?1285096075" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>OM NOM NOM.</b></div>
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Yeah I'm like, still in the top bun part right now. Or maybe I've gotten as far as the ketchup/mustard. Just not the hamburger part yet. And ... yeah. You know what? Forget this metaphor.</div>
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So, how about everyone else? Is there a certain point you always get stuck in a story? And how do you get past that part (if you ever get past it)? </div>
<br />Brigid Gorry-Hineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15481935746189946137noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364337739890543904.post-50838709078021929212012-05-17T13:14:00.003-07:002012-05-17T13:14:57.272-07:00Wonderful Ways to Get Writing DoneI feel like lately all of my blog posts have begun this way, but OH MY GOSH I'M SO SORRY I HAVEN'T POSTED IN FOREVER. It's been ... um, almost two months. Wow. I apologize to anyone who actually reads my <strike>ramblings</strike> posts. I've just been neglecting this blog lately and ... yeah. The good news is, I'm done with my first year of college! (I know, I can't believe it either.) Anyway, now that it is summer I will be posting much more. So, hooray!<br />
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(Side note: Uh whoa, Blogger totally changed its style. What is this strange place?)</div>
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But anyway, onto today's topic. </div>
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One of the hardest parts of writing is ... writing. And by that I mean, the physical act of actually getting your butt in a chair and putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard). It may sound simple, but let's face it ... Life is busy. We're always caught up in school and/or work, and at times it is hard to find the time to write. Even when you do have time, you might not feel motivated. Maybe you're not sure what's going to happen next in your story, or you're stuck at a part that's not particularly exciting.<br />
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Personally, I believe you just have to force yourself through a first draft. You have to write whatever comes to mind, even if it doesn't make much sense. You have to drag yourself through the boring patches. (I know a lot of writers who write things out of order when they're stuck, but that tactic is not helpful for everyone––definitely not for me. I talk more about why in my post <a href="http://mylifeasateenagenovelist.blogspot.com/2011/11/what-order-do-you-write-in.html">"What order do you write in?"</a>.) The truth is, you just have to get the words out.<br />
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Sure, your first draft is going to be crap. It's going to be disorganized. Just accept it now. But getting it out of your head and onto paper is the first big step you have to take.<br />
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So, here are the places I turn to when I just need to pump out words:<br />
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<b>Write or Die: </b><br />
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I've probably mentioned Write or Die a billion times before, but I can't advertise it enough. This thing is the bomb. It's an application in which you set a time and a word goal for yourself. Then, if you space out and stop typing, the screen starts to turn red and it makes annoying noises at you. It may seem aggravating at first, but it can really help. Personally, using this application has trained me to usually write more than 500 words in 15 minutes (about 2000 words an hour!), so I'd say it's definitely worth it.<br />
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There's both a web app and a desktop app version of Write or Die. You can use the <b>free</b> web app by going <a href="http://writeordie.com/#About">here</a>, and it's right above the "About" section. And the desktop app costs $10 if you want to invest in it.<br />
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<b>Written? Kitten!</b><br />
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If Write or Die scares you too much, Written? Kitten! may be a better alternative. As the website describes, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;">"<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; font-weight: 200;">We like positive reinforcement, so we decided to make something a bit like <a href="http://writeordie.com/" style="color: #5896bc; cursor: pointer; text-decoration: none;">writeordie</a> but cuter and fuzzier."</span> </span>Every time you type a hundred words, you get to see a new picture of an adorable kitten! What could be better than that?<br />
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Check it out<a href="http://writtenkitten.net/#"> here</a>.<br />
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<b>Word Wars:</b><br />
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If you have friends who are writers, this is a fun way to motivate yourself. The way it works is pretty simple. You get together with a group of writers (whether it's in person or online), and you all write for the same amount of time (usually somewhere between half an hour to an hour), and at the end you all share your word count and see who wrote the most. A little competition is always healthy, eh?<br />
<br />
I've done most word wars via Skype with other writer friends. But I also recently joined<a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/116342195164151/"> a word wars group on Facebook</a>, which writes every day from 7-8 PM EST ... and that has been extremely helpful lately!<br />
<br />
<b>#Wordmongering on Twitter:</b><br />
<b><br /></b><br />
If you have a Twitter account, I highly recommend making use of the #wordmongering hashtag. It's basically word wars, which happen at the beginning of every hour and end at the half hour mark. The best thing about it is that you can do it whenever you want, and there are usually a bunch of other writers participating. Just check out the hashtag for more information and to see who else is writing!<br />
<br />
Hopefully these resources are useful to everyone. If anyone else knows of other good motivation websites/applications for writers, please comment and let me know! :)</div>Brigid Gorry-Hineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15481935746189946137noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364337739890543904.post-40885651730492142012-03-18T09:11:00.000-07:002012-03-18T09:11:15.717-07:00How to Pitch Your BookI've been a terrible little blogger. Terrible, terrible, terrible. Of course, in my defense, I've also had a lot of work to do and such. So, I'm sorry it's taken me this long to update. But anyway ...<br />
<br />
As you may or not know, I made it through the pitch round of ABNA. Hooray! This happened like ... a month ago. In fact, in two days the quarterfinals will be announced. So ... we'll see how that goes.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, I would like to write a post about why pitching your novel is so important.<br />
<br />
This subject was mostly brought to my attention by the ABNA forums. There was one thread in particular discussing whether or not pitches were important. Several entrants kept arguing that pitches are unfair, since they're a marketing tool and don't actually demonstrate your writing ability. So basically, in this point of view, pitches only show how good you are at marketing and not how good of a writer you are.<br />
<br />
In my humble opinion, this is untrue. Being able to write a good pitch does indeed convey your writing skills. Yes, it also involves your marketing abilities, but that's also a part of being a good writer. As I wrote in my responses in the ABNA forum:<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">B<span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;">eing able to pitch your book is an important skill. It compels you to really figure out where the heart of your story is. ...</span></span> </i></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">... You can't just like to write novels. If you want to be skilled at any kind of writing, you need to learn many different techniques. Creative writing, analytical writing, persuasive writing ... It's all important to know how to do. Writing novels may be your specialty, but that doesn't mean you should ignore all other types of writing. And yes, being able to write a pitch is very different from writing a novel, but it's equally important. It's about getting to the point--establishing main character, setting, stakes, etc. And being able to choose your words carefully is a skill that carries over into any type of writing.</span></span> </i></blockquote><blockquote class="tr_bq"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white; line-height: 16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>... If you write a horrible pitch, you most likely can't write a good novel either. Agents/publishers/etc. want to see that you know how to use the rules of grammar, that you know how to make a point, that you make proper word choices, etc. If you can't do this, it's a sign that your manuscript might not be well-written, either. After that, it comes down to a matter of taste; the story may or may not appeal to the agent/publisher, but that's beyond your control. It may not be particularly fair, but that's the way it works.</i></span></span></blockquote><br />
And, I stand by that opinion. I believe writers should learn to write in any form––whether it be creative, analytical, or persuasive. As for writing pitches––it's not just about marketing, either. It conveys certain writing abilities such as pacing, transitions, style, word choice, etc. that are going to carry over into your novel. If these things are lacking in your pitch, they're probably lacking in your manuscript. No, I don't think querying to agents is a flawless process; as with all writing, it's very subjective. But I still think pitching is still an extremely important skill to have.<br />
<br />
You need to be able to convey what your story is about in a concise matter. Setting. Characters. Plot. Stakes. Market. Bam.<br />
<br />
Here are the things you should include in your pitch:<br />
<br />
1. When/where is this taking place––especially if it's a different world, time period, etc.?<br />
<br />
2. Who is the main character? You must make it clear who the main character is. Be careful of dropping too many names, or the agent will get confused as to who's important and who isn't. Only include the names of characters who are vitally important to the plot.<br />
<br />
3. And what is the plot? What must the main character do? What is his/her objective?<br />
<br />
4. WHAT ARE THE STAKES? I can't express how important this is. Basically the question here is, why on earth should the reader care whether or not the protagonist achieves his/her objective? Ask yourself, what bad thing will happen if the main character doesn't succeed?<br />
<br />
I'll use my story Walking Shadow as an example ... So, Cassandra has to make a journey through the Underworld in order to get her curse removed. Okay, cool. So why does it matter? Well, if she doesn't succeed, the curse will drive her insane until she kills herself, which is what has happened to a long line of her female ancestors. You see what I'm talking about? You can't just describe the plot ... you have to make it clear what the consequences of failure are.<br />
<br />
5. Now, the market. Make sure it's clear who you're marketing to. Kids? Teenagers? Adults? You can compare your book to other books, but ... just be careful about doing that. Try not to compare your book to books that are too big/popular. For example, you don't want to write something like, "I think my book will be as big as Harry Potter!" That's not the point. If you're going to do this, try to use only one book or two as an example––but make sure you also include why you're book is <i>different </i>from these books you're using as comparisons. You don't want to seem like you're just copying someone else.<br />
<br />
6. And make sure this is all concise. This is probably the hardest part. I read on agent <a href="http://blog.nathanbransford.com/">Nathan Bransford's blog</a> recently that most good pitches are about within the 200-500 word range. More than that, it's probably too long. And less than that, it's probably too short.<br />
<br />
<br />
So really, learn how to pitch your book. It's essential. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.Brigid Gorry-Hineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15481935746189946137noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364337739890543904.post-8491349490943226712011-12-19T14:59:00.000-08:002011-12-19T14:59:22.637-08:00ABNA is coming. Again.Hey, all. I haven't posted in quite a while, mostly because all my final projects were eating me alive. But, now I'm done with them. And I'm done with my first semester at Hampshire College. So, hooray for me!<br />
<br />
You know what's coming soon? (And no, it's not Christmas. Although that's coming soon, too.)<br />
<br />
The annual Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest. Also known as ABNA. Also known as, "that crazy writing thing Brigid will be ranting about for the next few months."<br />
<br />
If you don't know what it is, you can read about it <a href="http://www.amazon.com/abna">here</a>.<br />
<br />
Basically, it's a contest for unpublished and self-published authors. You need to have written a complete novel between 50,000 and 150,000 words. You also need to write a pitch. There are various stages of the contest––starting with a judgment of the pitch, then the first 5000 words, then of the entire manuscript (assuming you get that far in the contest).<br />
<br />
So, if you've written a novel and you're not (traditionally) published yet, it's worth checking out. Even if you don't get too far in the contest, you can meet a lot of other writers on the forums and get advice from them. It's a terrific learning experience about the publishing industry. And if you do make it far in the contest, you get a review from Publishers Weekly... which is pretty dang cool.<br />
<br />
Oh yeah. And if you win, you get a publishing deal with Penguin and a $15,000 advance. And that's also cool. But, you know ... the chances of getting that prize are 1/5000.<br />
<br />
So, yeah. I'm entering this thing for the third year in a row. I plan to do what I've done for the past two years: frantically edit my manuscript throughout the remainder of December and January, until the deadline (which is January 23rd). Hopefully I'll get some feedback of some sort. I'll probably edit some more. Then I'll spend the summer sending out queries and most likely drowning in rejection letters. HOORAY!<br />
<br />
This year I'm entering Unraveling, which I finished writing in February. So, we'll see what happens.<br />
<br />
Anyone else entering? Or thinking of entering?Brigid Gorry-Hineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15481935746189946137noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364337739890543904.post-55211706652984945242011-11-26T09:05:00.000-08:002011-11-26T09:05:43.417-08:00Review: The Girl Who Owned a City (Graphic Novel)Hello, friends. I've decided I'd try posting a review for once. After all, I review a lot of YA books, so I might as well share some of my reviews with all of you. If anyone wants to see more reviews on my blog, I'd be happy to post more.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/238338215">Here's a link to the original review</a> on Goodreads, which has a few more spoilers in it. But I'll post the totally spoiler-free review here. So, enjoy.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PWzhx-eSpgc/TsAoRh5dI6I/AAAAAAAAAY8/OkF_sBZJKUE/s400/The+Girl+Who+Owned+a+City+Graphic+Novel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PWzhx-eSpgc/TsAoRh5dI6I/AAAAAAAAAY8/OkF_sBZJKUE/s320/The+Girl+Who+Owned+a+City+Graphic+Novel.jpg" width="224" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Title: The Girl Who Owned a City (The Graphic Novel)</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Author: Dan Jolley, Illustrator: Joelle Jones</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>Release Date: April 2012 (ARC provided by NetGalley)</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><br />
</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b>My rating: 3/5 Stars</b></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="background-color: white;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></div><div class="p1"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So, after I finished reading this, I saw on the last page that it had been based on a novel from 1975. I have not read the novel or ever heard of it, so I don't know what the similarities and differences between the original and graphic novels are. Whether the flaws in the graphic novel are in any way the fault of O.T. Nelson––the original author––I don't know. </span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> <div class="p1"><span class="s1"><br />
</span>Anyway, to briefly summarize the plot:<span class="s1"><br />
<br />
</span><i>The Girl Who Owned a City</i> is the story of a grim, futuristic world in which a mysterious virus kills all the adults and turns them into piles of dust. Our protagonist is a girl named Lisa Nelson who is determined to find and protect as many surviving children as she can. But she is rivaled by another gang, led by a boy named Tom Logan who wants to steal her power and form some kind of dictatorship over all the other kids.<span class="s1"><br />
<br />
</span>I obtained a digital version of this book via <a href="http://www.netgalley.com/"><span class="s2">NetGalley</span></a>, which is like my new best friend in website form. After I downloaded it I decided to look through it––so of course, I ended up reading the entire thing in one sitting.<span class="s1"><br />
<br />
</span>This is an exciting and fast-paced read, and it's fairly short. So, it's something I would recommend if you were looking for something quick and fun. And what with the current dystopian craze, I could see this being a successful graphic novel.<span class="s1"><br />
<br />
</span>Lisa is a likable main character, although I'm not sure how realistically she's portrayed. I don't think her age is ever defined, but supposedly she's younger than 12. (Otherwise, she would be a pile of dust.) I spent the whole book assuming she was around 14 or 15, because she seemed to be acting a little more like a teenager. Then, of course, I realized that wasn't possible. Granted, she seems to have gone through a lot so I wouldn't be surprised if she'd matured early. But regardless of her age, Lisa is easy to relate to. The reader can feel her stress and frustration as she tries to keep everything together and keep everyone safe. <span class="s1"><br />
<br />
</span>However, I thought the other characters could have been fleshed out more. At least the relationship between Lisa and her little brother Todd was pretty nicely done, and Lisa's friend Craig was also somewhat interesting. But in the short span of the book, I didn't feel like I quite knew most of the characters. Most of them just seemed to be there to be Lisa's little helpers and not to have personalities of their own.<span class="s1"><br />
<br />
</span>As for the plot ... It's not the most original thing in the world. Basically, this book is <i>Lord of the Flies, Gone</i>, and <i>Maximum Ride</i> combined. Once you've read <i>Lord of the Flies</i>, you've pretty much read all the books with the "Oh no! All the adults are gone!" plot, so you can probably already guess what this book is like. As for the similarities to <i>Gone</i> (by Michael Grant), it has the same premise where all the adults conveniently just "disappear" and there is only a vague explanation as to why. (More on that in a minute.) I guess I'm kind of stretching it with the comparison to <i>Maximum Ride</i>, but the whole time I was reading this, I kept thinking that Lisa is pretty much the same character as Max. She has the same tough-girl attitude where she doesn't want anyone to help her, and she wants to handle everything by herself, etc. And it didn't help that Craig kind of has a Fang-ish attitude with his whole "Let's just forget everyone else and live by ourselves!" attitude.<span class="s1"><br />
<br />
</span>Anyway, as I was saying, I have the same issue with this book as I had with <i>Gone </i>by Michael Grant: the reason for the adults disappearing makes little sense to me. I believe that in <i>Gone</i>, the author blamed it on a nuclear chemical spill, which I found difficult to understand. In <i>The Girl Who Owned a City</i>, this is the only explanation the author makes: "for some strange reason, the sickness is not fatal to children." <span class="s1"><br />
<br />
</span>You know, for once I would like to see one of these "post-apocalyptic-worlds-where-there-are-only-children-left" books where there is actually a believable explanation as to why all the adults are gone. Not only that, but it would make more sense if the adults didn't just "vanish." It would make more sense if it was like the Black Plague all over again, with rotting corpses all over the place. Disgusting? Well, yes. But far more realistic. I can't bring myself to believe that there would ever be a disease that would literally just turn people into dust.<span class="s1"><br />
<br />
</span>The originality and lack-of-explanation issues aside, I think my biggest problem with this book was the lack of emotional reactions in the characters. At the beginning, Lisa informs us that it's only been a few weeks since the plague killed all the adults. Yet, none of the kids seem extremely upset. They all focus solely on surviving and don't seem to remember anything that happened before they were left by themselves. You don't have little kids crying for their parents all over the place. I can't recall any point where Lisa and Todd had a conversation about their mom and dad. It was like the author was so focused on making the story "kickass" that he completely ignored the realistic, emotional impact of the story. I understand if the kids are in shock or in denial or something, but at least a little more effort could have been made. I mean, in such a horrible situation, I really wanted to know how the characters felt. How on earth would it feel <i>to see your own parents turn into dust</i>? Because I'm pretty sure it would be devastating.<span class="s1"><br />
<br />
</span>I swear I'm almost done ranting now. There's only one more thing I have to criticize, and that's the ending. I'm not going to specify too much so as not to spoil it. But in my humble opinion, it was a total cop-out and I was kind of disappointed.</div><div class="p1"><span class="s1"><br />
</span>So, in conclusion, I think this book had some potential in its premise, but there were a lot of issues with its execution. However, I still found it enjoyable. It was an easy, fun read and something that could keep you entertained for an hour or two. Even though the characters aren't totally fleshed-out, at least they're likable.<span class="s1"><br />
<br />
</span>And if all else fails, the illustrations are pretty cool.</div></span>Brigid Gorry-Hineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15481935746189946137noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364337739890543904.post-25865000637513019012011-11-25T13:15:00.000-08:002011-11-25T13:15:50.086-08:00What order do you write in?I know a lot of other writers who have no problem writing stories out of chronological order. And I understand the benefits of doing this. I get stuck a lot of the time, and instead of writing future scenes like I possibly should, I either force myself through the slow parts or I give up.<br />
<br />
Obviously, the whole "giving up" thing can lead to problems––mostly the guilt that I abandon so many of my poor little stories. But on the other hand, I can't seem to force myself to write out of order. I do plan ahead as I write, I just don't want to "skip" anything as I'm actually writing.<br />
<br />
Of course, just as there are benefits to writing out of order, I think there are benefits to writing in chronological order as well. My fear is that, if I didn't write in chronological order, I would only write the "interesting" parts of the story––the main events and whatnot––and skip over everything in between. Sure, the in-between stuff can be kind of dull, but I also think it's important for creating tension and building character relationships, etc. I guess I feel like, if I don't force myself through the less interesting parts, I don't know my characters well enough to be sure of how they would respond in the most disastrous situations––if that makes sense. I find that my characters usually turn out differently from what I initially expect, and if I wrote out of order, maybe I would miss out on that.<br />
<br />
So, what does everyone else think? Do you write in or out of chronological order? What do you think are the costs and benefits of each?Brigid Gorry-Hineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15481935746189946137noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364337739890543904.post-38310106160740360612011-11-23T11:44:00.000-08:002011-11-23T16:43:49.826-08:00What I'm Listening To (As I write my NaNo)Hello everyone!<br />
I hope everyone doing NaNoWriMo is having fun & success. (Only a week left! Ahhhh!)<br />
Since I haven't posted anything in a while, I thought I'd share with you guys some songs/lyrics that have inspired me as I'm writing. Whether it's the lyrics or the moods of these songs, these are all songs that have helped me survive NaNo so far. As you can see, they all involve some kind of "dreamy" mood or the mention of dreams ... I can't help it. I'm so ... literal.<br />
<br />
So, yeah. Here it is. My playlist for Sweet Sorrow:<br />
<br />
<b>1. "Set Apart This Dream" by Flyleaf</b><br />
<br />
<i>Close your eyes pretty girl</i><br />
<i>'Cause it's easier when you brace yourself</i><br />
<i>Set your thoughts on a world far off</i><br />
<i>Where we only cry from joy</i><br />
<br />
<b>2. "On Top Of The World" by Boys Like Girls</b><br />
<br />
<i>Let's spend tonight on top of the world</i><br />
<i>We can do anything</i><br />
<i>We can be anything</i><br />
<i>I'll meet you tonight on top of the world</i><br />
<i>As real as it seems</i><br />
<i>You're only in my dreams</i><br />
<br />
<b>3. "Blinding" by Florence + the Machine</b><br />
<br />
<i>Seems that I have been held</i><br />
<i>In some dreaming state</i><br />
<i>A tourist in the waking world</i><br />
<i>Never quite awake</i><br />
<br />
<b>4. "Painting Flowers" by All Time Low</b><br />
<br />
<i>When I wake up</i><br />
<i>The dream isn't done</i><br />
<i>I want to see your face</i><br />
<i>And know I made it home</i><br />
<i>If nothing is true</i><br />
<i>What more can I do?</i><br />
<i>I am still painting flowers for you</i><br />
<br />
<b>5. "Keep the Car Running" by Arcade Fire</b><br />
<br />
<i>The same city where I go when I sleep</i><br />
<i>You can't swim across a river so deep</i><br />
<i>They know my name 'cause I told it to them</i><br />
<i>But they don't know where</i><br />
<i>And they don't know </i><br />
<i>When it's coming</i><br />
<br />
<b>6. "Ghost" by Blue Foundation</b><br />
<br />
<i>He's burned down many a bridge</i><br />
<i>And he's scared of walking in the dark</i><br />
<i>It hurts when the rain falls on his skin</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>Oh he is worn out from marching</i><br />
<i>And he's forgotten for what he's searching</i><br />
<br />
<b>7. "Don't Wake Me Up" by The Hush Sound</b><br />
<br />
<i>You came to me</i><br />
<i>In seamless sleep</i><br />
<i>Slipped right in</i><br />
<i>Behind my eye</i><br />
<i>On the back of my mind</i><br />
<i>We swam a sea</i><br />
<i>Of pretty sights and chandelier skies</i><br />
<i>I swore I could feel you breathe</i><br />
<i>It was all so real to me</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<i>The light had slipped through the window</i><br />
<i>The morning ripped you away, oh</i><br />
<br />
<b>8. "Where the Fence is Low" by LIGHTS</b><br />
<br />
<i>Each shadow I walk</i><br />
<i>To the ends of the forest</i><br />
<i>And the shape of the hands</i><br />
<i>That break the ground for us</i><br />
<i>The fear that contains</i><br />
<i>That binds like a blessing</i><br />
<i>I've been here before</i><br />
<i>Then again I'm guessing</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
<b>9. "Misguided Ghosts" by Paramore</b><br />
<br />
<i>Misguided ghosts,</i><br />
<i>Traveling endlessly,</i><br />
<i>The ones we trusted the most,</i><br />
<i>Pushed us far away,</i><br />
<i>And there's no one road,</i><br />
<i>We should not be the same,</i><br />
<i>But I'm just a ghost,</i><br />
<i>And still they echo me</i><br />
<br />
<b>10. "Unleashed" by Epica</b><br />
<br />
<i>Where was I meant to be?</i><br />
<i>I'm feeling lost in a dream,</i><br />
<i>Long for the day I can be myself</i><br />
<br />
<b>11. "Sweet Dreams" by The Eurhythmics</b><br />
<br />
<i>Sweet dreams are made of this</i><br />
<i>Who am I to disagree</i><br />
<i>I travel the world and the seven seas</i><br />
<i>Everybody's looking for something</i><br />
<br />
<b>12. "Imaginary" by Evanescence</b><br />
<br />
<i>Don't say I'm out of touch</i><br />
<i>With this rampant chaos––your reality</i><br />
<i>I know well what lies beyond my sleeping refuge</i><br />
<i>The nightmare I built my own world to escape</i><br />
<br />
<b>13. "Trust Me" by The Fray</b><br />
<br />
<i>Looking for something I've never seen</i><br />
<i>Alone and I'm in between</i><br />
<i>...</i><br />
<i>I found a friend or should I say a foe</i><br />
<i>Said there's a few things you should know</i><br />
<i>We don't want you to see</i><br />
<i>We come and we go</i><br />
<i>Here today, gone tomorrow</i><br />
<i>...</i><br />
<i>Take it from me</i><br />
<i>We don't give sympathy</i><br />
<i>You can trust me, trust nobody</i><br />
<br />
<b>14. "Leave My Body" by Florence + the Machine</b><br />
<br />
<i>I'm gonna be released from behind these lines</i><br />
<i>And I don't care whether I live or die</i><br />
<i>And I'm losing blood, I'm gonna leave my bones</i><br />
<br />
<b>15. "Somewhere Only We Know" by Keane</b><br />
<br />
<i>I came across a fallen tree</i><br />
<i>I felt the branches of it looking at me</i><br />
<i>Is this the place we used to love?</i><br />
<i>Is this the place that I've been dreaming of?</i><br />
<br />
<b>16. "Help I'm Alive" by Metric</b><br />
<br />
<i>I tremble</i><br />
<i>They're gonna eat me alive</i><br />
<i>If I stumble</i><br />
<i>They're gonna eat me alive</i><br />
<i>Can you hear my heart beating like a hammer?</i><br />
<i><br />
</i><br />
Well, that's all folks!<br />
Anyone else have any particular songs that have helped them through NaNo so far?Brigid Gorry-Hineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15481935746189946137noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364337739890543904.post-22656216051981942011-11-13T16:56:00.000-08:002011-11-13T16:59:29.218-08:00Collage BrainstormsHey guys. This post is going to be very short and sweet because I'm a busy gal and I need to get back to NaNo-ing. (Or whatever the word is. The point is, I'm working on my NaNo at the moment and I'm trying to reach the magical 50k mark today. And I still have quite a bit to go. So ... wish me luck!)<br />
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This is a fun idea I got from my friend Ally's blog, <a href="http://novelideaslifeofateenwriter.wordpress.com/">NOVEL IDEAS</a> (which is a fabulous blog, by the way, and you should all read it). She probably explains it better than I do, but the basic idea is that you search around on the Internet for pictures that represent ideas/places/characters/etc. in your story. I tried it out and found it quite fun and motivational. I've always found images to be inspiring, so I think this is a tool that could really help me in the future. (I already make book covers for my own stories, so this is kind of similar to that.)<br />
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So, here it is! My first collage brainstorm. It's for <b>Sweet Sorrow</b>, my NaNo novel. :)<br />
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(You can click on it to make it bigger.)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GasliKI5NN8/TsBkwV0_NSI/AAAAAAAABD8/YIMd19p2pWc/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-11-13+at+5.35.33+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GasliKI5NN8/TsBkwV0_NSI/AAAAAAAABD8/YIMd19p2pWc/s320/Screen+shot+2011-11-13+at+5.35.33+PM.png" width="320" /></a></div><br />
I found photos on <a href="http://deviantart.com/">deviantArt</a> (so, they're not my photos!) and edited the collage using Picasa. (<a href="http://picasa.google.com/">Picasa</a> is a free photo editing program on Google, and it has a cool collage-making tool.)<br />
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So, what do y'all think? Is this an activity you think would be helpful? If anyone else makes collages, I'd love to see them! :)Brigid Gorry-Hineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15481935746189946137noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364337739890543904.post-29055848167074478252011-11-02T08:18:00.000-07:002011-11-02T08:18:05.219-07:00It has begun. How will you survive?So, it's the second day of <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/">NaNoWriMo</a>. If you don't know what that is after I've explained it a billion times ... just read the post before this one.<br />
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I know a lot of people are hesitant to participate because the challenge is intimidating––but really, there's nothing to lose even if you don't reach the word goal. Trust me, I'm busy as heck. I'm always busy. But I'm still trying to find time in my hectic schedule to work on my novel. So you should try it, too. You might be surprised by how much you get done! And no matter how much or how little you get done, it's better than writing nothing at all.<br />
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Anyway, to those of you who have decided to participate, I've decided to put together a list of survival tips, being an experienced Wrimo myself. Hopefully this will help. :)<br />
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<b>8 NaNoWriMo Survival Tips (In No Particular Order)</b>:<br />
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1. <b>Write crap</b>. Seriously. What you write is probably going to suck, and that's okay. Don't delete words. Don't think too hard about what you're writing. Just let go of all your inhibitions and write whatever comes into your mind. It doesn't matter if your prose is cluttered with filler or if you keep repeating yourself. It's all about getting out that first draft. It's about quantity and not quality. If you want quality, you can edit in December (or, you know, whenever). Write rants, internal monologues, dialogue, whatever. Write anything, and don't be too concerned with your plot.<br />
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2. <b>Keep the NaNoWriMo website open at all times</b>. Heck, make it your homepage for the month. I at least always have it open in one tab, so that every time I open my web browser, I'm reminded of what I'm supposed to be doing. That way, if I'm about to get on Facebook, I always get a wake-up call.<br />
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3. <b>Get on Write or Die</b>. This website is a life saver. It always keeps me focused. Enough said. Linkage: <a href="http://writeordie.com/">http://writeordie.com/</a><br />
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4. <b>Have writing buddies</b>. Doing NaNo alone is a sad, sad thing. Just explore the <a href="http://nanowrimo.org/en/forums">NaNo forums</a> for anyone else who wants a writing buddy. If it's someone who writes at about the same pace as you do, that's ideal. Challenge other Wrimos to word wars. Adding a little bit of competition does wonders for motivating you.<br />
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5. <b>Get ahead of schedule</b>. Don't just stop at 1,667 words every day. If you get there and you still have ideas, keep going. I like to get at least a little bit ahead every day, because you never know when there's going to be a day when you'll have no time to write at all.<br />
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6. <b>But remember to take breaks, too</b>. Don't expect to sit down and write all 1,667 words in one sitting, or your poor brain is going to burn up. I'll usually write for 15-30 minutes and then take a break for a few minutes to think about what I'm going to write next. It's best to write in chunks over the day. That way you have time to think––and thinking is just as important as writing.<br />
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7. <b>Exercise your wrists</b>. I know one big problem I have that prevents me from writing is when my wrists start to hurt like crazy. I highly recommend doing exercises like <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUyMNyrOHJQ">these ones</a> whenever you take a break from writing. You don't want to get carpal tunnel!<br />
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8. <b>Find a song that really inspires you</b>. For me, that song is <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdOVKKr1qSY">"Blinding"</a> by Florence + the Machine. It fits the mood and the story of my novel perfectly. Whenever I listen to it I feel excited about writing and that helps a lot to motivate me. I recommend finding a song that fits a particular tone/theme/character in your novel that will excite you about writing. Or it doesn't necessarily have to be a song. It could be a poem, quote, whatever. Just come up with a little reminder that will inspire you every day. :)<br />
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Hopefully that helps!<br />
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Now I should get off Blogger and return to writing ... *Waves*Brigid Gorry-Hineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15481935746189946137noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364337739890543904.post-45335646897984351592011-10-01T12:47:00.000-07:002011-10-01T13:00:11.179-07:00Why You Should Do NaNoWriMoIt's October 1st. That means two important things.<br />
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1. It's my birthday. I'm nineteen today. I guess I'll have to change the name of this blog in a year ...<br />
2. There's only one month until NaNoWriMo.<br />
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I expect that #2 causes a variety of reactions: <br />
<br />
--> YAAAYYYY!<br />
--> OH GOD NO. WHY DID YOU REMIND ME?<br />
--> Haha ... What?<br />
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If you had the third reaction, I'm here to explain.<br />
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NaNoWriMo = <u>Na</u>tional <u>No</u>vel <u>Wri</u>ting <u>Mo</u>nth<br />
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NaNoWriMo takes place every year during November. During this month, writers take on the challenge to write at least the first 50,000 words of a novel, from scratch, in a month. You're not allowed to start until 12:00 AM on November 1st, except for outlining and other planning. It's okay if you don't finish the novel by the end of the month ... You just have to hit the 50,000-word mark before 12:00 AM on December 1st. If you get there, you win! (Side note: I've had to explain this to a lot of people but <b>NaNoWriMo is not a contest</b>. It's a challenge. There are perks to participating and to winning, but no one judges your work. It's all about writing those 50,000 words.) For more detailed rules, visit the <a href="http://www.nanowrimo.org/">NaNoWriMo website</a>.<br />
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REASONS YOU SHOULD DO NANOWRIMO:<br />
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1. 50,000 looks like a pretty intimidating number, but it's not as bad as you may think. It's 1,667 words a day, which is about two and a half pages. That might still seem like a lot, but you'll be surprised by how the words add up when you really get into writing something, or when you're writing whenever you have a spare moment. I usually write first thing in the morning and right before I go to bed, and at random times during the day if I have time. If you disperse those words throughout the day, they'll add up quickly.<br />
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2. Like I said, there are perks. For example, if you win, you can get a free proof copy of your manuscript from CreateSpace. Here is me with my lovely CreateSpace proof of Walking Shadow:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cf4dDBz3QuM/Todq5N7CFII/AAAAAAAAA9w/CuFlRdD-_Uw/s1600/Picture+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cf4dDBz3QuM/Todq5N7CFII/AAAAAAAAA9w/CuFlRdD-_Uw/s320/Picture+1.png" width="235" /></a></div><br />
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Last year, programs such as Scrivener and Storyist––which are programs designed specifically for writers––provided free trials for NaNo participants. I don't know if the same exact thing is happening this year, but I know there are always benefits to participating! If anything, you'll at least get the bragging rights if you win. ;) So, it's worth checking out.<br />
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3. You learn to write without inhibitions. When you're concentrating on getting the words down, you focus less on editing and censoring yourself, and you'll be surprised at what you'll come up with. Yes, you'll write a lot of filler crap––but some of that filler will still have useful descriptions or ideas in it. It doesn't matter if your first draft is a piece of junk; that's what editing is for, and you can edit <i>later</i>. NaNo is about getting out that first draft, however crappy it may be. When you have a first draft, you at least have an idea of what you're working with. <br />
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4. Best-selling novels have been born during NaNoWriMo. <i>Water for Elephants </i>by Sara Gruen, <i>The Forest of Hands and Teeth </i>by Carrie Ryan, and <i>Anna and the French Kiss </i>by Stephanie Perkins are all examples. So even if the rough draft you write during NaNo is very ... well, rough, you know you have the potential to sell it someday!<br />
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5. Because I said so. <br />
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So, what are you doing? Get planning, you fools!Brigid Gorry-Hineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15481935746189946137noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364337739890543904.post-10498925889547109622011-09-23T08:08:00.000-07:002011-09-23T08:10:52.989-07:00Is It Wise To Criticize?Greetings, earthlings. I apologize for not blogging in over a month. I was very busy packing for college and starting classes at college, and doing other college-y things. (And college is awesome, by the way.)<br />
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Now, I should probably be writing (since I haven't in ... uh ... forever) but my brain is clogged up right now. So, I'm going to write about a subject that's been cooking at the back of my head for a long time. It's a topic I'm always nervous to bring up ... and that's authors criticizing other authors.<br />
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Here's the thing. I love writing. You all know that. I love reading as much as I love writing. And when I read books, I review them. I do my reviews on <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/">Goodreads</a>, and they're not meant to be particularly professional. I write them for fun. Furthermore, I feel like I should share my thoughts on every book I read. I spent my time reading those books, so why not review them? <br />
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Obviously, I don't like everything I read. Sometimes my reviews are negative. However, I don't mean to make any ad hominem attacks on any authors. I never say an author is stupid or fat just because I didn't like his/her book. But if I don't connect with a character in a story, or there's a plot twist I find illogical, I'm going to say so. I do try to find something positive in everything I read, and I always point it out in my reviews, but I can't pretend I love everything. <br />
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About a year ago, I posted a review on Goodreads that was pretty dang negative. As hard as I tried, I could find very little I liked about this book, besides that the prose was okay. I found it illogical, boring, sexist ... I could go on and on. So, I said so, giving examples to back up my thoughts. That is, it's not like I wrote some review that said, "LoL dis book is lyk sooo stoopid. I H8ed it. lolz." It was pretty specific.<br />
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Yet, soon there were a bunch of people leaving comments on the review along the lines of, "How can you be so harsh? How would you feel if someone wrote a review like this for <i>your </i>book?"<br />
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Well, the thing is, people <i>have</i> said negative things about my writing. Very negative things. I've been told my stories are too emo, too clichéd, too boring. I've been told my characters are stupid and unlikable. I've been told that I can't structure a sentence properly. This criticism came from other writers, from agents, from Publishers Weekly, you name it. <br />
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I don't love getting scathing feedback. It can be overwhelming, especially when I start to realize I might have to totally scrap something and start over. But, although it's never a warm, fuzzy feeling, you learn to live with it if you're a writer. If you never received criticism, your art would never develop. In the end, I'm always grateful for feedback––no matter how harsh it is––because it pushes me to work harder and get better at what I love to do.<br />
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Of course, the typical troll reaction to that argument is, "Oh, so you're just <i>bitter</i> because this author is published and you're not. Well, if you were any good at writing, you would be published too. And this book wouldn't be published if it wasn't good. So, nyah nyah."<br />
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Right. Well.<br />
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I'm not going to deny that at times, I feel bitter. When you work so hard on your own writing, and you read a book that doesn't tickle your fancy, it can be frustrating. You get that feeling like, "Why is this person published and I'm not?"<br />
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Being a writer, you get extra picky. You know it's important to craft a good plot, to develop your characters well, to show and not tell, to avoid horrible grammar mistakes, etc. And when you see these errors in published books, it's hard not to notice them. So personally, when I review books, I point out the flaws, just as I would do if another, unpublished writer asked me for an honest critique.<br />
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Yet, there are those who believe that honesty among writers is a bad thing. I've read numerous blog posts that say authors should have nothing but praise for each other. They say we're all here to hold hands and support each other, and that's it. In my opinion, these people are more concerned with karma than with developing as artists. They don't give negative reviews because they don't want to receive them. <br />
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But what if, one day, you have to meet the author you criticized face-to-face? Well, I can't deny that such a situation might be awkward, but on the other hand, I think it's best to be honest. I consider my reviews to be constructive, and I treat published and unpublished writers equally. In both cases, my criticisms are meant to help and not to hurt anyone's feelings. If an author were to stumble upon my review of his/her book, I hope it would give him/her something to think about. I know that every review I've received, no matter how scathing, has at least given me something to think about improving in my work. If an author is professional enough, I think he/she should know how to find the helpful hints in negative reviews, and to not get angry at every person who criticizes him/her. Because––let's face it––if you're an author, you're going to get criticized. You're going to get bashed. You're going to get ripped apart. If other authors hold back their negative comments, it's not going to change that fact. <br />
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So, fellow writers, what do you think? Do you ever write critical reviews––and if you do, do you think they're helpful or harmful?Brigid Gorry-Hineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15481935746189946137noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364337739890543904.post-89461939474100381422011-08-02T08:21:00.000-07:002011-08-02T17:57:37.888-07:00Interview with Published Teen Author, Steph Bowe!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XPSc1RRxPZk/S-pft_NMadI/AAAAAAAAEho/MLLTQyppNLU/s1600/28865_1187258380348_1794960578_355102_3572194_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_XPSc1RRxPZk/S-pft_NMadI/AAAAAAAAEho/MLLTQyppNLU/s320/28865_1187258380348_1794960578_355102_3572194_n.jpg" width="247" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Say hello to Steph Bowe! She's the 17-year-old author of the YA novel <i>Girl Saves Boy</i>, which was published in New Zealand and Australia by Text Publishing in September 2010. You can check out her blog (<a href="http://heyteenager.blogspot.com/">Hey! Teenager of the Year</a>) for more info.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">Steph was kind enough to answer some questions for me. So instead of going on my usual rant about my publishing fails, I bring you the story of a teenager who has actually been published. I know you will all be as impressed and inspired by her achievements as I am! :) </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div><b><div class="im">Brigid: When did you first know you wanted to be an author?</div> </b></div><div>Steph: I've always loved writing, since I was really little, and I've wanted to be a published author since I was about seven. I think it was less about accolades or money or anything like that, and more about a love of stories and wanting to share them with other people.</div><div></div><div><div class="im"><br />
<b>Brigid: What authors inspire you most?</b></div></div><div>Steph: There are so many! Melina Marchetta and John Green are probably the main two - I am amazingly envious of their brilliant writing and success.<var></var></div><div></div><div><b><div class="im"><br />
Brigid: Do you have a specific writing process? Or do you "wing it" and see what happens?</div> </b></div><div>I make it up as I go along. Generally I have a clear idea of my characters, a few major conflicts and the beginning and end in my head before I start writing, but they might change as I write. I love that writing is such an organic thing and you can incorporate everything and go off on tangents - this is your own world to freely play around with, why limit yourself?</div><div></div><div><div class="im"><br />
<b>Brigid: I know writers sometimes have trouble remembering how they got ideas ... Do you remember what first inspired you to write <i>Girl Saves Boy</i>?</b></div><div class="im"><br />
</div>Steph: I don't think I ever have specific inspirations - I always have thousands of tiny ideas inspired by things I see and read and hear and experience all swimming around in my head and sometimes growing into plots and stories.</div><div></div><div><div class="im"><br />
<b>Brigid: When did you start trying to get Girl Saves Boy published? How long did it take before you got a "yes" from an agent?</b></div><div class="im"><br />
</div>Steph: I started sending queries in August of '09. I had a few different offers of representation, and signed with an agent in September. I was insanely lucky.</div><div></div><div><div class="im"><br />
<b>Brigid: Has getting published changed your perspective of writing at all?</b></div><div class="im"><br />
</div>Steph: It's made it a lot harder. Instead of just writing for my own enjoyment, I'm always thinking about whether my agent/editor/readers will like it, whether it will sell, is it as good as the last book... there's lots of new and different things to take into consideration, and it's a lot easier to put off writing in the fear that you won't write something that's good enough.</div><div></div><div><div class="im"><br />
<b>Brigid: What are your other interests besides writing? And do those interests influence what you write?</b></div></div><div><br />
Steph: Writing and schoolwork take up so much of my time right now, I hardly have any time for anything else. I do read a lot, and I enjoy photography, acting, dancing, cooking and spending time with my friends and family. I think everything a person experiences influences them, so obviously if that person is a writer that will show through in what they write. I don't think I can specifically point out anything I do in my real life that's affected what I write, but I may be able to do that in a few years time (I certainly know that I keep accidentally adding foods I eat to books as foods my characters eat...).</div><div></div><div><div class="im"><br />
<b>Brigid: What writing projects are you working on right now?</b></div></div><div><br />
Steph: I am in the midst of revising my second book... and sneakily writing bits and pieces of books three and four (all standalone novels)... I don't want to jinx them, so I'm being deliberately vague... How mysterious!</div><div></div><div><div class="im"><br />
<b>Brigid: What is the most challenging part of writing for you?</b></div><div class="im"><br />
</div>Major edits! What a nightmare. Trying to figure out how to fix a book you've already spent so much time working on is pretty difficult.</div><div><br />
</div><div><div class="im"><b>Brigid: What advice do you have for other teens who are trying to get published?</b></div><div></div><div><br />
Steph: Just go for it, don't let your self-doubt or anyone else's negative words get you down. Write first and foremost because you love writing and stories. Get as much feedback from others as possible, and learn to improve your writing. Send your work out there. If you aren't published as a teenager, that doesn't matter - you're still a success. Everything you write and submit and everything you experience is contributing to the writer you will become. I have faith in you! Just remember to do lots and lots of writing. That's the main thing.</div><div></div><div><br />
<b>Thank you, Steph! :)</b> </div></div>Brigid Gorry-Hineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15481935746189946137noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364337739890543904.post-32039156863003502082011-07-13T18:00:00.000-07:002011-07-13T18:00:01.896-07:00A Letter To My Novel<span id="internal-source-marker_0.6344411155392707" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I've been querying again lately, and it's made me feel a bit ... hopeless. So, to cope with my stress, I wrote a letter to my novel. If you are currently feeling similar feelings of frustration and/or disappointment, I suggest doing this to make yourself feel better. Not only was this fun to do, but it also made me realize why I fell in love with my novel in the first place. And because of this, I feel more willing to stick with it. :) Enjoy. </span><br />
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<span id="internal-source-marker_0.6344411155392707" style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Dear Walking Shadow,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I remember the first time I became aware of your existence. It was in the middle of English class in 10th grade. I barely knew anything about you then; I only caught a glimpse of you in the corner of my mind's eye. However, your mysterious nature intrigued me. At first I thought you were like all my other ideas; you would wander around in my head for a while, and maybe we'd have a brief relationship, but ultimately we would go our separate ways and forget all about each other. But then I found that I couldn't stay away from you. When I wasn't spending time with you, I was thinking about you. I daydreamed about you in class. I couldn't sleep at night. It felt like you were there with me no matter where I went. You were so new and exciting. My friends loved you. Even my parents approved of you. I was starting to think you were The One.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">But then, I began to see your flaws. It was inevitable, as it is with all long-term relationships. You were too boring, too clichéd, too long. Yet, I stuck with you and tried to help you deal with your imperfections.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Alas! Then the literary agents came along. They confirmed all my fears about you and more. Our relationship began to fall apart. For months, I didn't even want to look at you. I had relationships with other stories, but they weren't quite the same. At last, I shyly approached you again.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Although you have changed a lot in the past few months, I still feel us becoming more distant from each other. Some days, I admit, I want to give up on you completely.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">And so, I have written this letter as a reminder to myself, that on all those miserable days when I think there is no hope for you, I am being a total idiot. Thousands of authors have suffered relationships like ours and somehow managed to make it through. Plus, even if you're not perfect, you've improved quite a bit. I mean, look at you! You've lost more than 70,000 words. You look <i>good</i>.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">No matter what stupid things I've said, I still love you and I always will. I can always help you to get better. I'm still in this if you are.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Love,</span><br />
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Brigid</span>Brigid Gorry-Hineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15481935746189946137noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364337739890543904.post-14883057440281671812011-07-04T13:27:00.000-07:002011-07-04T13:27:56.805-07:00The Next Harry Potter?So, I finished reading the final Harry Potter book yesterday. I know, I'm behind on the times. Everyone and their grandma and their dog read Harry Potter before me. But that's not the point.<br />
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I wanted to point out something that annoys me about YA books. Don't get me wrong––I love YA. I read it, I write it. It's wonderful. What bugs me is the popularity contest.<br />
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High school never ends, eh? It's like how one day, the most popular girl in school walks in wearing a green hat, and everyone says, "Oh, she's wearing a green hat and she's popular. Maybe if I wear a green hat, I'll be popular too!" And before you know it, everyone is wearing a green hat, so it's not new or exciting anymore.<br />
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With books, it's the same way. After the success of Twilight, everyone started writing vampire books and other such paranormal romances. After the success of The Hunger Games, everyone started writing dystopia books. And in both cases, the trends got terribly old. (I wasn't old enough to be reading YA when Harry Potter first came out, but I'm sure there were a lot of wizard rip-off stories as well.)<br />
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I read a Wall Street Journal article about James Frey that really pissed me off, in which he said something along the lines of, "Someone has to write the next Harry Potter. Maybe it will be me." Okay, okay. Just stop there. There are so many things wrong with this picture. <br />
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First off, James Frey doesn't even write his own books. He uses (and abuses) ghostwriters. "His" YA book, I Am Number Four, is part of a plot to make unknown writers crank out books for him, so he can then market them to movie producers––which is why the book and movie versions of I Am Number Four came out at practically the exact same time. (I didn't see the movie, but I read the book. And yes, it was terrible.) Did he make a lot of money? Oh, sure. But to compare himself to J.K. Rowling ... ? Ugh. I just want to throw up. (If you don't know this already, Frey is also the author of A Million Little Pieces, a notorious memoir which turned out to be fictional. And he lied to Oprah. So, shows what a great guy he is.)<br />
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Has Harry Potter made a lot of money? Oh, heck yes. Tons and tons. Have Twilight and Hunger Games made a lot of money? Yes and yes.<br />
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I'm not talking about the quality of any of these books, or my personal enjoyment or opinion of them, but regarding the authors ... None of them were trying to set up an enormous money-making scheme. They were all authors who just wanted to write and share their stories––and, beyond their control, they became wildly popular. <br />
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But being popular and making money definitely don't automatically put you on the same level as Harry Potter. It ticks me off when people say Twilight and/or The Hunger Games are "the next Harry Potter", because the three series really aren't comparable. And not just because Harry Potter is evidently the most popular of the three. It's also that Harry Potter is a much more beloved series––and I suspect it will remain that way, while the craze over Twilight and The Hunger Games will probably fade over time. J.K. Rowling put a lot of time and effort into her series, which involved very careful planning, world-building, and detailing. It's rare that a YA book series is so critically acclaimed and reaches such a wide audience of people––and that its popularity can remain just as strong for more than a decade. If any YA author hopes to achieve such success, he/she will have to work just as hard. But more than that, he/she will have to be just as original.<br />
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What's sad is that so many YA authors seem to sit down and think, "Okay, what can I write that will make me more popular?" And when they struggle to be more popular, it shows. (Like how, when all the girls at school start wearing green hats, they don't look cool ... They look like copy cats.) As I said before, authors like J.K. Rowling, Stephenie Meyer, and Suzanne Collins did not intend to be trendsetters. It just worked out that way. They wrote stories because they wanted to, not because they were trying to imitate someone else, which is what made their books appealing to so many people.<br />
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So what I'm saying is, don't write something just because you think people will like it. Write your own story. Write what you love. Write about characters you care about. You have to be new and daring. You have to be the first girl to walk into school wearing a green hat.<br />
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Or else, well ... You're just going to look stupid.Brigid Gorry-Hineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15481935746189946137noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364337739890543904.post-26644028702053608102011-06-29T10:06:00.000-07:002011-06-29T10:06:00.875-07:00You know you're a writer when ...- In your dreams you think, "This would make an awesome story." (Although usually the dream is about something stupid, like talking zebras.)<br />
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- You look in bookstores/libraries for the place on the bookshelf where your book would be if it were published. (At my local library it'd be between a book called <i>A Taste for Quiet</i> and a collection of short stories called <i>Gothic!</i>)<br />
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- You say to your sister, "I need a stupid boyfriend name and a bunch of gay guy names" and she automatically gives suggestions without questioning.<br />
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- You're talking to your writer friend in public and say something like, "I don't know, I might kill him. I just have to think of a good way to do it." And then you realize the people around you don't know you're talking about a fictional person. <br />
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- When someone asks you, "So how's that book you're reading?" you give them a long speech analyzing the plot and characters that they really don't want to hear.<br />
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- ... But when someone asks you, "How's that book you're writing?" you respond by banging your head against the closest inanimate object––preferably against something large and solid like a wall or a table. Or you burst into tears. Or you do both.<br />
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- Whenever you watch movies/TV you're always on the lookout for actors/actresses who look like your characters. <br />
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- Your computer is full of documents containing stories, outlines, and character inventories.<br />
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- Everything inspires you––people, places, songs, books, movies, photographs, paintings, plants, animals ... Heck, LIFE inspires you!<br />
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- You write because you exist. <br />
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So, tell me. How else do you know you're a writer? :)Brigid Gorry-Hineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15481935746189946137noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364337739890543904.post-34283793020187009332011-06-26T10:10:00.000-07:002011-06-26T10:12:08.409-07:00Editing. It's all about letting go.I used to think editing was just about fixing typos, adding in a few more details here and there, and calling it a day. Ha!<br /><br />If anything, I've been taking things out of Walking Shadow, not adding them in. Originally, the manuscript was nearly 170,000 words long. Now it's a little under 98,000 words. That means I've taken out approximately 72,000 words, which is about the entire length of Unraveling (the shortest novel I've written). And I'm still word-chopping. Yikes.<br /><br />I used to think a bigger word count would make me look more impressive or something. The truth is, a huge word count makes you look unprofessional. It means you're afraid of editing and letting go.<br /><br />But you have to let go. You have to kill your darlings.<br /><br />Last year I tried querying Walking Shadow when it was still nearly 150,000 words long. (Oh God, what was I thinking?) The first time an agent suggested cutting it down to 100,000 words, I just about had a heart attack. Cut out 50,000 words? When I'd already cut out 20,000? NO WAY!<br /><br />But then I started reading through my manuscript again, and I realized there was a lot I could cut out––adverbs, dialogue tags, the hideous word "that", needless descriptions, telling instead of showing, statements of the obvious, etc. After going through the whole thing again, I managed to cut it down to about 99,000 words.<br /><br />And I'm still going. Recently I've been taking out 300-word chunks of my manuscript and chopping them down to about 250 words. This forces me to refine every sentence, reshaping them so that they have the same meaning but in fewer words.<br /><br />But editing is more than fixing typos and cutting out unneeded words ...<br /><br />This morning I cut an entire scene. It was a good 1,500 words or so. I'd been debating over whether to cut it out or not for a long time––because I always thought it was a fairly well-written scene ... but, well, it was a scene where the main character starts cutting herself, and in the end I decided it was too melodramatic and clichéd. Not only that, but it seemed uncharacteristic of her since she was kind of doing it over a boy, and I didn't want her to seem all whiney and pathetic. There are too many of those girls in YA literature these days, and I don't want Cassandra to be one of them.<br /><br />So that's something else important to think about when editing: creating meaning. What are you trying to say? What message are you conveying?<br /><br />Nothing is going to be perfect the first time you write it. The first time you write something, it's just like talking; you write whatever comes to mind. And like the brilliant Lemony Snicket once said, "If writers wrote as carelessly as some people talk, then al;dkfj;dsf;jsd."<br /><br />Okay, that didn't really have anything to do with anything. I just really, really like that quote.<br /><br />Anyway, if you want to read a longer rant of mine about editing, you can check out <a href="http://mylifeasateenagenovelist.blogspot.com/2010/07/wonderful-post-on-editing.html">this older post</a>.<br /><br />Anyone else have editing tips and/or methods? Please share!Brigid Gorry-Hineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15481935746189946137noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364337739890543904.post-85811235358971565112011-06-25T07:35:00.000-07:002011-06-25T08:19:45.490-07:00First Page Contest with Victoria MariniSo, here's what's up.<br /><br />Fellow blogger and YA writer Shelley Watters is hosting a contest on her blog, <a href="http://shelleywatters.blogspot.com/">"Is It Hot In Here Or Is It This Book?"</a>. The idea is, writers submit the first 250 words of their manuscripts, and the entries will be judged by literary agent Victoria Marini of the <a href="http://www.gelfmanschneider.com/index.html">Gelfman Schneider Literary Agency</a>. The winner will receive a full request from Victoria, as well as a partial critique. Victoria will also select runners-up, who will receive partial requests.<br /><br />Awesome, right?<br /><br />Full contest rules are <a href="http://shelleywatters.blogspot.com/2011/06/birthday-blowout-first-page-contest.html">here</a>.<br /><br />As part of the contest, writers are posting their entries on their blogs for critique. So, without further ado, here is my entry. Critique away!<br /><br />brigidrgh@gmail.com<br />Walking Shadow<br />YA Fantasy<br />99,000 words<br /><br />Everything is a lie––their faces, their words, the books on their desks, the clothes they wear. It's a barrier as fragile as a bubble. Underneath it, there is only emptiness.<br /><br />I know their fears, their secrets, the feelings they hide. I know their loneliness; it emanates from their minds, building from a whisper to a murmur to a scream that ricochets around in my skull.<br /><br />One of the shrieking souls is my own. I may not be normal, but I'm still human. I share their pain. On the inside, we're all screaming.<br /><br />But I've learned that I'm different. I accept the scathing mess of words their minds throw at me: <span style="font-style: italic;">freak, girl, freak, witch, goth, freak</span>. I don't care what they think, as long as they never know the truth. They can think I dyed my hair blood-red, that my reflective eyes are contacts. They can think I wear long sleeves because I cut myself, even though I'm hiding something very different from the furious red slashes they'd expect.<br /><br />I don't blame them. It's human to make judgments. If I had a choice, I would make them, too.<br /><br />Instead, I have to know everything about everyone––who hates who, who's sleeping with who, who's doing drugs, whose parents hit them. Thoughts and dreams and memories and fears all burst inside my head like fireworks … and someday, I won't be able to take it anymore.<br /><br />I never asked for this. I sure as hell never wanted it. My whole life, I've kept it inside. And it's killing me, crawling through my veins like a disease.<br /><br />How long before it takes over––before it takes me, like it took my mother?Brigid Gorry-Hineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15481935746189946137noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5364337739890543904.post-71328737819824640202011-06-24T07:55:00.000-07:002011-06-24T09:25:45.664-07:00What I learned from Query SharkIn case you've never heard of it, <a href="http://queryshark.blogspot.com/">Query Shark</a> is a wonderful blog created by literary agent Janet Reid. The idea is, writers send in their query letters, and some of them get critiqued on the blog. A literary agent critiquing query letters, you say?! Yes. Very useful stuff. It's an extremely helpful and eye-opening blog.<br /><br />Ms. Reid suggests reading through all the posts––which I did, and learned a lot of things about queries I didn't know. I recommend looking through the blog and reading all the posts if you have the time. But I figured that most people didn't have the time, so I thought I'd give an overview of the notes I took while I read through the blog. Some of these things I already knew, but others I'd never thought of before.<br /><br />I know I said I'd try to cut down on such lengthy posts, but, this one required a lot of detail. And trust me, I cut it down a LOT. A lot of stuff goes into query-writing.<br /><br />So, here we go. The rules of writing a good query letter.<br /><br />- Remember: the query letter should not only tell what the book is about, it should also show how well you write and how your professional you are.<br /><br />- DON'T put contact information at the top of the query letter, and don't include it in the query letter. Put it at the bottom, after you sign your name. (Include your full name, address, and phone number.)<br /><br />- Don't put your title at the top of the query letter. It will be included within the query letter.<br /><br />- Start off with a normal salutation. Not "Greetings!" or "Good evening!" Just plain old "Dear Mr./Ms. [agent's last name]. And NEVER "To Whom it May Concern" or "Dear Sir or Madam"; these just show you don't know who you're querying, and therefore you did not do your research.<br /><br />- Immediately get into the story. Don't start with an introductory paragraph; don't put the title and word count in the first paragraph. Put this information in the last paragraph. Agents seem to be split about this, but according to Ms. Reid, "A quick drop into cold water is EXACTLY how you want to start a novel (and thus a query.)" She says the very first word in the query should be the main character's name. Describe what he/she wants and what is preventing him/her from getting it.<br /><br />- Don't start with a log line––aka, a one-sentence summary of the entire plot.<br /><br />- Don't start your query with a quote or random fact. (i.e. "Did you know that a thousand elephants turn purple every year?" ... Obviously this is just an example, and not actually true.)<br /><br />- Don't start with a rhetorical question. (i.e. "Have you ever wondered what it feels like to be a purple elephant?")<br /><br />- Don't start with clichés. (i.e. "In a world ...")<br /><br />- Don't start off by saying what kind of agent you're looking for; if you're querying an agent, it's understood that said agent represents the genre of your book. (i.e. "I'm looking for an agent who represents fantasy.") Yes, it's good to personalize queries, but you should cite specific articles/blogs/interviews/etc., not just mention what genres the agent represents, because that's vague and impersonal.<br /><br />- Open with the important event, not with backstory. Don't start with a setting. Start with a character and an action/choice he/she must make. Also, don't start with a clause rather than the subject. (i.e. "Prancing through the daisy fields one day, Mary Sue makes an unexpected discovery.")<br /><br />- Don't quote the book in the query letter.<br /><br />- Make it clear who the main character is; don't mention too many characters, or it becomes too confusing. Focus on one or two characters; mentioning three or more characters is pushing it. Query Shark says, "Think of characters as headgear. One thing on your head is fine, two might work, and but three is too many. Plus three and you're past calling the Fashion Police, we're calling the guys with nets."<br /><br />- Don't put the names of characters in ALL CAPS or put their ages in brackets; that's the format for scripts, not for query letters.<br /><br />- Don't write in first person point of view of your characters. Avoid this and all other gimmicks. To an agent, a gimmicky query signifies crap writing; that is, you have to write a "quirky" query because your book is not good enough to speak for itself.<br /><br />- No second or first person in the plot summary. Don't use "I". Don't use "we". As the Query Shark herself says, "There is no 'we' in querying, much like there is no crying in baseball."<br /><br />- Make the main character sound like someone the reader can sympathize with, even if he/she is not a "good" person. If his/her motivations just don't make sense, the agent will lose interest. And if you can't make the motivations make sense, there might be something wrong with more than just your query; there could be something wrong with your book.<br /><br />- The reader of the query should feel a connection to the main character. You have to do more than tell "what" the main is. (i.e. "Mary Sue is a teenage girl.") You have to show what the main character is like. (And I mean <span style="font-style: italic;">show</span>, don't tell! Don't write, "Mary Sue is a very determined person." It should show, through her actions, that she is determined.) But don't spend too long describing what your main character is like. The letter is primarily focused on plot.<br /><br />- Show and don't tell, and be specific.<br /><br />- Only mention characters' choices if they are relevant to the central plot.<br /><br />- Focus on the plot in the query letter. If you can't describe an actual plot, then there is something wrong with the novel itself.<br /><br />- Sense of stakes and sense of choice are important. What choice does the protagonist have to make, and what consequences will follow?<br /><br />- Basic form of the plot summary, provided by Query Shark: - Basic form provided by QS: "What does the protagonist want? What's keeping him/her from getting it? What choice/decision does he/she face? What terrible thing will happen if he chooses ____; what terrible thing will happen if he doesn't." OR "The main character must decide whether to ____. If s/he decides to do (this), the consequences/outcome/peril s/he faces are ____. If s/he decides NOT to do this: the consequences/outcome/peril s/he faces are ____." And don't just fill in the blanks; use it as an outline to get your information in the proper order. Don't give a list of events.<br /><br />- Entice readers with what happens at the start of the book, not the end. That is to say, don't give an entire plot summary and definitely don't give away the ending.<br /><br />- Keep it short and sweet, but long enough that the agent feels a bit of a connection with the main character (that is, understands why readers might sympathize with the main character). It should have a clear sense of voice.<br /><br />- Story comes first. Don't sound as if you're trying hard to make a point or convey a certain message.<br /><br />- Don't put random words in quotes. Query Shark says, "Quotes imply something is NOT what you say it is. Example: Oh yes, Cruella DeVill is a real 'dog lover'."<br /><br />- Write in present tense, and don't switch tenses!<br /><br />- Don't use showy, overcomplicated writing. Write in short, declarative sentences. Start by writing sentences that are 10 words or fewer, then revise into longer sentences only for the sake of clarity. Avoid rambling, jumbled sentences. And try not to use metaphors.<br /><br />- Write the title in ALL CAPS (not in italics or underlined or anything like that) and try to avoid punctuation in the title besides commas. Don't say your book is "named" anything. It is either "called" or "titled". Also, do some research and make sure your title is not too similar to other popular titles.<br /><br />- Read a lot of books in the category you're writing in; understand the audience. Make sure you know your genre. For example, YA books have teen protagonists. If your book does not have teen protagonists, don't call it YA––especially if you just want in on the YA market because it's hot right now.<br /><br />- Genres should be one or two words, no more. Don't say your book is a "paranormal romance thriller", for example––choose either "paranormal romance" or "thriller".<br /><br />- Don't say your full manuscript is "complete" or "immediately available"; it's expected that if you are querying, your manuscript is complete and available.<br /><br />- Agents are skeptical from the start with unusual word counts. It varies based on genre. But generally, under 70,000 words is probably too short, and more than 100,000 words is probably too long. Some agents might even auto-reject based on word count alone. So before you start querying, check out your word count. You might not be done editing.<br /><br />- Don't try to excuse or justify your word count. (i.e. "I know it's long, but ...")<br /><br />- Writing credit has to be relevant. Publication is writing credit; nothing else is. Writing for your school newspaper and such is not enough. If you don't have any credit, it's fine. But don't struggle to make it sound as if you do. If you have none, don't mention anything, and don't tell the agent that you are inexperienced.<br /><br />- Don't mention self-published or vanity-published books. Like it or not, agents generally don't respect self-publishing.<br /><br />- You don't need to be qualified to write a novel; that is, you don't have to go through the same things as your characters in order to write about them.<br /><br />- Don't tell the reader what your book will make them think or how it will affect them. And don't make your novel sound like a self-help book. That is, don't talk about how much it will "empower" readers.<br /><br />- Don't compliment your own book. Query Shark says, "Telling me your novel is an altogether soaring tale is like telling me your kid is good-looking. I'm sure you believe it (I hope you do in fact) but I'm not going to believe you until I've seen the kid myself. In other words: show me, don't tell me."<br /><br />- Don't mention test/beta readers. Sorry, but the agent really doesn't care what they think.<br /><br />- Don't say how you think/hope readers will respond to your work. Don't say your book will appeal to both male and female readers. You don't actually know these things.<br /><br />- Don't compare your book to other books; that's someone else's job.<br /><br />- Don't say your book is part of a series––or if you must, say it's part of a "potential" series. Saying you've written a series makes the agent think you've written several "okay" books; it makes you sound less focused on revising one, good novel.<br /><br />- Don't write about how your own story makes you feel, or about how attached you've become to your own characters. You think it will show the agent how passionate you are, but instead it makes the agent think you will take rejection too personally and that you are not a serious writer who will be willing to make revisions.<br /><br />- Never offer exclusivity. And you don't really want exclusivity, either. It's best to query widely.<br /><br />- Don't "recap" at the end of the query. It's not an essay, so you don't need a "concluding paragraph". Never repeat what you've already said.<br /><br />- Don't dismiss yourself. Don't say you would be "humbled" if the agent asked to see your novel, etc. Just a plain old, "Thank you for your time and consideration" will do.<br /><br />- NEVER, NEVER attach materials unless it's in the agent's guidelines to do so. Copy and paste excerpts, synopses, etc. into the body of the email. Attaching anything might make the letter end up in the agent's spam folder. Also, agents just plain don't want to have to open anything.<br /><br />- Proofread. Don't misspell anything. Have other people proofread your query to make sure there are no stupid mistakes. Or at least read your query out loud to yourself a few times.<br /><br />- Keep queries short but not too short. Around 250 words is a good length.<br /><br />- Cut down your word count as much as possible. Start off by taking out all the uses of the word "that" which you don't need. Then change all the instances of "was [verb]-ing" to "[verb]ed" and you'll probably cut out a few thousand words. (Use Ctrl+F, aka "find") Take out adjectives and adverbs.<br /><br />- Never use emoticons in queries. Ever. :)<br /><br />- Only use plain text. No italics, no bold, no underlining. No weird fonts. No weird colors.<br /><br />- Don't send in a huge-ass block of text. There should be double spaces between paragraphs, and there should be about 3-4 paragraphs, with the plot summary being the longest one. Make sure there is a lot of white space. Query Shark says, "White space is CRUCIAL."<br /><br />- For e-queries, don't use weird subject lines. Include the word "Query" and your book's title in the subject line. Email to different email platforms to make sure the letter doesn't show up in a weird color.<br /><br /><br />Well, folks, that's about it. Of course, you don't necessarily need to follow all these rules, and sometimes breaking them might work in certain cases. This is just a general guide. I know it's overwhelming, but after drafting your query a few times you'll realize it may not be bad at it seems. I wish you luck!<br /><br />As always, I appreciate your feedback. So if you thought this was helpful, or you have any comments/questions, let me know! :)Brigid Gorry-Hineshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15481935746189946137noreply@blogger.com17