Category: Writing

The Makings of a Great Young Adult Fantasy Novel | Learning from ‘Six of Crows’

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Author Leigh Bardugo

This post is spoiler free.

Bardugo’s writing is original and fresh with fast paced plots, sharp dialogue, dynamic characters and an abundance of conflict. Boy, can she can write! By studying her work, I can only hope that my writing will improve. Even if it doesn’t, I’ve still found an awesome fantasy author.

Genre – Young Adult Fantasy

Back of the Book Quote

SIX DANGEROUS OUTCASTS
ONE IMPOSSIBLE HEIST

The Ice Court had been built to withstand an onslaught of armies, assassins, Grisha, and spies. When Inej said as much to Kaz, he simply replied, “But it hasn’t been built to keep us out.”

His confidence unnerved her, “What makes you think we can do this? There will be other teams out there, trained soldiers and spies, people with years of experience.”

“This isn’t a job for trained soldiers and spies. It’s a job for thugs and thieves.”

This selection sets the tone for the book. You are told that the protagonists are up against impossible odds, and have the added disadvantage of belonging to the underbelly of society. But Kaz is the type of guy who can use these perceived deficits to their advantage by having the attitude, the right skills, and the element of surprise to succeed. Continue reading →

Steps to Writing & Self-Publishing a Book

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This is an update to a post I wrote on January 17 called On Step 4 of a Stairway to Heaven… or Space. A strange title for a post, yes. The reason I named it that was because I am not sure of my final destination. I know I am traveling, but who knows where I am going?

Steps in old town

Image via Andrew Griffith Flickr Creative Commons

I am hoping heaven. This would mean my book will be published, marketed well enough that more than just my family and friends buy it, and hopefully people love it–or at least don’t want to throw it out the window and run over it with a lawnmower.

The other destination could be some black hole where none of the aforementioned awesomeness happens.

I’ve made some progress in the ‘heaven’ direction–yay for me–I no longer feel like I am climbing the wrong staircase and will end up lost in space. (I’ve read The Martian by Andy Weir, and I tell you, being lost in space sounds worse than sitting through a small town theater production of Hamlet–the extended version. Ok, so some of you probably love Hamlet and/or small town theater, but I really, really don’t… so it would be very painful for me.)

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Where Do Book Ideas Come From?

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Since I’ve let people know that I’ve written a book — which I am currently revising, endlessly, it seems — people who I would never have thought would have any interest in sitting down to write a book have revealed their book ideas to me.  And usually, their ideas originate from what they are passionate about or an injustice they’ve experienced. Always, it has an educational component to it, they want to pass on knowledge they’ve acquired.

My book idea came from a passion of mine. If you know me well, you will not be surprised to hear what it is: the environment and the animals that live within it.

Photo: MARKOVICH PHOTO ART
Photo: MARKOVICH PHOTO ART
SONY DSC

Photos: MARKOVICH PHOTO ART

I am a strong advocate for the environment. So much so that I have only taken jobs that work to protect it. I am an engineer that specializes in the treatment of wastewater, and I have been in this field for over 20 years.

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WFNS Competition Review of My Debut YA Fantasy Novel!

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I’m flying a little high right now.

I submitted my debut young adult fantasy novel to the Writers’ Federation of Nova Scotia for their Atlantic Writing Competition for Unpublished Manuscripts at the beginning of January. Don’t get too excited for me. I didn’t win or anything and I don’t expect to. They have announced the shortlist for all of the categories except the young adult competition (not enough applicants). The winners, including the one for the young adult category, will be announced in May. [Update: I didn’t win.]

One of the reasons I entered was because they provide an assessment of your writing based on the first 80 pages of your work.

The person who assessed my writing found plenty of things that I need to fix, which were not a surprise since I’ve had similar comments from my critiquers on Scribophile. (You can read about my amazing experience on that site here.) So I’ve been working on fixing those things the reviewer mentioned since I submitted my manuscript in January.

But I wanted to share the reason that I am flying high. The reviewers are only required to read the first 80 pages of the novel. Here is what my reviewer wrote at the end of the assessment:

The story hangs together well and is a fun adventure to read. I couldn’t stop reading it, and really enjoyed the twists and turns. I can see a series of these stories – Reviewer for the Atlantic Writing Competition for Unpublished Manuscripts

Did you see that?  THE REVIEWER COULDN’T STOP READING IT!

Woohoo! I am doing something right!  The other beautiful things the reviewer said:

A well-plotted and involving adventure story, with endearing and well-drawn characters and an exciting story arc.

*I drop the mike and walk off the stage*

Why Do I Write? I Already Have a Job…

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Image “Write” above via Carmen Kynard Flickr Creative Commons

Below are some ramblings about why I write. I wrote it more for myself than for anyone else. It is a reminder for when I get stressed about the parts of writing that don’t matter in the end. When I started writing — only seriously for the last year — my life changed for the better. I am one of those people that thrive on feeling a sense of accomplishment, of continually learning something new. And writing has fulfilled that need.

SmallLogo[1]

When I start to worry about selling the book, I lose all that I’ve gained from writing a book in the first place. I’ve learned so much about myself and my passions in the last year or so. This journey is not about the end goal, it is about my jumping out of bed on weekends to work on something that brings joy and a sense of achievement to my life.

If I get bogged down worrying about what will sell and what won’t, I’ll lose all sense of what I want to convey to my reader. And if only one reader ‘gets it’ then I’ll be happy. My end goal isn’t to be a bestselling author since it is highly unlikely. My end goal is to be happy, to spend time doing something that I’ve always enjoyed doing. Putting my thoughts down on paper and learning how to do it better.

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Middle Grade or Young Adult?

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What is the difference between a middle grade book and a young adult book? I researched several websites, one of which surveyed editors and agents who work with both Middle Grade (MG) and Young Adult (YA) writers to find the answers.

I summarized the findings and compared it to my novel to see where my fantasy novel would fit.

 

Middle Grade

Young Adult

My Book
Age of Reader 8 to 12 13+ Not entirely sure…
Word Count Up to 60,000 60,000+ Currently 82,000 but still editing
Age of Protagonist 10 to 13 14 to 18 13
Point of View Third First Third
Protagonist’s Concerns Own experience Others as well as themselves Others as well as herself
Inciting Element Single inciting element that throws their world into chaos Find out world is more complex than they thought Finds out world is more complex than she thought
Romance Does not play a large part in the plot; first kiss Takes up much more of the story; can involve sex Plays a small part in the story; first kiss

There is some overlap in the readers ages since some novels with milder plots and a 14 year-old main character could appeal to middle grade reader even though it would be classified as YA in the chart above.

The story line of middle grade protagonists tend to focus on what happens to them than with internal growth. Young adult story lines are more complex and generally have a character arc that shows how the events in the novel changed their attitudes and thinking.

AmyMessere Flickr Creative Commons

Image via Amy Messere Flickr Creative Commons

Taboo Content?

Most of the editors and agents surveyed agreed that no topic is taboo, whether it is sex, drugs, violence, domestic abuse or any other risque subjects.

What is important is how the subject matter is handled. A middle grade novel should not contain any graphic descriptions, but shouldn’t avoid difficult material either.

In fact, young people can use books as a safe way to explore these sensitive or edgy subjects.

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Trouble With Your Plot? Three Reasons to Kill Your Little Darlings

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I’m glad Kristen isn’t talking about my real darlings… but sometimes it is just as painful. But only for a short while, until I see how it improves the manuscript.  Her post is below.  Enjoy!

 

As writers, we are at risk of falling in love with our own cleverness. The “cool” idea, the super amazing mind-blowing twist at the end. We get so caught up in how smart we are that we fail to see that we are our own worst enemy.

https://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/2016/03/30/trouble-with-your-plot-three-reasons-to-kill-your-little-darlings/

Wattpad vs FictionPress vs Figment

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Writing Community Sites

If you are wondering if you should post chapters of your novel on Wattpad or FictionPress or Figment, there is a site that compares the metrics of the domains.  You can find the comparison between:

  • Wattpad versus FictionPress here; and,
  • Wattpad versus Figment here.

From the metrics, it is obvious that Wattpad gets much more traffic.  Wattpad gets over 650,000 visitors a day compared to FictionPress’s 16,000 to Figment’s 5000.

These three sites are very different from Scribophile — you can read about my very positive experience with Scribophile here.

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This Post Is All About Me… and My Plants

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My posts for this blog will usually be about me… and if you ask my husband, he’ll tell you that is no different than our everyday life.  But let me tell you my reasons for this.  I am no expert on writing, publishing, grammar and etcetera.  I know that you can get better info on those things from somewhere else.

In fact, because I am editing my book right now, grammar, especially commas, are the bane of my existence… well, my plants are too.  Why do they need water all the time?  Ever since I’ve gotten it into my head to complete this novel and publish, I’ve let my plants fend for themselves.  Since they can’t, most of them end up dying a slow, lingering death.

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How Scribophile Can Help Your Manuscript

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Looking for Feedback in All the Wrong Places

I have a beta reader who gives me great feedback on the overall scope, characters, plot and pacing of my manuscript.  But it is always a good idea to get as many different points of view as possible.  So I went on a hunt for more beta readers, particularly those who can give me suggestions on the technical side of writing, such as sentence structure and grammar.

On some of the sites that I checked out, the feedback consisted of ‘good book’ or ‘I liked it’.

Ummm… thanks but that’s a little vague.  Are you just here to read books for free?

I need feedback from writers that are better than me, writers that can teach me things.

Hitting the Motherlode

I found Scribophile at the end of December.  It has helped me connect with some really good writers from all over the world, who have taught me how to become a better writer.  And everyone is super welcoming!

If you are a writer and you haven’t heard of Scribophile, I need to tell you about it and you need to listen.

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