The key to believable sacrifice.

By Laura

I won’t blame you at all if on Wednesday you saw my ultimate sacrifice as trivial. You might have thought, just another female afraid of rodents.

 But that’s because you don’t know the whole story.

 Key music and strange colors as we travel back in time.

 I’m single. Twenty three year old. Working at my first job teaching second grade. And I live alone for my first time ever. In the apartment from hell. (Literally)

 The freezer still needs to be defrosted. Tiny kitchen. I’m lucky to even have a bathtub.

 A mouse decides to move in with me. He’s a daring mouse. He walks across the floor in the middle of the day while I’m correcting papers at my table. Often. I wear snow boots around my apartment. All. The. Time.

 And at night, I pile up whatever I can find at the doorway of my kitchen, so he can’t sneak into my bedroom.

 One afternoon, I spot him. I call my neighbor. “Jim, I see him!”

 Jim comes over with a broom and pokes around; but of course, the mouse is gone. I call Jim many times. Poor guy. But he has a good story to share at work. I’m sure.

 I set mousetraps. Jim sets mousetraps. The peanut butter is licked off. I set glue traps to find it halfway across the floor with fur still on it. Jim sets more traps. I find part of a foot in the trap. The mouse chewed his foot off to escape. And don’t you dare feel bad.

 Neighbors give me a barn cat. The cat can’t contract its claws. I have to wear thick clothing all the time. He meows all night. He knows I don’t like him. I think he has red eyes.

 I am terrified of a mouse with no fear. He stalks me. On purpose. I am only safe in my classroom. I creep around my apartment, my heart thumping.

 But through out all the insanity, I indulge in a hot bath. A lot. I’m safe in the tub.

 One evening, I start my bath water. I take a nice long soak. I get out, hum a little tune, and slip into my bathrobe. My hair in a towel.

 And the mouse slips into the tub. I scream. But in my extreme panic, I know I’ve got it cornered. I don’t want to lose it, so I point the spray nozzle at him, so he can’t crawl out. I get too close and he tries to jump onto the nozzle to escape. I scream again.

 I call Jim. Jim takes of the mouse. Except, it’s not a mouse.

 It’s a mole.

 And he entered my apartment through a tiny hole next to my bathtub. He could have braided my hair while I bathed.

 I lived in the apartment from hell three years. And every fall, mice invaded. Now that you understand the backstory, maybe you can appreciate my sacrifice in letting my son have a pet gerbil.

 The key to believable sacrifice is in the back story and/or events leading up to the sacrifice.

 (And by the way, Jim is now my father in law.)

Posted in Random, Writing on September 3, 2010 – 6:00 am | Comments (11)
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Sacrifice to the utmost degree (something I love in books).

By Laura

A good sacrifice cuts right to the heart. And I don’t mean a blood sacrifice (for those of you that know I wrote a book based on the Maya). I mean when someone takes the blame or the pain for someone they care about. If it’s done right – I’ll be a fan forever.

Ever since my kids’ school installed Pet Day every June (And no I’m not holding any resentment against them for this. Really.), my kids have wanted a pet. They were fine and dandy before. My daughter is allergic to cats and dogs, so typical pets were out of the question.

They had pet rocks. (Didn’t really work that well.) When they suggested outrageous pets like snakes or sharks, it was an easy, “No.” And it was a topic of conversation I avoided.

Ah, but then my son. He persisted. And he was polite. He asked and asked and asked. He got books out at the libary on gerbils. He became an expert. Hey, his friend had a couple gerbils, so he had it on good word, that gerbils were good pets.

But, I persisted I said, “No way!”

And then a friend at church caught wind of my son’s desire for a gerbil (he probably put his wishes on the prayer chain). And she gave us her old gerbil cage with shavings. (Oh, yay)

And then, my husband gave in. He promised my son a gerbil by the end of the summer.

And the wonderful, supportive mother that I am said, “Fine. But I’m having nothing to do with it. I’m not touching it. I’m not cleaning out its cage. I’m not going to think it’s cute. I won’t be the one to drive to the pet store to pick it up.”  (And I almost said, “And if it dies, I’ll throw a party.” But I didn’t want to scar my son forever.)

And so, we got a gerbil.

And it was the ultimate sacrifice. 

And sorry, no pictures of the cute gerbil. I swore an oath not to have any pictures of rodents on my blog. Ever. (Sorry Hilary.  I’m still looking forward to Nightshade City.)

What sacrifices do you remember from books? What do you think is key to making it believable?

Posted in Random on September 1, 2010 – 6:00 am | Comments (17)
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Mockingjay is not a video game.

By Laura

On twitter and blogs – a lot of people have finished Mockingjay and loved it. But I’m getting the impression that it’s not a happy ending and parts might be disturbing. 

I don’t remember the issue of violence coming up after Hunger Games or Catching Fire came out. Not like this.

Nathan Bransford blogged about violence in children’s lit last week. Go read some of the comments. They were great. I particularly liked the comment pointing out that even though Mockingjay has violence, Suzanne Collins is clearly against war. And I think that makes the difference. War and violence is not glorified. This book is not a video game.

Suzie Townsend also blogged about it.

For me, violence and sex in children’s lit. is not really about the violence and sex. It’s about execution. And the context. It’s about the emotional impact behind the acts. It’s about the characters and how they deal with it.

Considering  The Hunger Games Trilogy is based during war, the violence is necessary. It is not trivialized or thrown in to be gimmicky. And the characters deal with the emotional consequences.

Some books without the actual violence but a main character filled with anger  and unhealthy responses can be more harmful/upsetting.

Some books without sex but a main character obsessed with love to the exclusion of friends and family is more unhealthy.

What do you think?

Posted in Writing, book reviews on August 30, 2010 – 6:00 am | Comments (17)
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Freeze pops and world building.

By Laura

World building. Books and blog posts have been devoted to world building. It’s important, not just in high fantasy novels but in contemporary work too.

World building affects your story logic. And if you have faulty story logic…you’ll be rewriting.

So, knowing all this as a writer, when I told my son, “You can have a freeze pop any time of the day, but you can only have three per day.” – I should have written down the rules in stone. (In my defense, I was really tired of being asked if he could have a freeze pop, and really, it doesn’t matter when he eats one.)

What I didn’t expect:

  • That he’d eat three in a row.
  • That he’d eat one before breakfast.
  • That he’d eat one right before dinner.
  • That the freeze pop could be eaten along with dessert but not count as dessert.
  • Roll over. If we were gone for the day, it meant he could have six the next day.

So, go check your world building. Ask the questions. Or you’ll pay the price later. Just like I did.

What are the questions? I’m sure there are lots of great questions about world building. But two big issues stick out for me.

Consistency: Make sure the same rules apply to all characters in all situations through out your story. No cheating.

Motivation: What is the motivation behind a world building rule? Use common sense. Don’t create a rule just to make something easier for your plot.

Tell the truth – Have you ever made a decision as a parent and not thought through the consequences? Or, what are some good world building questions you’ve learned? (By the way, I don’t regret telling my son he could have a freeze pop any time of the day because it still made my summer a whole lot easier! I just should have added some disclaimers.)

Posted in Random, Writing on August 27, 2010 – 6:00 am | Comments (18)
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How I Write: The big black hole (or an open post)

By Laura

(Click here for a list of participating writers)

What? I have to think up an idea for today’s How I Write post? Okay, fine.

I want to talk about the nitty gritty. The bleeding eyeball work known as revision. Not macro. Not rewrites. Not adjusting your plot arc, or character arc, or deleting a scene. Think smaller.

I’m talking sentences and words. Just as beginner writers aren’t sure how to approach revision, some might not be aware of the art of fine tuning the words on the page. (I’m still a student of crafting sentences that impact your story and character, and probably always will be. I don’t think it ever ends.)

I’ve mentioned Margie Lawson. Her courses are not about plot but about the sentences. And how to write sentences that impact your story. And today, Ansha is covering Margie’s classes more in depth. So hop on over, and then check out Margie’s online courses (or self-paced packets) – if you are looking to improve the power behind your sentences.

Thanks to Ansha for creating this summer writing series that forced all of us to really examine our writing process! She put a lot of work behind coming up with the post ideas, recruiting writers, creating the banner, and uniting all of us. Thanks Ansha! And thanks to all the participating writers. I loved learning from all of you!

Tell the truth time – how many of you truly examine every sentence and paragraph in the final steps of your revision process? Or do you just do a read through for awkward and poorly written ones?

Posted in How I Write on August 25, 2010 – 6:00 am | Comments (12)
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So what makes a character funny?

By Laura

And this seems to be the trick question.

There are funny characters and then there are funny stories and because you have one doesn’t mean you have the other. And funny situations/premises are easier to write than creating a character that pops on the page and makes the reader laugh.

Here are some of the pitfalls a writer could fall into when writing a funny character:

  • It’s only knee deep (as in cracking jokes) and the funny seems forced.
  • Too much funny and not enough heart and the funny falls flat.
  • Adding quirks (as in dress or mannerisms) just makes a character quacky.
  • As with everything, if the funny is not intrinsic to the story then it’s just fluff.

I have noticed one thing about some comedians. Behind all the jokes, laughter, and funny is a world of hurt. (Okay, maybe not always, but often.) Cracking jokes and making people laugh usually covers the broken soul inside. Funny is a great self-defense mechanism and a way to avoid talking about the real issues, the real hurt. And that might be a great way to add heart to your funny character.

Thanks for some great comments on my post last Friday, Bring on the Funny Girls. My commenters came to some great conclusions. Does it really matter which sex writes a funny character? Well, no. I just found it extremely interesting that not many males write funny girl protags, just female side kicks and secondary characters.

So, today, instead of listing characters you found funny; go deeper, and tell me why they were funny.

Posted in writing funny on August 23, 2010 – 6:00 am | Comments (16)
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Bring on the funny girls.

By Laura

Okay, you’ve all heard of the rockin’  blog, A Fuse #8 Production, right? So, this blog post is a direct product of this post here. Go and read it and then come back. I’ll wait with a cup of coffee. I promise.

Floored, right? I kinda was. Especially when not even her commenters could come up with one funny main character girl, preferably middle grade, written by a male. There are some funny side kick girls, but that’s not the same thing.

Wow. This just made me think. And I’m still thinking about it.

Funny girls. Read most agent websites and they want funny. Funny is great. Funny is hard. Funny can’t be forced the way some emotion can.

A girl sense of funny is totally different than a boy sense of funny. I’m a girl, so I’m speaking on good authority here. I want funny with lots of heart to back it up. I love physical humor, but I want more than that. Wit. Sarcasm. Dry humor. Situational humor. Hyperbole. Suprises. All of that kind of funny makes me smile and sometimes laugh out loud.

Many of the realistic mg for girls that I’ve read are about moving and new friends and losing friends. (And that’s okay because some girls like to read about that stuff to know they are not the only one to lose a friend. sniff sniff.) And there might be some funny situations but not as many funny girls. And there is a difference, don’t you think?

Clementine is a funny girl. How she interprets the world and her relationships are funny. Plus, there are humorous situations in the book. But, it’s written by a girl, Sara Pennypacker. Sigh.

Okay, Jon Scieszka, (why do authors have such tough names to spell? What happened to authors like John smith or Ray Grant. Come on.) I think you’ve been given a challenge. But I doubt he’ll be interested since he’s all about getting Guys to Read. But who knows, maybe some day…

Oh, and here’s a post from WriteonCon by Rachel Hawkins about her funny writing and don’t be afraid to ‘bring on the funny’!! I think just about every post I have, I could link back to WriteonCon. Seriously.

So, what’s the funniest book you’ve read? What do you find funny? And do you know any boys that write funny girls? Or girls that write funny boys? How different is a boy vs girl sense of funny. (See this is just a sampling of all my thoughts created by one blog post – kinda cool.)

Posted in Writing on August 20, 2010 – 6:00 am | Comments (6)
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How I Write: How to grow in craft between novels.

By Laura

Forget about between novels! How about between first draft and revising? And revising again. And throw in a total rewrite! How do we make sure we’re bringing something new to the table keyboard.

Write. Write. Write.

Pretty vague, huh? I think so too. More specifically: free writing, journal writing, writing exercises, writing prompts, letters or diaries from your main character - nothing can take the place of real writing.

Read. Read. Read.

Again, kinda vague. I read a lot too but it wasn’t necessarily improving my craft by leaps and bounds. But there are a few, okay more than a few, books that increased my knowledge of putting words to paper so people want to read them.

Drum roll, please. Or not.

  • Self Editing for Fiction Writers by Browne and King (Packed full of good stuff esp. for newbie writers and great reminders for the more experienced.)
  • Story by Robert McKee (OMG Totally awesome! It’s a book filled with screen writing tips and those seem to be the best kind. A bit technical – but loaded with storytelling basics!)
  • Writing the Breakout Novel by Donald Maass (Clearly he is the guru of writing craft books, even though I consistently forget the second ‘s’ in his last name. Sorry Mr. Maass. From tension to conflict to characters to making your writing BIG – this is a great resource)
  • Fire in Fiction by Donald Maass. (As an experienced writer I didn’t get as much from the entire book. But there were a couple chapters on scenes and micro tension that made it worth it. In fact, one chapter steered my revision process in a completetly new way.)
  • Scene and Structure by Jack Bickham (This book doesn’t seem to get mentioned a lot. But it breaks down how to use the scene and sequel for pacing. And pacing is a huge reason manuscripts get rejected. - okay I don’t know the break down of why manuscripts get rejected for sure, but it seems pacing can be a bugger.) 

Did you know Jody Hedlund has a page listing books on craft? Check it out. I have to pick and choose which craft books to read or I’d never write.

And this wonderfully interesting amazing post on craft books and classes I’ve taken (not many) would not be complete without mentioning Margie Lawson. I purchased her packet for Empowering Characters’ Emotions and her Deep Edits system. Both worth it. You will be a better writer after her courses.

And, let’s see how many other things I can throw at you. Along with the read, read, read thing is the ’read and break down, read and break down’ thing. Learning by breaking down published books. Check out Alexandra Sokoloff for details. And check out my post on Dissecting Frogs on the topic.

So, wow, about 400 words later, it’s time to wrap this baby up. What do you do in the inbetween to make sure you are growing as a writer?

Posted in How I Write on August 18, 2010 – 6:00 am | Comments (21)
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Magical library stacks and the future.

By Laura

In the future, I would like magical library stacks.

 So, in the summer, when craziness hits like a sudden rainstorm, and my kids are bickering playing nicely hand in hand; and I’m exhausted full of energy from driving everywhere, swimming at the lake, and visiting with friends – I can escape.

Like magic, library stacks would branch off of my kitchen. With an aisle long enough to be separated from the chaos, and the Super Nanny would guard the entranceway and entertain my children with educational games. The stacks would be filled with the perfect research books for my current project. And candlelight, would light my path, except these candles would never burn out or fall over.

And at the end of the aisle would be the perfect hideaway writing nook. A computer would sit on a low shelf that would never grow dusty. A small fridge would be right near by to store cool drinks and snacks. Soft, shimmery curtains would cover the window, so I could let in natural light. And the ocean would be right outside so the salt air and cool breeze would refresh my senses. And, just in case my kids managed to sneak past Super Nanny, they could climb out the window and splash in the waves. And I might join them.

And in the winter, a pot-bellied stove that continually burned would be tucked away in the corner, next to a big oversized stuffed armchair. And other library stacks would branch off mine, filled with the latest arcs and new releases.

I could add extra features like a private masseur, who also works as a professional editor, and he would peek over my shoulder and offer advice at just the right times. But I don’t want to be unrealistic.

So, what would you add to the magical library stacks? Did I miss anything crucial?

Posted in Random on August 16, 2010 – 7:00 am | Comments (12)
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Writeoncon! Rockon! (A thanks and my personal highlights)

By Laura

Humongous thanks and a big basketful of confetti and a time slot on the Morning Show and a life time supply of chocolate for the founders of WriteonCon! Jamie Harrington, Elana Johnson, Casey McCormick, Shannon Messenger, Lisa and Laura Roecker, and Jennifer Stayrook. Find out more about them here. Seriously, this website will become the new go-to for writers. Thank you for all your hard work behind the scenes.

Also, a huge thanks to all the editors and agents who volunteered their time to present! Find out more about them here. And thank you to the authors/writers who presented!

Phew! I had to get that off my chest.

Reasons I loved WriteonCon:

  • I could “attend” all the workshops and didn’t have to choose!
  • I wore my jammies and didn’t have to put on any make up.
  • Hopefully, the material will be online forever, instead of just on some handouts or scribbled notes.
  • The organizers did a super job making sure there was something for everyone! And I loved that.
  • Um, I didn’t have to pay? Yeah, that’s a good one.

A few of my personal favorite moments and take aways: (this is according to what I write and what I’m interested in – all the presentations were awesome. But I just don’t write picture books (Not yet) or illustrate (Never).

  • The vlog of Myths and Misconceptions by Holly Root, Molly O’Neil, and Marth Mihalick. Must see.
  • The live chat with Suzie Townsend.
  • Writing a query letter with Jodi Meadows.
  • Query crits with Joanna Volpe.
  • Plot and pacing with Weronika Janczuk (I was in plotting heaven!) (And yes, I had to check about four times to make sure I spelled her name right.)
  • Vlog by Lindsey Leavitt. (Hilarious!)
  • Writing dialogue with Tom Leveen.
  • An Editor’s process of choosing with Martha Mihalick.
  • Vlog with Mary Kole on Avoiding Stereotypical Characters.
  • Author branding with Shelli Johannes Wells
  • First Five Pages with Kathleen Ortiz (lots to be learned).
  • Live workshop with Regina Brooks.
  • Any of the live chats or panels with agents and editors. Especially if you are researching agents to query.

As you can tell and see through twitter and blogs, Writeoncon totally rocked the blogosphere.

Which workshop or presentation did you enjoy? What stayed with you? (Some comments and topics stayed with me but that’s for another time.)

Posted in Query letters, Writing, social media, three dimensional characters on August 13, 2010 – 6:00 am | Comments (13)
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