Did I Write That?

When I read something I wrote a while back, it amazes me that sometimes I’m not completely sure I was really the one who wrote it.

Does this happen to you?  You get lost in the writing and think, “Oh, good point” or “Oh, I like that” and then it hits you that YOU wrote it.  Of course, this is the point of setting your writing aside to come back to it with fresh eyes.  I just find it funny every time it happens.  And on the other hand, it makes me happy that I wrote something I still enjoy reading, even years later.

This past year, I took an online class about showing versus telling in which we had to write several exercises.  The first was to show the same scene from two different points of view and the second was to use the senses to show the setting.  I found them recently, so here’s to looking at them with fresh eyes.

***

POV 1- This time I went for a little more force when I shoved him against that locker. It made him wince, but I stood tough with my chest out and my chin up high. I hoped the right people were watching- the ones that would cheer me on, not the ones that would try to tell me it was wrong. When he didn’t have my money ready, I clenched my fists, and then I shoved him again.

POV 2- My head hit the locker, harder this time, and he leaned in close to my face. I could feel the fear rushing through me, but no one ever seemed to notice it in my dispirited eyes. As I fumbled in my pocket for the money, I looked up to see his nostrils flaring, so I braced myself for another push. I stood frozen for a minute, and then I lowered my head for the long walk down the hall.

***

The smell of hamburger lingered near my nose. I held my breath. “I’ll take the Gardenburger please,” I said.

“Don’t you ever just want a hamburger?” asked Sierra.

The dill pickles on her hamburger didn’t mask the smell. Neither did the spicy mustard, although that I didn’t mind so much.

“No. If I wanted a piece of cow, I would eat it.” I smiled as I squirted gobs of Heinz 57 on the bun. I leaned down just enough to take a big sniff of ketchup. I held my lips tight so the walk through the fog of hamburger smell wouldn’t be so bad.

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My MC is an ISFP. How About Yours?

For my next WIP, I’m trying a different method for creating my characters.  In Plot Versus Character by Jeff Gerke, he suggests starting with a core personality and adding layers from there.  While there are plenty of personality type models, I went with the well-known Myers-Briggs.  (Here’s a great website to take a simple test.)

I started by finding my most recent main character’s personality type to see how well I had pegged her.  It turns out Chloe is an ISFP- Introvert, Sensing, Feeling, Perception. 

People with this type of personality are usually kind, passionate about their values, and inspire others to be who they are.  Oh there’s so much more to it, but that’s a good little snippet.

The main character in my current work-in-progress is an ESTJ- opposite on almost every end of the spectrum from Chloe.  And he’s also a boy.

This personality type likes things organized, thinks logically, and appreciates fairness and respect.

If you choose to go with Myers-Briggs to explore your character, you’ll find plenty of information on line for each personality type.  Another great resource is the book Life Types by Sandra Krebs Hirsh and Jean Kummerow.  It gives a nice breakdown of each preference and then gives details for each of the 16 personality types.

And if you can’t resist, go ahead and figure out your own personality type too. 

Me?  I’m an ENFP.  They like to express their creativity, are curious, and are enthusiastic.  Sounds about right. 

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My MC’s Pinterest Board

Everyone is talking about Pinterest, so I thought I’d join in and see what it’s all about.  There certainly is plenty to explore.

I decided to see how well I know my main character and make a Pinterest board inspired by all the things she loves, the things that help define her, and little mementos of the journey she’s had so far.

Her board ended up with everything from whole grain pretzels to The Sound of Music and I feel like I know her even better than before.

It turned out to be a little glimpse inside the mind of an eleven-year-old. One who had quite an unusual adventure when she began sixth grade . . .

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Writing Workshops

One of my favorite writing resources is a handy little website called Savvy Authors.  If you haven’t checked it out yet, now is the perfect time.  You’ll find plenty of interesting classes, with some starting next week.

If you’re a premium member ($30/year), classes are often as low as $10-15.  If you’re not a premium member, they’re still only $20-25.  They run for different lengths and are conducted using forums.  The instructor posts a lesson and assignment, you work on it at your own pace and post your work, and then the instructor gives feedback.

It has been extremely helpful to me and I love that I can immediately apply the lessons to my own writing.  Here are just a few of the course titles coming up . . .

Blending Emotional Arcs and Conflict

Beginnings

And Then What Happened--Constructing Scenes and Sequels That Keep Your Story Moving

Ground Breaking - A Different Sort of Worldbuilding and Character Development

Social Media for Writers

Sound interesting?  Get the complete list here!

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Writing Links Were Made for Sharing

 

 

These are some of my favorite writing links, which are only a handful of the resources out there.  I hope it helps guide you on your road to success!

~ AGENT INFO ~

. . . Twitter . . .

*A list of agents by @RachelleGardner

*A list of agents by @NathanBransford

*There is also a list of agents with twitter accounts available on Query Tracker if you are a premium member.  It’s under “Agent Reports” and “Agent Blog Roll.”

. . . Blogs . . .

Literary Rambles has “Agent Spotlights” and is full of useful info.  There is also a list of “Agent Blogs” on the right hand side.

Rachelle Gardner’s site it fantastic and she even has an agent blog roll.

Vonna Carter keeps a running list of conferences, along with which agents and editors are on the faculty for each one.

Kate Brauning has a great list of agent blogs and sites with agent interviews.

. . . Websites . . .

These are helpful for researching agents, browsing resources, and keeping track of your submissions.

Query Tracker

Agent Query

Publishers Marketplace

 

~WRITING~

. . . Twitter . . .

@elissacruz has a big list of middle grade writers called MG People.

There are plenty of writers to follow on Twitter.  Do a quick search with keywords like writer, author, or kidlit.

. . . Blogs . . .

Literary Rambles- Again, I’m going to refer you to this super informative blog to learn more about agents, find agent and editor blogs, and to check out writing resources and links to other writing sites.

Writers Helping Writers- A lot of great info from the authors of the Emotion Thesaurus. 

Fiction University- This site has super helpful articles on writing fiction.

. . . Websites . . .

SCBWI Blueboards- If you write for children and you’re looking for a super helpful and supportive forum, then this is the place to be!

Absolute Write Water Cooler- This is a forum for all writers.  A great place to search for answers to all your burning questions.

The Purple Crayon has a ton of information for writing, illustrating, and publishing children's books.

Savvy Authors has a big variety of online workshops to choose from.  It’s not very expensive, especially if you’re a premium member, and you can work at your own pace.  Feedback from instructors is really helpful.

Grammar Girl has a very simple way of explaining the often complicated rules of grammar.  And she’s fun too.

Good luck!

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New Book Release- Seeing Cinderella

 

I had the opportunity in the fall to read my first ARC- an Advanced Reader Copy- of Seeing Cinderella by debut author Jenny Lundquist.  It was a fun read and I loved getting to know the characters.  I’m including a synopsis below, but all you need to do is take a look at the cover and know that it’s a book about middle school and magic glasses.    Can you imagine what you could do with those?!  While there is a lighthearted tone to the book, Ms. Lundquist also deals with real issues like friendship and secrets.

It’s available now on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.  You can even get it on your Kindle or Nook!

So, if you have a young reader in your life, or if you enjoy a good read yourself, this is a good one to check out.

Congratulations to Jenny Lundquist!

 

From her website . . .

Seeing Cinderella: Calliope Meadow Anderson is terrified to start seventh grade. Not that the summer has been so great— her overachieving best friend, Ellen, is slipping away, her parents’ marriage is falling apart, and to top it all off, she has to get glasses the day before school starts. Life isn’t going too smoothly.

But things get unexpectedly weird when Callie meets her wacky optometrist and receives a pair of glasses so ugly they make braces and headgear look cute. But pretty soon, Callie makes a freaky discovery. Her glasses have magic powers: they can read people’s thoughts (and she’s pretty sure they repel boys, too).

Callie uses her new glasses to navigate middle school life and learns things she never knew about the people around her. That overachieving Ellen isn’t so super confident, after all. That neither of her parents are who she thought they were. That it’s a good idea to make sure your crush Knows Your Name before you spy on his thoughts. But when the glasses show Callie that Ana Garcia—a new student from Mexico and Callie’s Spanish tutor—has become a real-life Cinderella in her uncle’s house, she has to make a choice. Will she stay in the shadows and hide behind her magic glasses, or step out of the background and stand up for her friend?

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A Bit Out of Order

We've all watched reruns, in whatever order they happen to be on TV.  If you watched all seven seasons of Melrose Place (though few of us will admit it), you can probably jump right in and figure out what's going on in any given episode.  Whether you were a Seinfeld fan from the beginning, or you simply know the characters, any episode from one to 180 will have you laughing.  Does that same ring true for a movie series?

When it came to deciding what order of Star Wars we'd show our son, we were divided between the way we watched it (4,5,6 then 1,2,3) and chronological order (1-6). 

Turns out it wouldn't be either.

When our son started getting interested in Star Wars, we weren't sure he was ready for the movies.  So instead, he asked Daddy to tell him the whole story and then proceeded to ask A LOT of questions.  Why did Anakin become bad?  Who trained Obi-Wan? What is the Dark Side?

As fate would have it, Episode One, The Phantom Menace, recently came out in the theaters in 3-D, so we took him to see it, twice!  He was ready to watch the next one, but I wasn't convinced that two and three were appropriate just yet.  So he watched Episode Four, A New Hope.  (Movie one for us old timers out there.)  Number five seemed like a bit too much, so we let him move on to Episode Six, my favorite, Return of the Jedi.

For those keeping track, that crazy order is Episode One, Four, and Six.  Hmm, that wasn't in the original plan.  But, it turns out he didn't care much, because he knew the story, the characters, the beginning and the end.  He jumped right in and it worked out fine. 

How would you show a youngster the Star Wars movies?

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It Simply Makes You Laugh

I’ve heard plenty of jokes in my life, as we all have.  Some were so funny I couldn’t stop laughing, while others made me scrunch up my nose as I tried to figure out if I missed something.

I’ve also had the opportunity to see some amazing comedians in person- Bill Cosby, Jerry Seinfeld, Jay Leno, Howie Mandel, and seriously one of the most naturally funny people ever, Jon Stewart . . . funny, funny, funny. 

I’m sure there is somewhat of a formula for jokes, but it still doesn’t mean it will work on everyone.  I probably wouldn’t find a joke about vegetarians very funny and my husband gives me a look every time I laugh at Canadian jokes.  Which, by the way, I’m allowed to do since I’m married to a Canadian. 

But over the last few years, I’ve heard some of the best jokes from some new comedians- my kids.  My son’s nonsense jokes make him throw his head back and snort, which only makes me laugh even more.  And his cleverness shines as he makes up brand new ones.  My daughter recently ventured into the land of telling jokes with this one, “Knock, knock.  Pooh nah?”  To which she and her brother laugh and laugh and laugh.  And one of my favorites?  When she kisses my head, says “ear,” and then falls back laughing as I shout, “That’s not my ear!”

So what makes a joke funny?  It simply has to make you laugh. 

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Excited to Write

One of the best reasons I’ve found to go to a writer’s conference is the inspiration and motivation you come home with.  (Of course, meeting other writers and professionals, learning from fantastic speakers, and having time to write are also pretty great.)  New ideas, new techniques, and all kinds of tidbits of information find their way into the part of you that says, “I HAVE to write this down!”

On that note, I’m on to writing.  As soon as I hit the gym.  I don’t know which one of those accomplishments I’m more proud of for today. 

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Writeoncon

If you’re a writer and you haven’t heard of Writeoncon, head on over to writeoncon.com and check it out!  It’s a FREE, ONLINE conference for writers.  There are live chats, forum events, and even a Query Ninja Program.  It is full of authors and agents sure to give out some fantastic information.

Check the schedule since there are some specific times you need to post if you’re submitting something for critique.  However, you can go back at anytime in case you can’t be there for the live events.

It runs Tuesday, August 16-Thursday, August 18, but there are some things you can already submit today.

Have fun!  I’m looking forward to it. 

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