Week 30 Recap

Goal: Send manuscript to my agent

Progress:  Done!

I wasn’t sure I’d make it. When I got comments back from my last critique partner (I have two who read this book), there were more marks on the pages than actual typing. At least, that’s how it felt.  Like all revisions, once I started on the specific issues, it wasn’t as bad as I first thought.  I was able to finish everything and send the manuscript off on Tuesday.  Now, more waiting.  (Those of you who follow me know how much I LOVE that!)

But I do have another writing lesson to share this week, and like most of them, it comes under the heading of:
LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES.

Here it is people—writerly words to remember:

It’s not about what YOU know. It’s about what the CHARACTER knows.

In the world of the story, you are the smartest person alive, right?  You, the author, knows what’s coming (at least to some extent) and so it’s easy to transfer that knowledge to your character without even realizing you’re doing it.

And it can kill your story.

For example: Let’s say there’s a storm brewing in your story.  You know it’s only there for mood, but your character, Fred, doesn’t.  Make sure he takes an umbrella.  That’s a very basic example, but we can fall into this trap in larger ways.  In the story I just finished, a girl’s life is at stake.  I know the girl isn’t going to die in the beginning—that would be no fun, right?  So, as I was writing, I added some scenes of light-hearted banter between the characters searching for her.  My reader was shocked.  How could they be joking around with a life at stake?

Oops.

It was an easy fix once I realized what I’d done, but I had to go back through numerous places and adjust the characters actions to the situation as THEY understood it.  Take a look at your own WIP.  Put yourself in the mind of your characters and let them experience the emotions and surprises and plot twists just as your reader will:  Without knowing a thing.

Have a great week, and as always if you have any questions about writing, feel free to ask!!

AUDITION & SUBTRACTION is about 14-year-old Tatum who does everything with Lori—including a yearly clarinet/flute duet for honor band auditions. But when a new boy transfers to their middle school and band, everything  changes!  

And to make your job a little easier, I thought I’d give you a few reasons why: 

TOP 10 REASONS TO HAVE AUDITION & SUBTRACTION
ON YOUR SUMMER READING LIST

10. It’s a great way to immerse students in music and band without any spit byproducts

9. Kids can learn vocab words like embouchure, ligature, and freakingtastic

8. Speaks to the great need for more clarinet heroes in today’s fiction.

7. The story’s humor carries the deeper messages (self-belief, the inevitability of change, the courage to stand alone) from kids so they’ll think it’s just a fun summer read.

6. It’s a Crystal Kite Finalist and a Cybil’s Award Nominee

5. Reviewers said stuff like this:

Tatum’s maturing recognition of her own self-worth and realistic outcomes—sadly not everything works out the way she would wish—make this a satisfying and believable read. – Kirkus

Dominy (OyMG) presents a believably conflicted protagonist with a narrative voice to match; musicians will appreciate the many details Dominy works into the story. Tatum confronts her predicaments with humor and growing maturity as she builds the confidence necessary to handle change. Ages 10–14.  – Publishers Weekly

Audition & Subtraction is another Dominy book I can highly recommend. – Mother Daughter Book Club.com

4. If you use the book for a group event, the author will pay an in-person visit (if you’re local) or do a skype visit if you’re not. For free! (Contact me at amy@amydominy.com)

3. Kids will love the book so much they’ll shower you with expensive gifts.*

2. It has a really cool book trailer you can watch. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aTgrXnas7g

1. No animals were harmed in the making of this book.

*Or, um, they’ll at least think about it.

Thanks so much, and if I can answer any questions, just let me know. Happy almost summer!

Week 29 Recap

Goal: Address Critique Comments

Progress:  Nearly done

I hate my critique partners. They know me too well. They know that I have, shall we say, some bad habits as a writer. And they call me on it.

One bad habit, in particular, comes up every time I have a difficult scene to write.  I call it the Fast Forward Button. And today I thought I’d come clean about this evil pitfall of writing so that you can avoid it in your own stories.

THE FAST FORWARD BUTTON

So what is it exactly?  It’s a phrase, coined by me, to describe the process wherein an author attempts to write a scene without actually writing it.  Hmmm.   Maybe the best way to provide a definition is to give you an example. (Here I am, writing my made-up story:)

Darla stepped into the dark basement, her heart pounding, the gun shaking in her hand.  From out of a deep shadow, it slithered. Darla pulled back the trigger. 

Chapter Break 

That was the most frightening thing Darla had ever faced, she thought, her breath still coming quickly twenty minutes later as the paramedic laid an ice pack on her wound. 

There—do you see what I did?  I created a chapter break and then pushed the Fast Forward Button.  Instead of staying with Darla in the scene, in the moment, I skipped ahead.  Now, I can simply relay the details of what happened.  Why did I do that?  Because it’s so much easier than trying to recreate the heart-pounding terror and logistics of it all as it happens.

Does anyone else ever do this?  Do you find yourself telling about something that happened rather than showing it happen?  Granted, sometimes you want to do that. If nothing important or interesting really takes place and you need to have time pass, then fine.  But if it’s say, THE CLIMAX of your story, then don’t cheat the reader.  Keep them in the moment and let it all play out.

And that’s exactly what I did in DETOURS (my new title for my book.) I Fast Forwarded past the climax scene.  One of my critique partners called me on it.  And when I went to write it all out, real time, I discovered all sorts of logistical problems in my story. I ended up spending most of the week rewriting 4 chapters.  Frustrating—yeah.  But the story is better today than it was on Monday!

What are your writerly bad habits?  It’s good to recognize what they are so you can stay clear of them.  And, it’s even better if your critique partners are willing to call you on it.  Even though you’ll hate them for it.

Have a good week of writing!  My goal for next week will be to send the manuscript to my agent.

Week 28 Recap

Goal: Be Patient

Progress:  Not much

Hi All!  Happy Friday and welcome to the Blog of Frustration.  Yeah, I’m in a funk today, so be warned: Crabbiness to follow.  

It’s all the WAITING that does it to me.   

There’s just so much of it at every stage of the process.  Waiting for critique partners, waiting for queries, waiting for agents, waiting for editors, waiting for revision notes, waiting for follow-ups, waiting for marketing meetings, waiting for acquisitions, waiting for a contract, waiting for good news, waiting for any news, waiting waiting waiting….

Does anyone else HATE waiting like I do?

I’ve been asked by aspiring authors if the waiting game changes once you’re published.  Um, well, not really.

Of course there are exceptions.  When your books are selling a thousand copies a day then it’s the publisher who’s waiting—for you to write faster!  And, once you’ve developed a relationship with your editor, then you’ll get timely responses.  But right now, I’m very much like a new writer.  I’ve got a great publisher who would like to see more middle grade, but this past year I branched out and tried my hand at young adult books as well as picture books.  (And I’ve loved writing both!)  But in both of those categories, I’m brand-spanking-new. 

And that means waiting.  Right now, I am the champion of waiting:

1 book out with critique partner
2 books out with ya editors
2 books out with picture book editors
1 play out with 2 theaters

How To Deal With the Wait

I’m trying to be positive, but you can see how well that’s working.  But there are two things that I try and keep in mind.  

First of all, have realistic expectations.  Nothing seems to move fast in the business when you want it to.  Second, remember that you have lots of great ideas, lots of great stories to tell.  Don’t heap too much pressure on any one submission.  Most importantly: 

WRITE

As soon as you send something out, start something new.  Brainstorm a new idea, dive into some new books and see what inspires you—get excited about another story.  It really is the best way to take your mind off of your submission.

What else can we do?  If you have any strategies that have helped you weather the wait, then please share them here.  Because, you know, I’m waiting.

Week 26 Recap

Goal: Polish up manuscript…send it off to critique partners

Progress:  Done and…almost done

This week, I’m still enjoying the knowledge that the book is done.  I’ve been doing some polishing work and correcting the timeline, but it’s about to go out for critique.  I’ll keep you all posted on the notes I hear back.

In the meantime, I wanted to share something that I learned over the weekend.  It’s a little ironic, because I was at an event, not as a student, but as the teacher.   It was a teen writing workshop and as often happens when you share your knowledge with others, you also end up learning from them.

Uniquely You

This is a phrase/idea that you’ve probably heard as often as I have.  We are each unique with our own voice and our own story to tell.  I get that.  I even take a lot of comfort from that.  But always in the back of my mind was that thought that yeah, my voice and story are unique…but they’re also not as good as other people’s voices and stories.

(That inner voice can be so hateful, can’t it?)

But this weekend I had a chance to see this idea of Uniquely You actually play out.  I saw it—saw the truth of it—in a way that really sunk in.

Credit goes to STORY STEW.  It’s an exercise a friend told me about.  I’ve never tried it before but basically, you get everyone in the group to contribute ideas for story elements.  There are a lot of versions to this exercise but I decided to focus on CHARACTER, SETTING and STORY PROBLEM.  I had a whiteboard and the group brainstormed a list for each category. Then I had everyone vote on 2 favorite characters, 1 setting and 1 story problem.  Here’s what we ended up with:

*Mitt Romney
*A talking mop
*An Idaho potato farm
*A seance brings back a spirit intent on evil

Yeah, I know.  Very imaginative, huh?  And secretly I was thinking, “Thank heaven I’m not doing this because I wouldn’t know what to write!”

But, as usually happens, the kids completely blew me away.  I gave everyone 10 minutes to write a story using these elements. The stories were inventive and funny and surprising and UNIQUE.  And honestly, I couldn’t have judged that any one story was better than another. They were all so different.

It was a great lesson/reminder for me.  More importantly, it was a great lesson for my Evil Inner Voice.  So next time you start to feel like you just don’t have what it takes, tell your Evil Inner Voice to shut up.

You are UNIQUELY YOU.  So keep writing, keep working, make a little more progress every day.

Have a great week!

Week 25 Recap

Goal: Finish FIFTH Complete Revision

Progress:  DONE!! 

If you’ve been following along with me, you know it’s been months of work to get to this point.  It took not one, not two, not three, not four but FIVE times through this book to figure out the story I wanted to tell.

Important lessons to share this week:

1.  Posting on your blog that you’ll finish your WIP or run naked through the streets provides a WHOLE lot of motivation.

2. Powering through 15,000 crap words in one week is exhausting.  (That’s what I had left.)

3. The thrill of typing THE END never diminishes.

Now—let’s be clear.  I’m done, but I’m not done.  I have a ton of finesse work to do and I have some sub-plot issues and I have two characters named Thing One and Thing Two and I keep forgetting which is which. You know, the usual stuff.  But the book is now in good enough shape that I can send the second half to my critique partners for feedback.  What that really means is that I get a break.  Once it leaves my desk and goes to Daphne and Kiki I can stop thinking about it. I can forget all the problems and all the worry about the plot twists and did it come together and will readers care about these people, blah blah blah.

Such a relief!  

By the time I get their feedback, I’ll be ready to dive back in, and fix all the fixables. Then what happens?  Next Stop: My agent.

And (probably) more rewrites.

But in the meantime, I did it.  

I finished!

(And without public nudity!)  

I’m going to celebrate but this is a wonderful accomplishment, whatever happens from here.

So where are you with your book?  And what’s it going to take for you to finish?

Week 24 Recap

Goal: Continue Rewrites –finish by next Friday or run naked through the streets. 

Progress:  15,000 words to go 

It’s been a good writing week with my WIP and Mitch and Lauren. (So nice to be able to say that!)  Part of what has motivated me is I got back a critique on the first 25,000 words.  My critique friend LOVED IT and YES, IT’S WORKING!

And then she asked me a question about the midpoint of my story. 

Midpoint?

That got me thinking about Story Structure.  I’ve never blogged about it for two reasons.

1. It’s a huge topic and very complicated and there’s lots of stuff online about it already.

2. It confuses me.

Somewhere along the way, I’ve come up with a way to think about Story Structure that makes sense to me. I thought I’d share it here in case it might be useful for you.  

A Novel in 3 Parts

Part One:  THE BEGINNING
Length:  About 25% of the book
What happens: Meet the characters, discover time and place, get a sense of the world as it is. Then, the character discovers the problem, sees the goal and becomes involved in solving the problem/reaching the goal. Something happens where life will never be the same again. This is sometimes referred to as Turning Point 1. (Mitch discovers his sister is sick and he needs a car to reach her. He has only one option: he kidnaps Lauren.)
End of Part One: When the character embarks on Plan A to solve the problem.

Part Two: THE COMPLICATIONS
Length:  About 50% of the book
What happens: The character sets out to solve the problems and discovers more problems and every attempt he/she makes fails! The problem gets worse.  It’s the old saying: Put your character up in a tree and then throw rocks.  The character’s problems lead to the crisis and something has to change–the character can not keep on the way they’ve been going.  This is sometimes referred to as Turning Point 2.  (For Mitch, the problems have grown with every passing mile and his last gambit failed. He realizes he can’t protect both his mom and sister. He will have to sacrifice one or the other.)
End of Part Two: Usually, the character has just made a huge effort which has ended in huge failure.

Part Three:  THE ENDING
Length:  About 25% of the book
What happens: The character re-evaluates, grows, changes, faces a weakness, discovers a strength, or because of something he/she did another character takes a game-changing action. The character finds motivation for a new, final attempt and goes for it. Does the character succeed or fail? Did they solve the problem and reach the goal? (I’m not telling, but you’ll know at the end of the story if Mitch’s sister will live or die and what happens to his mom.)
End of Part Three: When loose ends have been tied up and the character is beginning a new “normal” life.

So there it is, novel structure in three parts.  I’m not sure if fits other traditional structures (and I KNOW it doesn’t begin to cover all that is out there on the subject) but it usually helps me with my books.

Any questions? Thoughts? Ideas that have worked for you?  Don’t be shy; you’re always welcome to share them here. I love the things I learn from everyone else! 

Have a good week.

]]> http://amydominy.com/2013/04/weekly-journal-as-one-author-attempts-to-write-a-new-novel-6/feed/ 2 http://amydominy.com/2013/03/a-weekly-journal-as-one-author-attempts-to-write-a-new-novel/ http://amydominy.com/2013/03/a-weekly-journal-as-one-author-attempts-to-write-a-new-novel/#comments Fri, 29 Mar 2013 18:29:59 +0000 Amy Fellner Dominy http://amydominy.com/?p=2694 Join me each Friday as I continue to journal about the process of writing a new book. During November and NaNoWriMo I wrote the first draft. Now it’s time to revise and rework. I’ll share my tips and the process I go through on the way (hopefully!) to making a sale.  

Week 23 Recap

Goal: Continue Rewrites (Fifth Time Through!)

Progress:  Sent half to my critique partners; second half next week? 

A week ago, I took a road trip up north to follow the path my characters take in my WIP.  They start in Phoenix but travel about 200 miles.  The idea was to check out the logistics, the mileage, the towns I’d pass, etc.  BUT, as I drove the route, I realized I was gaining a lot of insights on something else: Sensory Details.  Here are a few quick examples:

Sight.
Tumbleweeds actually do blow across roads— I saw one and it reminded me of skeletal fingers all wrapped around each other.

Sound.
The sound of the wind changes depending on how much of the window you open.

Touch.
Feel of the window glass can be really cold when you lay your forehead on it.

Smell.
When you drive through a small town, you get whiffs of Italian, Indian, Chinese.

Taste.
A swallow of warm, flat soda that’s been left in the cup holder can be bitter.

I was reminded that sensory details are a huge part of any novel—they bring a story to life in a fuller, more three-dimensional way.  So how do you make sure you’re working them into your book?

Take a Sense-Sational Trip

You don’t have to leave your computer for this trip.  Here’s what you do:  Draw yourself some icons —a mouth, an eye, an ear, a nose, a hand.  Yeah, you can also write the words but for some reason I like drawing the little pictures.  If you’re working off a hard copy of your book, then sketch them into the margins. If you’re on a computer, then write them on a notecard and tape them next to your screen.  Then start going over your pages.  Try a couple of things:

1. TALLY.  Go through a chapter a count how many you have of each.  I’m guessing most of us are heavy on sight.  If you’re missing any one sense in particular, then you’ll discover that too and you can pay special attention to it. (I’m the worst at including smells–how about you?)

2. ADD. Find one example of where you used one of the five sense on every page.  If you can’t—add at least one.  I don’t think there’s any rule about how many you should have.  Just don’t overdo and don’t force.

The cool thing for us, as writers, is that by adding in the sensory details it pulls us into the world more fully and makes our writing better in general.  So—give it a try.

And have a Sense-Sational week.

Week 22 Recap

Goal: Continue Rewrites (Fourth Time Through!)

Progress:  Halfway through! 

This is not how I planned things.

I was going to start this book during NaNo, write a messy draft, and then go through it again and have a really solid draft 2 to send off to my critique partners.  That was going to happen at the end of January.

Somewhere through the 2nd draft I realized that I was starting over in many ways. Two drafts weren’t going to be enough.

So, I adjusted my timeframe, planning to have a solid 3rd draft done by the end of February. Now, it’s March.  (Nearly the end of March but who’s counting.)  I’ve finished the 3rd draft but the book is still defying every attempt of mine to make it readable and cohesive, much less the page-turner I’m eventually hoping for.  So what comes next?

Draft #4

Just so you know, it doesn’t always work this way.  I have a YA on submission right now called A MATTER OF HEART.  That puppy flowed from my fingers to the computer screen with (relative) ease and I handed it off to my critique partners after 2 drafts.  I’m discovering that each book has its own journey.

People often ask me questions like these:

How long does it take to write a book?

How do you know when you’re finished with a book?

How do you know if it’s time to give up on a book?

Unfortunately, there are no standard answers. Every writer, every book, is different.  All I can do is give you a few guidelines that have worked for me.

How long does it take to write a book?
First of all, this is an awful question to ask yourself. Ever. If you’re starting a new idea then ask yourself this: What’s the shortest time it can take for you to write the book?  Then write it that fast.  I know I harp on this all the time but you don’t actually have a book until you reach the end.  So get there.  Fast. Then revise at leisure.

How do you know when you’re finished with a book?
Did the revisions/edits/fixes/changes you just did make your story better?  If yes—then keep going. If no—STOP.  If you’re not sure—STOP.  You can reach the point where you begin to edit out everything that’s unique and good about your story. That’s because every time you read it the jokes become just a bit more stale and the emotion a bit flatter.  The surprises are gone—but remember it will be new for a reader.  So, get a new pair of eyes on it before you make any more changes.

How do you know if it’s time to give up on a story?
This is really hard one. I’ve given up on stories only to bring them back and eventually make a sale.  Here’s my advice:  If you don’t care about your characters… if the story isn’t compelling enough that you don’t need or care about how it turns out, then your readers won’t care either.  For me, that means it’s time to start a new story.  However, I keep a “dead file” and I store old manuscripts there.  Sometimes I go back there and pull out a story.  If I can remember what I loved about it in the first place, then I can revive it.  OyMG was in that dead file.  So was Audition & Subtraction.  There are a couple there now which will never escape, but it’s been a good tool for me over the years.

As for my current WIP, I’m still interested in the characters, I still want to see how they end up.  So, I’m going to finish up draft #4 and then it goes off to my critique partners.  How about you?  Are you making progress?

Hope it’s a great week…

Yesterday, I had the chance to realize a dream which, I gotta tell you, is a very cool thing.  Here’s the whole story:

The Backstory

14 Years Ago: When my kids were little, I took them to see plays. Lots of plays.  Our favorites were the ones put on by Childsplay, an amazing production company in Tempe, Arizona that consistently did world-renowned, award-winning work.

Also, one of our very favorite actors was a guy named Jon Gentry. He was in every show and a rock star for my kids and me.

The Inciting Incident

12 Years Ago: My dad suggested I go back to school, get my MFA and learn to be a playwright. I loved plays, I loved writing—he was sure this was the thing for me to do.  He was right.  A dream was born: Write a play on the level of the work being done by Childsplay. MAYBE even something good enough to submit to them.

Turning Point #1

I spent three years earning my MFA and writing plays.  It was a wonderful experience and I had some success but I found myself drifting from plays to novels.  I wrote OyMG and Audition & Subtraction and the playwriting dream died, unfulfilled. It seemed like playwriting was a part of my past.

Turning Point #2

A year ago, I learned about WRITE NOW, a playwriting symposium that worked to develop theater for youth. Why not take a chance, right?  So I went to work: I turned OyMG into a play over the span of a few months, and submitted it to the contest.

Dark Moment

My play was NOT selected for a full staged reading. BUT….(drumroll), it was such a strong play, I was told, that they wanted to perform an excerpt as part of a showcase of plays.

Climax

Yesterday, Friday, scenes from OyMG were performed on stage at the Tempe Center for the Arts. The event was co-sponsored by Childsplay and all the people who had produced such amazing work over the years were now producing mine!  And acting in the role of Zeydeh, was Jon Gentry!

Devon, Ellie and Zeydeh brought to life by David Dickinson, Michelle Cunneen, and Jon Gentry

Another cool thing: My scenes were directed by Pam Sterling, one of my professors at ASU who encouraged me to try writing for youth.  (Thank you, Pam!)

Pam Sterling, my director

The Resolution

It went wonderfully well, and I was reminded of how much I love live theater, and how one should never say never.  And, also, that if you keep working at things, dreams have a way of coming true!