The Sneaky Ninja Writer

Fly Fishing Adventure #1

2010-11-28T09:25:00.007-05:00

We hit the water probably a little after 7:30am on Saturday, the sun slowly rising over the bank of the canal. Just my dad and me in his boat. Just the wind and the water around us.

I hadn't been out fishing with my dad since I was a kid. As he cranked up the boat motor and we took off, those forgotten moments of youth came rushing back, and I caught myself thinking - why did I ever stop doing this?

The answer, of course, I already know: my teenage years were filled with me-centered activity, with friends more than family. I missed a lot of things I now regret. But that's another post altogether.

We found a good spot, boat parallel to shore, and got set up to fish, him from the front and me from the back of the boat. My dad has been doing this for years. He's a master. I like watching him end a cast, seeing his line roll out across the surface of the water and land next to the shore, within easy reach of the fish lurking below the surface.

My casts are beginner casts. About one in ten land near where I meant them to go, and more often than not, I end up with a long zig-zag of line on top of the water. The fish were pretty forgiving, though. Twelve took the bait and survived my disorganized efforts to bring them in to the boat and unhook them. I was pretty excited.

There's something peaceful about being on the water like that. For five hours, I had nothing in my head but my line and the fish I hoped to tempt into biting it. I watched my dad bring in catch after catch of his own, too, and I couldn't help beaming. I've seen him catch hundreds of fish over the years. This time was somehow different. Maybe because it looks an awful lot like fly fishing has hooked me.

I know that I desperately needed something I found out there on the water. I'd been looking forward to the weekend, hoping to find it, but not having any idea where it would come from. Peace. Solitude. A mental rest and reset.

But that was really only part of it. I started learning to fly fish because I was curious about it, wanted to write about it, and because I knew learning was something I could do and share with my dad. Going out yesterday was the next step, sort of the culmination of those efforts, and I wasn't entirely sure how I'd feel about it all. I would not have regretted the day, even if it turned out fly fishing wasn't my thing. I wanted the time with my dad. That would have been enough.

Instead, I honestly adored it from the first minute to the last. And I already can't wait to get back out there again. The picture below is me with my first fish (please pardon the medusa hair.)

Smile for Saturday

2010-10-30T09:36:00.004-04:00

I love Saturday mornings. They're the one time of the week that is all mine. I can choose to lie in bed with a book and be lazy, hit the couch with some junk food and a movie, or, as is the plan on this particular Saturday morning - take care of a whole list of nagging to-do list items I wasn't able to cross off this week.

There are only nine more Saturdays left this year, including today. The last of those is Christmas. Eight more weeks until Christmas... Is it weird that this year I'm not dreading it?

Right now in this quiet, peaceful place, it's hard to dread anything.

Top Five Favorite Movie Moments for Story and Writing

2010-04-13T21:55:00.001-04:00

5. Penelope: When he's playing chess with her in front of the mirror. I love the symbolism of that moment-- they're figuring each other out over this calculated game (which she wins! ha!)while he stands in front of a mirror, which shows how his relationship with Penelope ultimately forces him to see himself-- ie his character-- for the empty shell he's become.

4. Mulan: At the end, when Mulan returns home with medals and honors to present to her father as some kind of penance for what she's done, and he lifts her chin and tells her, "The greatest gift and honor is having you for a daughter." Really touching moment. Gets me every time. Shut up.

3. Oceans 11: Danny Ocean happens upon his old flame, Tess, as she waits for her new man to meet her for dinner. After a minute of him trying to be smart and her aloof replies keeping him at bay, Danny asks (about Tess's new lover), "Does he make you laugh?" Tess responds, "He doesn't make me cry."

Two little lines that spell out their entire relationship - peaks to pitfalls, why she chose the new guy - safety over fun, and why she won't be pursuing him again - too painful.

2. Bella: As Nina lists reasons why she will seek an abortion, her voice is cold, detached from her situation. But cut into the conversation are images of her later in the waiting room at a clinic, an exam room, and as she emerges, weeping. A powerful message that the choice is not one coolly calculated or without deep emotional conflict.

1. On a Clear Day: The climactic moment when Frank's goal (swimming the English Channel) is within reach, but the thing he wants most is at his fingertips. (Sorry... trying not to spoil it for anyone who has not seen the movie...) I love the metaphor of crossing the Channel and how it's almost a symbol of another key relationship in his life, and how accomplishing one may unexpectedly put the other within reach. This is one of my favorite movies.

How Badly Do You Want It?

2010-04-05T20:27:00.004-04:00

I'm looking over my list of New Year's Resolutions for 2010 to see how close to target I am. I know, that sounds disgustingly driven. Actually, if you saw my list, you'd be convinced I need to get out more and make fewer to-do lists. Yes, I suffer from extreme Eldest Child Syndrome. But at last I may be learning to embrace my inner Over-Achiever.

Because the truth for me is this: no one is ever going to make me do these things. Writing, in my life, is optional. It doesn't pay bills. It doesn't entertain my daughter or impress my friends (well, it'd be nice if it did!) or make my house clean.

Writing, for me, is about desire. It's about a dream. It's about a story. It's about releasing something inside of me by watching a blinking black cursor move across a white screen, letters chasing after it.

And it will only happen if I pursue it. If I want it. If my fingers press those keys and make those words appear, day after day, hour after hour, no matter what other responsibilities and challenges arise and have to be taken care of.

So that's the question I keep asking myself as I look at my ambitious list of 2010 goals: how badly do I want it?

Because it will take every ounce of that desire, determination, and passion to pursue this dream and create something worthwhile.

I listed four manuscripts I want to see finished by the end of this year. One needs editing and two are partially complete, so it's not like I'm trying to write four totally new pieces this year. Really, I'm trying to clear my shelf of these half-finished ideas. It's time. Definitely time.

So that's my goal. What's yours?

How badly do you want it?

To Be Or Not To Be... Read

2010-03-11T19:13:00.005-05:00

This is my "To Be Read" pile. As you can see, it's as tall as my bed and currently contains 28 (I think) books. There are like 7 more in my Amazon cart waiting for payday, too! Nothing quite as exciting as a new box of books. Except maybe a quiet evening and a cup of hot cocoa to go with them.

I most recently enjoyed... Walking on Water by Madeleine L'Engle. If you asked me what is one book every Christian writer should read, I'd point straight to this one. Without hesitation. I also recently read Sylvia Plath's The Bell Jar. Really impressive.

I'm currently reading... The Moral Premise by Stanley D Williams and Beautiful by Cindy Martinusen-Coloma.

I can't wait to read... um... just about anything in my stack? I think actually, three of the books in my amazon cart hold that honor. Leah Cypess's Mistwood (see my post from last week to view the trailer), and the two novels by Stephanie Kuehnert-- because, I ask you, WHO CAN RESIST PUNK FICTION?? That's what I thought! Yeah, baby.

So how about you? What have you been reading, or what tops your "To Be Read" list?

Anticipation and The Mistwood by Leah Cypess

2010-03-04T17:18:00.003-05:00

I absolutely cannot wait for this book to hit print. I love YA, but I love YA fantasy best of all, and this is one that should not be missed. I think I read the whole thing in one sitting. I even put the release date in the calendar in my cell phone. I want ten copies!

Check out the book trailer and tell me if you can resist doing the same...

Sister Love

2010-02-23T08:33:00.006-05:00

The amazing thing about knowing someone for most or all of your life is the way those relationships change over time. In December my sister came to visit from California, and together with our youngest sister, we spent some much-needed catch-up time. I had forgotten how healing it can be to simply be with people who have been there through the ups and downs and twists and turns of life. I forgot how wonderful it feels to hang around and be silly.

I'm so proud of both of them for the identities and the lives they've built for themselves. It's really cool to see how we each have overlapping talents and interests, and how we've pursued them in completely different ways.

This picture was one of several that we took one afternoon during an extensive photo shoot of pictures we used to make calendars for our parents and grandparents. I love the closeness, and even the fact that it is shot from behind us. It makes me think of that sister bond, and how it's something we share from the inside, and other people only see from the outside.

I heard recently that a study showed people who have at least one sister are happier and more well-adjusted than the general population. I am doubly blessed, because I have two sisters-- and they are the most wonderful ones I could ask for.

I'll stop being sappy now. Love you both!

(Cari, I promise not to post sappy or embarrassing blogs about you ... don't stop being my one lone blog follower!!)

Let Love In

2009-07-21T09:12:00.005-04:00

The song by the Goo Goo Dolls has always been a fav of mine, but as I listened to it while I worked last night, a really obvious part struck me again:

There's nothing we can do about
The things we have to live without
The only way to feel again
Is let love in

There's nothing we can do about
The things we have to live without
The only way to see again
Is let love in

CS Lewis says it best:

To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly broken. If you want to make sure of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness. But in that casket--safe, dark, motionless, airless--it will change. It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy, is damnation. The only place outside of Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from the perturbations of love is Hell.

Spiritual Concepts Outside the Box

2009-07-06T08:31:00.003-04:00

What does it mean to be a Christian Writer?

I've asked myself that question many times, and I think there may be as many definitions as there are Christian writers. lol. Some insist if the story doesn't talk about Jesus, it ain't Christian. Others say if the writer is a Christian, then what they write is Christian fiction. Those are probably the two polar extremes. I mean, by that last definition, the Twilight series is Mormon fiction, right? Hmm.

I'm starting to think I've been going about this question backwards. Trying to define what a Christian writer is so I can decide first, if I fit that definition, and second, if I want to. So far I have only managed to outline the spectrum of beliefs and I'm not sure I see myself within the spectrum I've identified or not.

But honestly-- for myself, in my small writing world-- isn't the more important question, what kind of writer am I? Not that my spirituality isn't important. But that's much less a question to me. The question really is what stories am I trying to tell? What is the message in them? What do I as a writer have to say about life and spirituality? I think those are the questions I should be asking myself at this point.

Why do I write?

What is the message I want to share?

Those are the questions that will help me define the rest.

Review: What the Bayou Saw by Patti Lacy

2009-07-02T10:41:00.002-04:00

Sally is a sweet-as-southern-tea wife, mother, and college professor who always tries to make people feel accepted and welcomed. The only problem? The sugar-coated lies she keeps piling up are about to come crumbling down.

As Hurricane Katrina barrels through Sally's former home of Louisiana raising worries for her brother and an estranged childhood friend, another storm rips through Sally's life. Her brightest student is assaulted and raped, and the dean needs Sally and her genteel southern ways to soothe the victim and her family. But reaching out to the wounded girl means facing a part of Sally's past she'd rather leave buried deep in the bayou. Can Sally find the strength to face the ghosts of her past and risk toppling the card-castle of lies her life has become?

While Sally is a deeply flawed character-- she is also a deeply sympathetic one. Who hasn't at one time said the nice thing instead of the actual truth, or hidden a painful experience behind a smile and a little "white" lie? What she discovers about herself and her life as she begins to finally examine who she is versus who she pretends to be is a soul journey we have all experienced (or should) at some level.

Patti Lacy tackles hard issues of rape and racism with honesty, compassion and understanding and reminds us of the value of the human soul, of hope and humor. Some scenes made me cry. Others made me laugh out loud. Great story, from one cover to the other. Definitely one I will cherish and read again.

You Might Have Writer's Block If...

2009-06-11T11:15:00.002-04:00

1. Instead of writing, you are suddenly seized with the excited urge to scrub the entire bathroom with a toothbrush.

2. You feel more inspired by the possibility that you hair may have split personalities (in addition to split ends) than you do about your current work-in-progress.

3. You consider counting your daily blog post toward your word count total for the day.

4. You find yourself hoping for those annoying political survey phone calls just for an excuse to be distracted.

5. A trip to the grocery store begins to sound very appealing. After all, you are all out of munchies. Who can write without munchies??

6. You wish a guy would float past you standing in a row boat so you could chase after him.

7. You contemplate taking a nap and counting it as time spent "brainstorming."

8. The phone does ring with one of those political survey calls, and you chat it up with the survey proctor and are disappointed bordering on slightly annoyed when they insist they have to return to work now, and you must hang up.

9. You reread the last ten pages you've written and find even yourself bored.

10. You find yourself counting how many times the cursor blinks on your screen.

You Might Be a Writer If...

2009-06-02T07:29:00.000-04:00

1. You already have a reading list for next summer.

2. Someone shares a story about a personal experience with you and your first thought is something along the lines of, "Yeah, the hero/heroine in my manuscript went through something like that. First he..."

3. You've caught yourself making faces at the computer screen and the only program open on your computer is MS Word.

4. When a friend tells you they did 5K this morning, you automatically think they mean they wrote 5000 words.

5. Your house contains at least one large horizontal surface covered with unread books.

ACFW Genesis Writing Contest

2009-05-16T13:18:00.003-04:00

I'm months late in posting this, because I really should have done this before the deadline for Genesis contest entries, but I wanted to post now while this is fresh in my mind.

This was my second time entering the Genesis contest. I'd gone back and forth about entering, but decided at the last minute to submit something. And as a finalist, I have to say I'm really thankful I went ahead and bit the bullet. But not simply because of my finalist standing!

In the first round of this contest, three judges score a fifteen page submission on twenty different criteria. Judges are encouraged to leave feedback on the entry as well, to specify why a low score was given or offer helpful tips to improve a specific technique as well as to praise something the writer has done particularly well.

So basically, for $35 (the contest entry fee), an entrant receives feedback from three experienced writers, and finalists also receive similar feedback from two professional editors as well in the final round.

My scores so far are very much on par with those I received last year for a different entry, which is encouraging as far as my consistency as a writer. Unfortunately-- I still possess many of the same weaknesses as I did last year! Doh!! So obviously I still have many things to work on. :)

Having focused feedback has really helped me feel more energized about writing. Critique is always an opportunity to improve-- I think this is a key attitude for a writer to have. I may not agree with every bit of feedback (last year I had a couple comments that made me go hmmmm...), but much of it has been helpful in identifying the weaknesses in the story I'm trying to create.

Even though the Genesis contest is well underway and past submission deadlines, there are tons of other writing contests out there. I plan to enter at least one more contest this year. It's a great way to get your work out there and test its merit a little bit.

Then She Found Me: Random Thoughts on the Movie Directed by Helen Hunt

2009-04-20T07:36:00.000-04:00

It doesn't matter that she's 39 years old. April wants a baby. Her own baby, despite her adoptive mother's pressures for her to follow in the family footsteps. When her husband decides their marriage is over, it looks like April's dreams are toast.

After her adoptive mother's death, April's biological mother makes a grand if slightly bizarre entrance into her life, throwing her already chaotic world even further off-kilter. Only an unexpected friendship-turned-romance seems to restore the balance.

Until April gets another shocker: she's pregnant. But is it a dream come true or a nightmare?

I liked the themes of motherhood and adoption through the movie. There were a couple of places where I almost felt like I'd skipped a critical scene. The movie opens with the wedding ceremony, but doesn't really show the unraveling of April's marriage. One minute they're getting married. Then she's telling her mother she wants a baby. Then her husband is sitting her down to tell her he made a mistake and he's leaving her. April comments later that her husband is immature, etc. It's not hard to believe her, but I think it would have been more powerful to see why their marriage wasn't working and whether she was in denial about it or knew the break was coming.

Another place with the same type of skip-over feel for me was near the end. Through the whole movie, April struggles with being adopted herself and meeting her biological mother and really wrestling with whether the love you have as a mother for an adopted child is really different than love for a biological child.

**SPOILER ALERT**
One minute, April's possibly pregnant with her own child. In the next scene, she is caring for a Chinese toddler, which we assume she has adopted. I would have liked to have seen the struggle and the grief she experienced when the pregnancy proved not to be and when she chose to adopt. This seemed like a critical decision, yet the movie didn't really show that process, and I think lost some emotional power because of it.

That said, other than being a little bit disjointed in places, I thought the movie was well-done. The cast did a great job executing their characters. I enjoyed seeing it.

Part Time (self)Employment

2009-04-16T16:47:00.003-04:00

For about a year and a half, I've worked for a local company called "Precision Lightworks". They're a really amazing group of people, and I have enjoyed really everyone I've worked with.

The company provides 3-D models of cities-- as in the buildings. Think Google-Earth only in much greater detail. Or think of the aerial approaching the hospital at the beginning of the TV show House. That's basically what the finished product looks like.

In the time I've been there, we've worked on cities across the US and in other countries as well.

One of the cool things for me has been that this job is totally spatial and nonverbal. So it's a huge break from writing. Sometimes bits of scenes and dialogue drift through my head while I'm working on a job for PLW. It's kind of relaxing in a way. I'm also able to do a bulk of the work from home, which is definitely another convenience.

My mom recently joined the modeler ranks-- and is loved by all who know her (and eat her yummy cookies!). Her new job has enabled us to annoy countless friends and family with hours of talking shop. It's really fun having her there and knowing everyone enjoys her, too.

While it's not a writing job-- it has been a huge help to my family, and some days a break from the verbal is especially welcome!

Reflections on Rwanda

2009-04-06T20:29:00.004-04:00

In the last year, I've read several books about the genocide that occurred in Rwanda in the mid-nineties. I was also really moved by the movie Hotel Rwanda-- I really recommend it if you haven't seen it.

Over the weekend, I started reading another book-- Philip Gourevitch's We Regret to Inform You that Tomorrow We Will be Killed with Our Families. I'm only a couple chapters into the book and already have found it to be probably the most moving work about the mass murder of the Tutsis in Rwanda. I never do this, but one line resonated with me so much that I actually highlighted it. He was discussing with shock and horror how such a thing-- the killing of 800,000 people could be carried out in such a short time by such a multitude of people who largely used crude methods to murder their victims and how in the wake of it, he wrestled with a curiosity to know and understand what happened in Rwanda.

"The best reason I have come up with for looking closely into Rwanda's stories is that ignoring them makes me even more uncomfortable about existence and my place in it."

So true. There are some thing about which remaining neutral or ignorant, looking the other way, even in the aftermath, becomes a cruel and callous act.

At any rate... so far this is an amazing collection of reflections. Whether or not you've ever read anything about the massacre of Tutsis in Rwanda, this is a powerful and, I venture to say, even necessary read.

Life With Music

2009-03-30T07:12:00.000-04:00

I always find it fascinating to hear what other writers listen to while they write. Sometimes I need music in the background, sometimes a certain song speaks to me of a certain scene, or an artist really connects with a particular character or story for me, but there are also times when I need the quiet, too.

One thing that has developed out of this connection between word and music for me is the addition of chapter titles to my manuscript. Since I tend to think up stories that involve music in some way-- whether the characters themselves are musicians or are just music-lovers-- I started adding song titles as chapter titles when a song strongly connected to a scene for me.

In my finished manuscript, Broken Glass, the hero is a bass player in a punk band, so I chose chapter titles from various punk artists-- from the Ramones to Sum41. I like the dynamic it has added to the story, and I'm curious if anyone else will pick up on the true origin of the chapter titles. We shall see.

Another One Bites the Dust

2009-03-20T21:49:00.001-04:00

Well... another week gone by and not a word written. Le sigh. Methinks this has to stop. Or... rather the writing has to START. :S

Blurry Lines Between Fact and Fiction

2009-03-17T07:28:00.001-04:00

Awhile back I was browsing at the library and I looked down on the shelf in the middle of the historical (nonfiction)section, and saw (dramatic music) A NOVEL!!!

What was it doing there?

Well, actually, it happened to be a novel I'd read a few months before (how often does that happen?), and I totally know why the lovely librarian got confused and mis-shelved it.

The premise of the story was that a lawyer whose father passed away unexpectedly discovers the manuscript written by his father to explain his actions during World War II as an American soldier.

If you've read The Shack or What Dreams May Come, you've seen this tactic before. Beginning the story with an explanation from the narrator saying, "hey, this isn't my story, I heard about it from the guy it happened to and here's how I found out, and now I'm gonna turn it over to him to tell us all about it," gives the story more credibility. It kind of separates us from the "novel" part of the experience and draws us in so we feel like we're hearing the testimony of a witness. Shelley's Frankenstein employs much the same tactic.

It's a powerful and fascinating technique. But it's not the only way authors steep their stories in credibility. Using the format of a journal is another way. Remember the story about the girl in the 70s who wrestled with drug addiction? Go Ask Alice has been referred to as one of the definitive YA works on teen addiction.... but what many people (including myself, until recently) do not realize is that it is fiction. (Yeah, I mentioned this in my young adult book review blog.)

So yup. Gotta watch those writers. Sneaky stuff. You never know what they'll do to get you to buy in to the story.

A New Blog for Book Reviews

2009-03-12T21:39:00.006-04:00

Those of you who've been out there pining the recent absence of my witty and marvelous (haha) book reviews... weep no longer! All your review cravings can now be met at my new blog site: youngadultbooks.wordpress.com!

Here's the behind-the-scenes story about how this came about. Well, the summarized version... I've been thinking for awhile about this idea of trying to expose the content in each of the YA books I've read. Not in any way to encourage censorship-- actually, kind of the opposite. My goal is to provide parents (and perhaps even teens) with a way to know what they're getting into before they even crack open the cover of the book-- so they can do so with confidence, knowing that the material is age-appropriate.

I've just read too many YA novels with crazy content. And I'm not saying there aren't teens out there who enjoy those very books. But as a parent who will someday have a teenager, I do want to be prepared and aware of what my daughter reads, and I recognize I might not have time to keep up with her voracious book appetite. So this is one way I can perhaps help parents in that exact position today.

For the present, I'll be reposting some of the reviews you've seen here, with the addition of some feedback on the book's specific content. Once the site is up and running, I hope to recruit some additional reviewers and perhaps partner with other authors and publishers so that we post reviews for the most current YA releases.

Wow, Kasey! How can I help?
I was so hoping you'd ask. Tell your friends! Pass the link to your local church. Go to the blog site EVERY DAY FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!!! :) Leave comments. Tell me what you honestly think! Hate the site? Don't be shy. Be respectful, of course. But I want to hear ya.

youngadultbooks.wordpress.com

Hope to see y'all on there.

I'll still be posting a couple times per week on this blog, so no worries. I'll probably focus on writing-ish stuff and my own writing journey. Fun times.

Lost Season 4 vs Season 5: The Power of the Question

2009-03-10T15:14:00.003-04:00

After a horrific plane crash, something like 40 survivors find themselves stranded on a strange and somewhat paranormal island, desperate to stay alive and find a way back to civilization.

That's basically the driving goal of the first four seasons of the TV show Lost.

However -- SPOILER WARNING!!!-- at the end of Season 4, a small group of Oceanic Flight 815 find rescue and are able to return home. End of show, right?

No. (Those clever writers.) The Island apparently won't let them escape so easily... again and again, they are told they must return as a group to the island where the plane crashed. The problem is that not everyone within the group is even willing to go, and even those who are seem deeply torn about it. So now the new question hooking viewers into Lost Season 5 is this: Six passengers escape the island they were stranded on, but three years later, they are told they must return.

I haven't seen Season 5 yet. I'm curious as to whether this new idea was enough to sustain their viewership through the season. Because to me, survivors struggling to leave an island is a much more clearly understandable motive than escaped survivors being called back to the island by its mysterious forces. The question raises my curiosity, but the motive doesn't feel as strong to me as with the other seasons because I don't identify with this urge to return as I did with the urge to leave the island.

With any kind of writing, premise is power. I think the deeper the story's main question strikes the reader/viewer, the deeper we are hooked into that story. Think about the stories that stick with you long after they've been read/watched. For me, the ones that stick are the ones in which the characters have had the most at stake. Lord of the Rings is the first example that comes to my mind, though it doesn't always have to be so extreme. In the movie Penelope, she risks her ability to end the curse on her by exposing herself to the world outside her parents' home.

The point is that with any successful story, there is a goal we are drawn in to, something we invest in. So I'm curious to see if this shift in major goal is successful-- do I lose interest because I don't understand the motive, or do I continue to watch because the importance is communicated to me and I become invested in seeing the Oceanic 6 return to their island?

"Safe" YA?

2009-02-09T07:08:00.000-05:00

When I was maybe thirteen years old, my grandma gave me a book by Judy Blume called The Girl with the Tiger's Eyes. Since I had enjoyed Superfudge and other of her works, I dove into the book pretty quickly.

And felt very betrayed. That story had more sexual content than many adult novels I have since read. I was stunned. These were not the experiences I had set out to read about. As an early teen especially, I wasn't even honestly that curious about sex. Perhaps that's unusual, but it really isn't my point.

I trusted YA as a genre to present stories with certain parameters, one of which was very limited sexual content. I am disappointed and even frustrated that those fences seem to be breached. Maybe I sound prudish, but honestly I don't care. I'm not saying sex has no place in literature. I'm just saying I don't want to read about it in YA. I do not want my daughter, at fourteen, to learn about giving oral sex from a book she got in the YA section of the library. Or to believe, based on her literature, that casual and frequent sexual relationships are part of a normal, admirable teen experience. Especially when those stories do not accurately depict the consequences of those behaviors-- teen pregnancy. STDs.

For teens who are still figuring out who they are, what they believe, who they want to be, and who are often still learning to understand cause and effect relationships, I think some of these stories can be damaging and misleading. Yes, I know. It's fiction. This should be a clue. Yet how many times do we idolize and romanticize characters in stories, wishing our lives were like theirs?

I believe we have a responsibility to protect and teach the generation coming up behind us. I believe their literature should do no less.

Keeping the Main Theme the Main Theme

2009-01-19T07:44:00.000-05:00

I recently read a YA by an author whose name is widely known. I liked the voice, the writing itself was solid, but to be honest, when I finished the book, closed it and put it down beside me, I found myself thinking, "What was that story actually about?"

What I think is missing is the overall THEME. For example, the novel I reviewed last week is about an assassination attempt on King Arthur and Merlin's attempt to secure the support of the people for Arthur's rule through the sword in the stone. That's pretty much the gist of the whole story.

The other story I read couldn't so easily be summarized. I have no idea what to say about it from the standpoint of a theme.

So this made me stop and analyze my own work. I have one completed manuscript that I'd begun shopping to agents, but I realized that my story lacks a cohesive message. I know what I want that message to be, but so far it's not very apparent in the telling of the tale.

This is really another reason I think it's important to keep reading. Anything and everything. Break it down. Look at what works and why. Find what doesn't work. Why did it fail? What would you have done differently? Apply what you've learned to your own work. It's a great learning tool.

Review: The Sword of the Rightful King by Jane Yolen

2009-01-16T07:03:00.000-05:00

An assassin, sent by the North Witch, Morgause, seeks to murder Arthur, Britain's king of four years. Her sons also journey to Cadbury to counsel with the king.

But Morgause isn't the only one unwilling to accept Arthur as king. Other tribes refuse fealty, prompting Merlinnus to take action. Something must be done to prove Arthur's right to rule once and for all. He devises a sword set in stone for this very purpose. As the ceremony draws near, everything seems to be going well. But a surprise visit from Morgause threatens to unravel all of Merlinnus's plans. Can they stop her from stealing Arthur's crown and uncover the plot to assassinate him before it is too late?

Yolen's tale is different than the traditional version of the story. The prose is poetic and wry at times. The whole cast of characters are endearing.

Be One With the Crowd

2009-01-12T07:44:00.001-05:00

I finally did it. Despite the clammy palms and nervous sweats that ensue when I hear the words "group meeting" in any context, I finally caved. I went to an Orlando Word Weavers Meeting! This is a serious breakthrough for my anti-social side.

Okay, actually, I'm not as crazy as I'm making myself sound, though the sweating part is essentially true. (Sorry... TMI?) Anyway. So, yes. Word Weavers. Cool stuff. Want to go again. Let's talk about WHY?

Last fall, I volunteered to be the Florida Area Coordinator for ACFW (American Christian Fiction
Writers). This is a fancy title that means I moderate an email loop of FL ACFW members and get my cheer on to start local and regional ACFW meetings. Woo-hoo! Can we say in-over-head? :)

Actually, to be honest, so far it's been a wonderful experience, even if it is a little trial-by-fire at times. C'est la vie, my friends. C'est la vie.

So anyway, the material question here is WHY am I convinced that being a part of local groups is a very good thing for a writer? After all, I'm a member of two online (and extremely helpful!) critique groups. I'm not lacking in helpful input to my writing. I'm a part of a national writers' group, which provides some networking opportunities. So why the press for local meetings?

I can sum it up in one word: Energy. There is nothing like being in a roomful of other writers. You share a common passion-- the love of story-- and a dedication to the pursuit of that passion. It's an energizing experience.

I'm sure the networking is great, too. Everyone knows everyone in this business. But to recognize a name on an email is a little bit different than to know someone and have personally given and received critique from them. So that's another plus.

And while I'm totally blessed to have killer critique partners already, it doesn't mean I am above needing any further critique. Having fresh eyes review a piece is always a good idea. And honestly, I'm looking forward to participating in the giving of feedback as much as receiving it. Not that I think I have so much to offer-- but it's so much fun to read other people's work and see its strengths and wow-- when you have that moment of clarity where you can see an area that can be further strengthened, what an honor it is to be able to help someone out like that. Sweet!

Anyway... I haven't made any huge commitments as of yet to the meeting. Actually, my intent here in this blog was to talk about the wealth of writing groups that are available locally. There are probably more even than this, but check out this list, just for this month and next month:

January
Word Weavers Orlando Meeting
Space Coast Writers' Guild Meeting (Melbourne)
Space Coast Writers' Conference (Cocoa)
Central FL ACFW Writing Workshop (Orlando)

February
Word Weavers Annual Retreat
Word Weavers Orlando Meeting
Space Coast Writers' Meeting (Melbourne)
Florida Christian Writers' Conference (Eustis)

All I can say is WOW!

Review: The Covenant by Naomi Ragen

2009-01-09T07:44:00.000-05:00

When her husband and daughter do not return home as expected, pregnant and bed-ridden Elise Margulies must face the fears from her nightmares. Both are kidnapped by Islamic terrorists.

Across the globe, Elise's grandmother hears the news and calls in the troops. She and three friends, all survivors of Auschwitz, revive a commitment made long ago, to protect the lives of their families, at any cost. The terrorists' deadline to execute Elise's husband and daughter closes in on them. Can they be rescued in time?

The Covenant is fast-paced and intense, but full of warmth and heart. The characters voices, especially the four members of the Covenant, are moving and real. Ragen brings the reader straight into the heart of a nation in turmoil, stricken by terror, but shows the beauty, the hope that sustains the people of Israel.

***
Side Note...
If you've been following my blog for any length of time, you've seen this title lingering on the "Currently Reading" list for an unmentionably long time. This is why: I read the first couple chapters, and put the book aside. I have a really hard time with a story in which you fall in love with a character only to watch them perish. I had not read the story to find out if that's how it was going to go, but at that point, I wasn't up to finding out. Funny how that works.

Anyway... so now I've read it! And if you've been thinking about picking it up, I highly recommend it.

Thoughts On the New Year

2009-01-05T07:29:00.000-05:00

Did you know that you are seventy percent more likely to accomplish a goal that you put in writing?

Makes you want to pick up a pen, right? This is my chief argument in favor of a to-do list. I've also found that breaking those big goals up into bite-sized steps also helps me focus and get more accomplished.

I recently heard about a woman who wrote an entire manuscript of a novel by writing for the first ten minutes of every hour. She was a home-school mom with more than one child in the nest, and found it hard to get any uninterrupted time to write. So she came up with a plan everyone could live with. At the top of the hour, she'd set a timer for ten minutes, and the rule was that no one interrupted her during those ten minutes.

Just the focus and discipline to make that work is pretty impressive. The point is: where there's a will, there's a way. With that in mind... what are your new year's goals?

Here are a few of mine:

1. Complete two new manuscripts. (One is already half-way done, and the other is mapped, but not officially started.)

2. Do something creative with my daughter once per week. I like crafty things, and she really enjoys them, too, so it's a win-win.

3. Be a faithful blogger, here and in my contributions on www.momstories.org.

4. Read, read, read. One novel per week.

5. Exercise in some form or other for at least 30 minutes per day or 3.5 hours per week.

6. Write 1000 words per day on a new project.

7. Pick up more modeling work and learn Q/A. (work stuff...)

8. Publish at least 10 articles by working freelance.

9. Take my Reliv faithfully.

Review: I'm a Stranger Here Myself by Bill Bryson

2009-01-02T07:00:00.000-05:00

This is actually a collection of the pieces he wrote for a column in a British magazine about life in America. They relate some of his experiences on returning home to the US after living in England for twenty years. They're hilarious.

I first read Bryson's A Walk in the Woods a couple years ago, and definitely fell in love with his ironic voice. He relates some stories and facts about history that are frankly, absurd and hysterical.

In I'm a Stranger Here Myself, Bryson discusses the numbers of Americans (400,000) who are injured each year by beds, mattresses, or pillows. Seriously. It's almost ten times more people than were injured by razors and razor blades. Pretty weird!

Many of the pieces made me laugh out loud. A couple of times I caught my husband sneaking a peak at the book when he thought I wasn't looking to try to find out what was so funny. Great stuff!

Why I Read the Classics (And Think Everyone Should)

2008-12-29T07:06:00.000-05:00

Call me bizarre, but I actually like Classics. Not ALLLLL of them (Do NOT ask me to endure Tess of the D'Urbervilles a second time...), but certainly quite a few.

Are they hard reading? Yes, harder than a lot of contemporary fiction. But they're worth it. These stories endured for a reason, and it wasn't to make high school/college Lit difficult.

In a lot of cases, the works we know as classics changed how people thought about things. Tess shows every conceivable mistreatment of women. Mary Shelley wrote about the value of created life in Frankenstein.

I think it's important especially to writers to understand how and why the enduring stories shaped and affected our cultures and society. Just as we study history and the events that occurred-- both noble and abhorrent-- so that we can make good decisions for the future, I think we should also be educated about the writing that led us to where we are today.

There are many classics still on my reading list, but here are a few that have risen above the rest and become some of my enduring favorites:

1. Cry the Beloved Country by Alan Paton (best ending I've EVER read. PERIOD.)

2. The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald (this is a surprisingly easy read... which was his goal.)

3. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (ironically... I hated this when I read it in school. Now I've ready it like a dozen times, and it still remains my favorite of her works.)

4. The Outsiders by S E Hinton (okay, this one is a little bit recent to be labeled a true 'classic'... but again, as something that was a hugely meaningful piece to an entire generation and continues to speak to teens... just read it!)

5. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (probably my absolute favorite story with a child narrator. An amazing snapshot of that time and place in history.)

So... yeah. If I were banished to a deserted island and could only take ten books, these would definitely be among them. Along with, you know, like handy survival guides and stuff.

Review: Reflections of God's Holy Land by Eva Marie Everson and Miriam Feinberg Vamosh

2008-12-26T07:11:00.000-05:00

Reflections of God's Holy Land is a hard-cover book with a beautiful dust jacket. It contains large full-color illustrations, historical information about many Biblically significant sites, as well as author Eva Marie Everson's spiritual journey as she visited these places.

The historical facts are intriguing and easy to understand. They bring new meaning to the beautiful landscapes and features represented in the book. The 'Reflections' portions of the text show the emotional and spiritual response that deepen a reader's understanding of the places described and pictured.

Among those sites visited are The Dead Sea, Rachel's Tomb, Nazareth, the Mount of Beatitudes, Mount Carmel, the Garden of Gethsemane, Via Dolorosa, and the Garden Tomb.

The combination of text and photos creates a whole experience, a spiritual journey through history. This is a perfect book to display on a coffee or sofa table, or to give friends and family who have a love for the Holy Land.

Eva Marie Everson's other works include The Potluck Club, Intimate Moments with God, Intimate Encounter with God, and One True Vow. The first book in her new series, The Potluck Catering Club was released in August.

Miriam Feinberg Vamosh also wrote Women at the Time of the Bible, Daily Life at the Time of Jesus, and Israel, Land of the Bible.

I've Got Mail!

2008-12-22T07:23:00.001-05:00

Last night I had a breakthrough. Finally, after several weeks of trying to catch up, I narrowed my email inbox down to five messages I have to deal with. Only three require actual replies, while the other two are basically reminders of other tasks I have to complete.

For a few moments, I feel accomplished. This is great!

But all too soon, the cycle begins again, because..... people write back!

I love email-- it is by far my favorite form of communication for casual and lower-priority issues. I write you when I can, you read when you can and respond when convenient, rather than the two of us playing phone tag all afternoon, or having a two hour conversation because we wind up talking about everything under the sun. I'm generally not patient enough to write an email that takes me two hours, unless it's just a really sticky topic.

My goal is really not to spend more than an hour doing email. Ideally, I answer any business-type stuff first. Emails about work, stuff related to the Florida ACFW group, anything related to my writing or critique commitments, and then the fun stuff.

Anyway, by tomorrow morning, I'll have thirty messages in my inbox again, and I'll repeat the cycle.

Review: I Love Everybody (And Other Atrocious Lies) by Laurie Notaro

2008-12-19T07:36:00.000-05:00

Laurie Notaro has it all. Well, if by all you mean a husband, a mortgage, and *gasp* a JOB! Unfortunately... keeping them all is not as simple as it might seem. Nevertheless, she survives neurotic supervisors, humiliating meetings with her boss, and those wacko elevator people. But that's just the beginning.

If you're looking for a mellow, light and slightly humorous read, well, this one might not be for you. Notaro's spunk and no-nonsense look at reality is seam-splittingly hilarious, if not always perfectly reverent.

This is the funniest book I read since Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods. Seriously-- looking for a pick-me-up in your down time this holiday season, or need something for that witty cousin you never know what to buy for? Grab some hot cocoa and prepare to laugh-- so drink the cocoa carefully.

Happy Holidays!

Review: The Owling by Robert Elmer

2008-12-12T07:14:00.000-05:00

On her way home from the Shadowside, Oriannon's shuttle is hijacked and forced to land on a small way station where a mysterious Owling risks his life to give her a strange stone for safekeeping. Soothed by his allegiance to Jesmet, but still puzzled over the whole thing, Oriannon agrees to keep the stone hidden. When she finally reaches home, things only continue getting more strange. Rumors of earthquakes and warped reports of what is happening to the Owling people, who live in the Shadowside, make Oriannon more and more nervous. But a bright star shines out of the dark. A new voice with an offer of hope she terms her Ultimate Solution for peace catches Oriannon's ear. Oriannon instantly feels a connection with the new First Citizen, Sola. But there may be more to her promises than meets the eye. Can Oriannon discover the truth before she's in too deep?

In this second book in the Shadowside Trilogy, Robert Elmer returns to the planet with two sides: The wealthy and advanced Coristans who live on the bright side of the planet, plundering resources from the Shadowside, where the mysterious Owlings live.

The Owling is a story of good and evil, that reminds us that we each have a choice to make, and that things are not always as they seem.

Who's In Charge Here?!

2008-12-10T09:24:00.003-05:00

You know you're in trouble when you're in the middle of writing a... well, an intense... scene and the characters suddenly look at each other and say, "Er... now what?"

True story.

It took me a little time to decode the message, but after three or four scenes spiraling down to the characters asking, "what next?" I discovered this was a control issue, and not the kind I am used to dealing with. (har har...)

Think of those nifty SIM games. You've got a certain amount of control over the characters-- what they look like, some of their other traits or likes and dislikes. There is a certain amount that you do not control-- the days advance and a series of obstacles present themselves. You have to make some decisions about how to navigate those obstacles.

This is a little bit like writing a novel. You have a cast of characters: hero and/or heroine, supporting players, villain, etc. You customize them based on the needs of the story. Then those characters get thrown into world and begin to move through it, encountering obstacles along the way-- the plot you've developed. It's up to you to navigate them through it, scene by scene.

You, the master artist, are in control.

I found that what broke the vicious cycle for me was to have a specific plot target for each scene or chapter. Now, as I begin each chapter, I stop and ask myself: What's point B? What are the broad strokes that get me there? Once I've got that down, I set the scene and turn the characters loose. So far, this has been a much more effective strategy. A friend and freelance editor looked at work I'd done before and after my great apostrophe (when lightning struck my brain). She said my earlier work didn't seem to have a direction. But the newer stuff, she found to have a much clearer storyline. That, my friends, is a measure of victory!

So there you have it. And now I have an overwhelming urge to play lemmings or SIMs or something.

Review: Blue Moon Rising by Simon R. Green

2008-12-05T11:22:00.002-05:00

When Prince Rupert of the Forest Kingdom comes of age, his father sends him on a quest straight out of legend: to go forth and slay a dragon. But on his quest, Rupert discovers that real life doesn't have much in common with songs and legends. And when he returns home (with the dragon and the princess he rescued said dragon from), he discovers that things have only gotten worse in his absence. The Blue Moon is rising, the Darkwood is spreading, and with it a host of demons threatens to destroy the land and all who live in it. So yet again, Rupert as the expendable second son is called upon to lead a quest that is the Forest Kingdom's only hope.

Simon R. Green's writing is wry and clever. Some fantasies take themselves very seriously... this is not one of them. The steady march toward the doom of the Forest Kingdom under the rising Blue Moon is peppered with witty dialogue and sardonic humor. The characters are lovable in all their flawed glory. Great story.

Thoughts on Jonah

2008-12-01T17:10:00.002-05:00

So I've been thinking a lot about Jonah ever since a friend sent me this video...

Yeah... been there! :) Sometimes I think I LIVE there. LOL. Okay, it's actually not really funny. I've just noticed more and more lately my tendency to avoid things that I don't want to do. Example: I used to be addicted to this online to-do list thing. (LOVE To-Do lists!) It was cool. You set up the list and your goals and it walks you through things, and then every time you check someone off the list, it gets highlighted and a box pops up that says "Target accomplished!" and you're like YEA!!! Go me! I think there should be little fireworks or something, kind of like there are when you beat Spider Solitaire, but that's mixing addictions... anyway. So I was addicted to this program, except something got put on the list that I was really struggling with finishing (final edits on a manuscript I finished in August. Yes, August!).

So I got sick of seeing the edit goal always slipping through the cracks. And did the most logical thing-- I muscled down and did it! Um, wait... no... that's not it. I stopped using the program. Doh!

But actually, that's just a small example. What I'm really referring to is a much deeper issue. Something that happened a long time ago. I buried it very deep, and it took a long time to resurface. I had always thought of myself as a fairly honest person. I wasn't perfect, but I sure tried. I was often told I wore my heart on my sleeve. And I liked that label just fine.

What I didn't know was the depth to which I had been lying to myself. Some weird stuff happened that shook me up and apparently uncovered the things I didn't want to face. I continued to deny it for a long time. Convinced it was just some irrational fear, or nightmares that were unconnected to my real life.

Sounds a little like Jonah on the run, huh? Yep.

I've been thinking about what it must have been like, when he was swallowed by that fish. GROSS! Think about it... three days INSIDE a fish. EWW!! Stomach acids all over your skin. Getting jerked around all over the place. Struggling for each breath. What air there was must have been HORRIBLY stinky. Gah. Maybe I'm a pessimist, but I'd be pretty sure I was going to die.

There's a prayer in the book of Jonah in the Bible-- where he cries out to God from inside the fish. Pretty desperate sounding stuff.

Then the fish spits him back on the land. And Jonah finally relents and goes to Nineveh.

Anyway. So... the good news is that I am happy to report I have not been swallowed by a fish.

But... I also know, that the time is running out, or has run out, for me to be a big girl and face this thing.

Like that song by Third Eye Blind (Jumper):

"I wish you would step back from that ledge my friend
Cut ties with all the lies that you've been living in..."

"Everyone's got to face down their demons
Maybe today you can put the past away..."

So-o-o... that's been part of my struggle with this new manuscript. Both the central characters have been through similar but different experiences, and I'm finding it awkward and even painful to step into their shoes and explore their responses to these things.

Anyway. So that's my story. I ended NaNo with just over 30K words. But I intend to continue working on this project. I'd like to see the manuscript finished by January 1, 2009.

Gentemen (and ladies) Start Your Violins

2008-11-24T18:54:00.003-05:00

My total word count thus far: 30K This means I have six days and five hours to write 20K words. AAAAAAAAAARGH!!!

Okay, okay, okay. The pity party stops here. Discipline! Determination! Rah, rah and all that!

Things I've learned from NaNoWriMo (so far)

1. Every day is a new day. A new chance to ~~torment yourself with~~ strive for that word count goal. To uncover the deeper elements of the characters and plot.

2. You are capable of 2K more today than you think you are. I guarantee it. I won't vouch for the quality of the 2K, but you've got it in you.

3. There's something to be said for just saying it. What I mean is... This contest has forced me to put characters to paper that have lived in my mind for almost fourteen years. Instead of obsessing over the details of each scene, I've pushed ahead and written more than I dreamed possible. Will I save every word? No. But it is easier to rewrite a bad scene a second time through. Editing is an art of its own.

4. Did I mention every day is a new day? Whether or not the goal for yesterday was met is irrelevant today. No time to waste on remorse. Time to put down the whip and start typing.

5. It doesn't end November 30th. I mean... the challenge ends. But the ultimate goal is to complete the manuscript. So gotta keep at it.

6. Writing is like a box of chocolates... wait. No, that's not it. Writing is like sumo wrestling. Except with different outfits. I kind of like those sandals, though. But yeah, it's like sumo wrestling. Better when done with others.

Review: Havah by Tosca Lee

2008-11-21T18:24:00.002-05:00

Havah tells the story of the first mother, Eve, her life and exile from the garden, and her experiences throughout the rest of her life.

But wait. Before you tune me out because you think: how can this be an interesting and fresh story, since we know how it all ends? Know that I was there. Until I started reading.

Tosca Lee shares the story of Eve in an almost tangible, revelatory way. Eve's curiosity, her innocence from the moment of her creation, her transformation and suffering after the fall from paradise, are moving and well... sensational!

I think my favorite scene-- because I could not imagine it being done in a way that made me truly imagine it or made the story as it's written in the Bible make even more sense-- was the scene directly after the fruit is eaten. (What does this tell you about me, eh? Just kidding... Ahem.)

This is a must-read. Seriously. I have never before read anything historical or speculative that is told with such beauty or intensity. Fabulous read. Did I mention you need to check this out? Do it!!

****
Apologies to my, like, 5 faithful blog readers for the lack of posts last week. I had a project come up that needed finishing IMMEDIATELY, so I pretty much dropped the ball on everything else. I most humbly apologize...

Just Another Manic Monday

2008-11-10T15:16:00.003-05:00

So the new writing project? Yeah, I'd like to say it's going smoothly. I'd like to say I'm in love with the story, deep in the characters and enthralled with the twists and turns of my brilliant plot.

So far, my friends... we are 0 for 3. Le sigh. (An aside-- it's just SAD that looney toons in any way makes an appearance in my vocabulary!)

Anyway. Back to the topic at hand. I'm thousands of words behind my target, and not entirely sure how to break the vicious cycle. Hmm.

This is and has always been my favorite story. My favorite hero. At present I'm rewriting in first person present tense to see if that helps me connect with the story a little more. Mostly, I feel the writing is generic-- which means I haven't found the voice of the story, an issue I've always struggled with on this particular piece. But there has to be light at the end of the tunnel, right?

Surely if I keep pounding away at it, I'll hit a stride eventually? This has become for me almost no longer about NaNoWriMo (that didn't take long, right?) and moreso about uncovering the voice of the story and connecting with the characters I so deeply adore. Only I'm pretty well clueless as to how to do that.

I know these characters, I could tell you pretty much anything about them. So it's not an issue of filling out a character chart or something. I just need to let myself fall in love with them again, I guess. Somehow connect with them at a heart level and let them tell the story in their distinctive voices.

All right... lament over. Back to the writing board.

Review: Walking Man by Narciso Zamora

2008-11-07T07:37:00.001-05:00

When Narciso Zamora runs away from his parents' home in Peru at age fourteen, he has no idea that God already has a plan for his life. After living in the streets, working here and there, stealing what he could when it was convenient or there was no work, he met a family who changed everything for him.

Zamora began spending time at their church, and suddenly, the message he'd been hearing sunk in. He studied theology and began a ministry that spanned decades and miles, taking him on foot through the jungles of South America on journeys that often lasted for days. Pressing on through extreme poverty and persecution, Zamora and his family planted churches in Peru, Ecuador, and Chile. Walking Man is the testimony of his life and experience.

While a simple story, Zamora's tale paints a stark picture of his life in Latin America as a pastor and missionary. His determination and commitment in the face of disaster are heartwarming, as are the testaments of God's faithfulness to provide to him and his family.

Good Old-Fashioned Discipline

2008-11-03T07:39:00.000-05:00

NaNoWriMo Day 3

Soooooo... whew. It never ceases to amaze me how much more I can get done if I just make my fingers keep going, type out line after line, even if I'm not 100% pleased with the previous line or 100% sure what the next line after this one will be. The unexpected lightning strike of inspiration is wonderful, but how often do you really get struck by lightning?

Perhaps engaging in the discipline of daily writing is like walking in an open field with a lightning rod.

I think, for me, this particular story has existed in my head for so long that I've avoided putting it on paper because I knew I couldn't write it exactly as I see it in my head. But if I don't attempt to write it, no one else besides me will ever know about Jess and Celeste and the winding road they travel.

All right. Enough navel-gazing. Back to the grind!

Friday I'll post a review of Walking Man, the story of a missionary to Latin America.

Review: Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

2008-10-31T10:38:00.003-04:00

When the dreaded Volturi close in on the Cullen Family, Bella commits to do whatever it takes to protect the child she saw in her dreams. As the battle looms nearer, it becomes clear to Bella that she has more strength than even she gave herself credit for. But will it be enough to protect her new family from total destruction?

This is the fourth and last (so far) book in Meyer's Twilight Saga. I liked it better than the third one, though there are some POV changes that it took me awhile to get used to, but I think the additional viewpoint added a lot of depth to the story.

I love Stephenie Meyer's use of foreshadowing-- she follows the same basic pattern in each book, where there is a looming inevitable threat that draws nearer as the story progresses. The tension rises gradually as the story progresses and the threat becomes more apparent.

As with the other Twilight books, the romance between Edward and Bella is handled really tactfully. There's probably a little more language in the later books in the series, but over all, compared to a lot of the YA that's out there... these are pretty cleanly written.

Oops...

2008-10-28T21:21:00.003-04:00

Sorry! I wound up with a flu-like bug last week that pretty much knocked me off my feet. I did manage to finish reading the fourth book of the Twilight Saga, so theoretically that review will be up on Friday. If, in the mean time, you're just chomping at the bit and caught in the cold sweats of withdrawals from a lack of my blog posts-- check out my articles at www.momstories.org. :D

Warning: A Literary Soap Box Part 1: Romance

2008-10-20T07:51:00.000-04:00

Okay, seriously. I've read too many books and seen too many movies and heard too many songs that seem to subscribe to this twisted version of romance. You know, the one where the guy is positively drooling at the feet of the heroine.

I'm talking about the HERO acting this way. The guy I'm supposed to be rooting for and being thrilled to the point of happy tears when he and the heroine finally get together.

Because come on ladies-- sure, a guy acting like that is fun for awhile. But that kind of abandoned adoration just plain gets obnoxious after awhile.

"What do you want to do today, honey?" -Heroine

"Anything. Oh, anything you want. As long as I'm with you. I love you forever. I worship your feet! MWAH MWAH MWAH!!" -Hero

Okay, okay, I'm exaggerating. But to me, that kind of guy is a wimp. That heroine just flat out deserves a better guy. How about a little spine, please?

Have you ever heard that song by the Police?

"Every breath you take, every move you make
Every bond you break, every step you take
I'll be watching you"

Okay, imagine your best friend getting an email like that. I'd be thinking O M G!! A STALKER!! I mean, I know it's a love song... but if someone said and meant those things, wouldn't that strike you as creepy? Am I the only one here?

Anyway.... the point here being that I think it's important for us to be aware that as writers we set the stage in a way for readers. I think we tend to absorb relationships and preferences portrayed in books, movies and music as normal or certainly as popular. That can be dangerous.

Wouldn't it be nice if there were really compelling, amazing stories that portrayed healthy relationships? Sure, we're all broken people, I'm not saying the hero and his lady have to be perfect. That's not realistic either. But let's glorify something healthy, can't we?

Review: Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

2008-10-17T07:44:00.000-04:00

Once again Bella Swan's life is in danger, seemingly because of her association with the Cullen family. Strange events unfold in nearby Seattle-- a mass of unsolved murders. Could there be "newborn" vampires on the loose? In the midst of it all, Bella discovers she must make a choice: Edward.... or Jacob?

While Eclipse wasn't my favorite in Meyer's series (#1 - Twilight still holds that spot), it did show a lot more of the other Cullen family members, and that was cool. I liked getting to know some of them a little better. The tension between Bella and Jacob definitely heats up... I've always been an Edward fan, but by the end of this book, I could definitely see the point of Team Jacob. :)

I'm reading the fourth book at present, so check back next week for the review on that one -- Breaking Dawn.

NaNoWriMo

2008-10-13T14:06:00.003-04:00

November is National Novel Writing Month. What better time to sit down and tap out that story that's been haunting you at night? :D

No seriously... in celebration of National Novel Writing Month, you can sign up via www.nanowrimo.org and take the challenge to write an entire manuscript or 50K words in thirty days.

I suggest taking at least a little time to brainstorm your story idea, even if you're a seat-of-the-pants type of writer. At least map out your story direction and major conflicts. In order to meet the challenge, you'll be churning out almost 2K words per day. That's about 4 pages single-spaced. Sound like a lot? On a good day, I can do about 1K in 30-45 minutes.

The key to the challenge is to keep moving forward. Keep churning out scenes, even if you aren't 100% satisfied with the scenes you're leaving behind. Resist the internal editor and just keep typing.

So hey, if you're up for the challenge, let me know! First to 50K wins!

Review: Out of Her Hands by Megan DiMaria

2008-10-10T07:16:00.001-04:00

Things are not happy on the home front when Linda Revere discovers her adult son is dating the wrong girl. But Nick's cagey behavior and sudden disappearances aren't the only disturbance in Linda's world. New challenges seem to pop up daily at work, where she is office manager of an upscale photography studio, and her family still reels from the recent loss of her mother-in-law. To top it all off, her best friend and confidante is moving across the country. It seems like the harder Linda works to hold things together, the more out of control they get. What does she do now?

Linda's sense of humor and spunk drew me right into the story. It was easy to understand the challenges she faced and sympathize with her struggles. This is a story any mom can relate to. The themes of loyalty and family are refreshing and satisfying.

Though probably more of a mom read than a teen read, I think younger readers can still enjoy the story-- both Linda's 18 yr old and 22 yr old children are significant characters in the story, and were really easy for me as a reader to connect with.

Did Somebody Step on My Muse?

2008-10-06T15:41:00.002-04:00

I know I keep saying this, but it has been a crazy last few weeks! Between keeping up with blog posts, submitting articles, working, taking care of family, networking, rehearsing, and writing, I feel like I am meeting myself coming and going. If that makes any sense.

When life gets busy like that, I have a hard time sitting still and focusing on one task at a time-- which you can imagine, makes writing and editing very difficult.

Just have to muscle through, though. Even if I set the timer and say, okay. For the next 30 minutes, I'm editing. Even if I only get one page done.

Oh the struggles and joys of writing! :)

Next month is National Novel Writing Month. Some fabulous Crit partners and I may all commit to the challenge together, which should be really cool. But it means I better get in gear and get this manuscript finished before November first! Which means I better stop blogging and get to work! :)

Happy writing!

Review: In Between by Jenny B Jones

2008-10-03T12:10:00.003-04:00

Sixteen year old Katie Parker is not too excited when she discovers she's moving to a new foster home in In Between, Texas, home of the Chihuahuas. And to top that off, her new "dad" is the pastor of one of the local churches. Not exactly consistent with Katie's formerly religion-less life. At her new school, she finds herself at home with the other outsiders. At least, so she thinks. When one late night stunt turns to trouble, Katie finds herself sentenced to time with her new nonGrandmother-- Mad Maxine. Could things get any worse? And does the God thing really work?

Jenny B Jones tells Katie's story with just the right mix of tenderness, humor, and sarcasm. It was an entertaining read, one I didn't want to put down from the minute I read the first page. Katie is lovable and endearing-- and even Mad Maxine really gets to your heart. She's a trip.

There are three books in the Katie Parker Production series. A new series by Jenny B Jones will be out next spring... can't wait to learn more!

The New Week's Resolutions

2008-10-01T13:21:00.002-04:00

Each day... well, at least each week, I write a To Do list of all the things bouncing around in my head that I know I need to get done. Update my blog, turn in various chapters for critique, write and/or edit a certain number of words or chapters on my own projects, write various articles, clean the house, run errands, give the cat a bath, etc.

Some weeks I get so much done it's incredible! Other weeks the To Do list gets longer rather than shorter, and by the week's end, I'm scrambling to get it all done or else just moving half the items over to the next week's big list.

But one thing I try to do (and if you're familiar with the Simpleology way of doing things, you probably already do this) is to look back at the week for what worked, what killed my time, and how I can make the next week even better efficiency-wise.

As an Arbonne consultant, one of the things they teach you is that you are 70% more likely to reach a goal that you write down. Why? Well, certainly part of it is that writing a goal forces you to define it. There's also a certain rewarding feeling from being able to cross that thing off the list and say, "yep! I did it!!"

But even if you didn't do it all this week, there's always an opportunity to learn and improve. Speaking of which... I better move on to the next item on my list. ;)

Better Late Than Never

2008-09-29T20:12:00.002-04:00

Yikes! I neglected my blog this morning.

I'm fascinated by two opposing ... I'm going to call them truths... in the book industry. One is that (and this comes via a workshop at the ACFW conference) a book generally lasts about 90 days on the shelf of the bookstore. 90 days. Yeesh, it takes me longer than that to WRITE the thing, right?

So obviously it's a challenge to recoup what is cost to make the book during that 90 days. That's one obstacle. But another is that in order to build readership and keep an author's name out there, authors are taking shorter deadlines. Six months. Four months. That's quick! To write, edit, and polish a novel.

But think about the shelf-life problem. If your last book is off the shelf in three months (90 days), then a four month deadline puts your next book on the shelf a mere 30 days later. It probably keeps your name more fresh in the mind of your (hopefully) growing readership.

But does writing under those brief deadlines cause some drooping in the quality of the writing? Are we giving up quality in favor of quantity?

Certainly it can happen. I think the onus falls on the writer to resist commitments that leave him/her unhappy with the end result of the work. Of course, that's easy for a non-contracted author to say. :)

I think it's important as a writer to be aware of your own creation process. Know what you can reasonably do and not do, and to strive to avoid commitments that take you beyond those limitations.

I'll be getting my education here shortly, as I begin sending out proposals of my own for Broken Glass. So I'll have to report back on this topic from the other side of the fence.

Review: A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving

2008-09-26T07:08:00.000-04:00

Owen Meany believes he is God's instrument. His intense faith frequently baffles his best friend, but Johnny can't deny Owen's deep insights and the way he just "knows" things. Or the way tiny Owen Meany can take charge of any event and any group of people-- sometimes without even speaking. It's a story, at its heart, about faith vs doubt. Belief vs unbelief.

It's also a very outside-the-box kind of story, at least it struck me that way. I liked the candid way that faith and religion were discussed through the story. It reminded me a little bit of the way Leif Enger's Peace Like a River was written for only that reason. It felt very genuine to me. I'd like the spiritual themes in my own writing to be even half that genuine.

The narrator is easy to love. Even Owen Meany, with his strange voice, really grows on you. All of the key plot elements wove together simply and amazingly. Some things completely took me by surprise.

I really think any Christian writer who wants to reach a wider audience or considers him/herself to be edgy should read this novel. There's some language and sexual content, but because of the wrestling of faith, A Prayer for Owen Meany really ought to make the reading list of a writer who wants to tackle spiritualism in a realistic, compelling way.

Things I Learned About YA

2008-09-24T11:13:00.004-04:00

(YA meaning Young Adult fiction)

I'll keep it brief, but if you are interested in getting more info, leave a comment with your email and I will let you know what sessions I attended so that you can order the CD from ACFW.

Things I Learned about Young Adult Fiction

Teens read UP agewise. (Actually, this I already knew, but it's a HUGELY important thing to know, and a mistake I've seen other writers make.) If your target audience is 12-15 year olds, you want your protagonist to be at least 16. But know that 17 and 18 year olds aren't going to be hooked on a protag who is 16. They probably won't read it at all.

CBA markets to younger teens. By this I mean ages 12-15. Think about the way a Christian bookstore is set up. Where are the YA books? In the kids section. How many 17 year olds do you know who shop there without duress? Not many. So if you write for older teens, know that at present, this is a HUGE challenge without a really viable market.

There are ABA published books with faith content. A prime example in YA is the book I reviewed last week-- Jerk, California by Jonathan Friesen. Read it!

YA is a tough market in general. New writers are a risk to a publisher, but YA writers are a double-risk. What to do? Tell a compelling story with tight craft.

Again, if you want more info, drop me a comment, and I'll let you know how to order the CDs or MP3s of the workshops. Happy writing!

Home Again

2008-09-21T14:11:00.002-04:00

I got home a couple hours ago from Minneapolis and the annual ACFW conference-- It was really great!

Last year at the conference I really connected with some other writers, and we kept in touch via a critique group that definitely facilitated major growth in me as a writer. At the conference this year, we were able to reunite and catch up, and it was so so awesome!

I learned a ton of really helpful things, both about the craft of writing as well as the business of it. When I left for the conference, my biggest question was about where I fit in the industry-- particularly whether I should seek publication through the CBA (Christian Bookseller's Association) or ABA (American Bookseller's Association). It seemed like a vague and mysterious question.

Because I understand the history of CBA a little better as well as the current setup of the CBA Young Adult genre, I feel like that question is pretty much settled. Which is a huge deal! So that's great. It also seems like the doors that were opened at the conference were really in line with where I think my place in the industry is.

So that was really a huge deal for me.

The other big announcement has to do with the Genesis contest... remember that one? I entered it earlier this year and found out last spring that I was a finalist. Well, last night they announced the winners, and....

I won third place! Woo-hoo! It was so exciting to see the faces of all the winners and see how much it meant to everyone.

I'm glad to be home now, and I think it's finally time to start making up for some of that sleep I lost all weekend. :)

Thanks, everyone, for all your encouragement and support!

Review: Jerk, California by Jonathan Friesen

2008-09-19T07:37:00.000-04:00

Sam Carrier can't sit still. He jumps and blurts and twitches almost constantly. That's the nature of the beast. Tourette's Syndrome. The only solace he finds and the only time his limbs obey comes when he runs. But after his embarrassing graduation ceremony, everything changes. His angry step-father expects a large monthly sum for rent, and an unorthodox neighbor hires Sam, but only on the condition that he can use Sam's real name, the name his real dad gave him. Jack.

Everything is complicated further by the recurring appearance of the beautiful Naomi, who always leaves Sam feeling like he's not sure which way is up. When the new mentor in Sam's life sends him on a bizarre quest, and Naomi decides to tag along, Sam finds himself wondering what the catch is. They take off, not knowing where they're going or why, but trusting that it will unravel as they go.

Sam is funny and lovable, even in his anger. His search for the truth about his own past and for connection with other people is real, endearing, heartfelt. I read the book in just over 24 hours. I read parts aloud to my husband-- the butter part was hilarious!

This is a great story. In reading it, I felt like I could identify with and understand the struggles Sam faced, not just in his life, but with Tourette's. Really well done. I will definitely be reading this one again.

Last Day Before Conference

2008-09-17T10:04:00.002-04:00

Well, it's finally here. Time to print, pack and put on my Sunday best. I leave for Minneapolis super-early tomorrow morning.

I'm really grateful that I'm going with the good wishes and support of so many friends and family. I know that no matter what happens, it will be a great trip and I'll learn so many things.

Looking back to last conference, I can't believe how much I've grown and how many great things have come from that trip. Mentors, friends, people I wouldn't be here without.

I will try to keep my blog updated while I'm gone, but if all else fails, you'll see something on Sunday about how things went.

The Community of Writing

2008-09-15T07:11:00.000-04:00

A few days ago, I looked over a synopsis for a friend. She had been feeling like she could not even look at her project any more. No more! I know that feeling. You just feel like if you have to read that scene or synopsis or work on it one more time, you'll throw up or bash your head on the keyboard repeatedly.

It's one of the reasons I'm so glad I have relationships with other writers. Because we all get there. And sometimes we can help each other through it. Fresh eyes are always a good thing.

I had a dream last week about a writers' meeting. I was leading it at a house near where my parents live. It's a house I've dreamed about before, but always in my dream, no one owns it or the owner is not in the house. In this dream, the whole house was filled with people. I recognized some faces. Others were new to me.

I'm not sure what it means, if anything... but I know two things:

One is that I have grown more as a writer in the last year than I did in the previous ten years. Having good partners and mentors has made all that difference for me.

Two is that I want to remember how important mentoring has been in my life as a writer. And at some point, I want to sew into the lives of other young writers.

I just really believe this is a process that benefits from being in a community. I look at the friendship between J R R Tolkien and C S Lewis. There's something invaluable about being able to talk shop with another writer, to bounce ideas off of each other and solve all of the problems in the literary world.

I'm not saying you CAN'T write a book without mentors or critique partners. I'm just saying that iron sharpens iron. Allowing other writers to read your stuff and mentor you sharpens your craft and theirs. Everybody wins. Can't beat that.

Review: The Shack by William P Young

2008-09-12T07:10:00.002-04:00

When his youngest daughter, Missy, is abducted during a family camping trip, Mack descends into the depths of The Great Sadness. It surrounds him constantly, muting the rest of his life to a colorless gray. Not even his daughter Kate's own struggles with Missy's death are enough to snap him out of it.

But in the middle of a treacherous ice storm, Mack receives a strange note signed simply "Papa" that invites him back to the shack where Missy's murder took place. Is it a cruel joke? A wicked game played by Missy's killer? Or something still more terrifying-- is it an invitation from God, whom Mack's wife lovingly refers to as "Papa?" Determined to find out, Mack journeys to the shack looking for answers, and what he finds leaves him forever altered.

Young's tale is, if nothing else, a worthy read. It is thought-provoking, challenging, and insightful. Personally, I didn't agree on every theological point, but the main idea of the story is so central to faith: Is the God who allows unspeakable tragedy to occur still a loving God? That question alone makes The Shack worth exploring, whether you've wrestled that giant in your own life (yet) or not.

Directional Pondering

2008-09-10T22:54:00.000-04:00

Do you ever have those days where you're just not really sure which way is up?

Sometimes you hear about pilots getting that way during flight. You'd think trusting your instincts is the way to go, but sometimes that's how things go way wrong. It's just hard to tell what's really true sometimes.

We kind of get in Star Wars Mode. You know, all that "Trust your feelings!" stuff. And yeah... I think it's important to be aware of our feelings... but I'm not sure they're really trustworthy. You might feel lonely... but it doesn't mean you are alone, right?

Anyway. I'm not entirely sure where all this is going.

An Update on my progress...

I'm still working on my synopsis and tweaking my one sheet. I had planned to take it to Kinkos next week, but I might just try to print it myself and see how that looks. My first three chapters are very nearly polished and ready... though I am still undecided about whether or not to have a prologue... I might just skip it for now and perhaps add it back later, if need be. I've gotten enough distance from the story that I can see how to work those details in without using a prologue, and that might be a better way to go.

One more week until the conference!

Stephenie Meyer and Book Four of the Twilight Saga

2008-09-08T07:37:00.000-04:00

If you're among the masses of Twilight fans, like me, you're probably still trying to pry your jaw off the keyboard from the shock you received on hearing this-- that someone distributed part of Stephenie Meyer's manuscript for the next book in the saga, Midnight Sun, without her knowledge or consent.

This is a HUGE violation. I'm shocked. Being that the manuscript was only given to people she trusted, I can't get past the disgust that someone would betray her like that. There are a few faithful readers that have followed me from first draft to present manuscript. I trust each of them. The thought that one of those faithful few would betray a trust of that caliber is horrible.

Stephenie addressed the whole ordeal from her site. She talks about how this has been so upsetting that she feels like she can't finish the manuscript. Do you get that? She's so right-- that writing is an emotional endeavor-- and to have a project violated like this would make it really hard to finish. I can only imagine the devastation she must have felt when she discovered all.

That said, I know that writing is also a discipline. While she has currently announced that the project is on hold indefinitely, I hope that once she's able to resolve her feelings over this, that she'll continue with the story. I know I never feel good leaving a story unfinished-- that goes for writing AND reading. :)

So I REALLY hope that after taking some recoup time, she feels up to the challenge of telling the rest of the tale...

Here's hoping!

Review: Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry

2008-09-05T07:49:00.000-04:00

After Kira's mother dies, members of her village try to have her thrown out and left to die because of her twisted leg. But the Council of Guardians recognizes Kira's unusual gifting as a weaver and intervene to save her. While she enjoys the privileges of her new life, she begins to discover that things about her village are not as they seem. Is she brave enough to uncover those secrets, no matter what they mean?

Gathering Blue is a companion to Lois Lowry's Newberry Award Winner The Giver. The stories don't necessarily overlap and do not share characters, but the premise is the same in many ways. An elite council of leaders seeks to control its people, to protect them and ensure a future of their own choosing.

Lowry's characters always draw me in and are easy to empathize with and understand. She weaves a solid message through the story, one the reader isn't likely to forget.

The Dreaded One Sheet

2008-09-03T07:32:00.003-04:00

As you can see, this week I've been working on my one-sheet. My brilliant sister helped me put this together in PhotoShop... I'm still working on getting the lighting right on the background image. I know it's a little hard to make out on here. (yes, it's a guitar player...)

Thoughts? Ideas? Confessions on what you thought the background image was before I told you it was a guitar player?

I've updated the story blurb, so this is what it now says:

A shattered past. A new beginning. But it could become his worst nightmare.

Broken glass. Blood pooled around a still form on the kitchen floor. The haunting face of the meth-addict who caused them. A man Eli will never forgive.

Seven years later and three thousand miles away, Eli still can’t hide from his past. Living with his aunt and uncle is no picnic, either. The only bright spot in his life is playing bass for his and Luke’s band. Well, and being around Sarah, Luke’s girlfriend. Then a midnight car accident changes everything. Eli’s aunt and uncle threaten to kick him out, a new guitar player divides the band, and Eli might be in over his head with Luke’s girlfriend.

He tries to make peace with everyone, but rumors of Luke’s experimentation with meth push Eli over the edge. How can he forgive Luke for becoming the man who killed his mom? When Sarah nearly overdoses, Eli has to make a choice. Does he save her or Luke?

***
Well? Are your hands just tingling to get ahold of the novel the second it comes out? Are you intrigued? That would mean I've succeeded. If you're not, tell me what turned you off. Seriously, help me out here. Constructively, please. :)

Fifteeen days left until the conference!!

Sound Track to the Novel

2008-09-01T07:05:00.003-04:00

Sound tracks: they're not just for the movies anymore. And why should they be, you know? The same logic that makes a movie sound track creates the one for the story. Only the visual that goes along with it is lodged in our heads. Pretty sweet, right?

Anyway. So I have created the sound track to the someday-to-be novel Broken Glass. I'm pretending this was a hugely productive endeavor, as opposed to what it actually is-- a pathetic attempt to keep busy and avoid the GLARING NEED to continue editing my completed manuscript before the ACFW conference which is now two and a half weeks away. Wow.

So here it is, in all its glory...

Enjoy!

Review: New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

2008-08-29T07:18:00.000-04:00

The sequel to Twilight, New Moon picks up a few months after its predecessor. It's Bella's birthday, and despite her wishes that there be no fuss, the Cullen family make quite an occasion of it. But the party spawns a sequence of events that shatters Bella's world. She finds herself alone, feeling as if a gaping hole exists through the center of her very being. As she struggles to cope, and to carve out some semblance of life around the edges of her wound, she at last finds a friend. But when battle lines are drawn again, she finds herself torn between mortal enemies, and she must choose between them.

New Moon is by far the saddest book I've ever read, and the most unparalleled description of grief and loss that I've ever encountered. Truly moving. I prefer the first book over this one, but both are extremely moving and well-done. Definitely worth a read.

Editing Blues

2008-08-27T07:55:00.000-04:00

All right, I admit it. This whole editing deal is REALLY TOUGH!! EEP!

*sigh* I have to sheepishly admit that I've checked my email like four hundred times today, and reread some of the ACFW Course Posts under pretense of using them to thicken my plot (when in reality I can barely concentrate on what my plot might be at the moment)...

This is just not how I imagined this process to be! Why can't it be more like this...

LOL!! Don't I wish it were like that! Well, except I always imagined there being more dancing.

Sympathetic Villains

2008-08-25T07:18:00.000-04:00

I just watched the movie 3:10 to Yuma, and really caught myself torn between my feelings over the hero and the villain. Without giving too much away, Ben Wade (Russell Crowe) is a pretty bad dude, and local lawmen are pretty all-fired determined to take him down-- and ship him out on the 3:10 to Yuma so that he can stand trial for his many crimes. Dan Evans (Christian Bale) is a local farmer who wants nothing more than to provide for his family and steer clear of trouble, a desire that leads his oldest son to think of him as a coward. But Dan's inability to pay a debt may cost him the life he's built for his family. He can earn the money he needs if he joins the force to bring Ben Wade to justice and agrees to take the man as far as the train to Yuma.

So right off you've got a guy who is really trying to take care of his family, caught between a rock and a hard place. He is honorable, but perhaps a little pathetic-- his fears and regrets rule too much of his heart.

And then there's Ben Wade, the cold, calculating killer, iron-fisted leader of a ruthless gang. But there's more to Wade than meets the eye. The complexities of his character are in some way moving-- even though they're revealed between scenes in which he commits violent crimes without any appearance of remorse. Yet, somehow, by the end of the movie, I found myself more moved by Wade even than the hero, Dan Evans.

I've been trying to think of a book with a similar setup. So far I haven't really come up with anything, but I am sure they are out there.

Really, what's important is that characters evoke strong feelings from readers and viewers. Those feelings either complement their role (like when you LOVE the hero and are totally PSYCHED when he finally gets the girl!!) or go against it (as in the case of Crowe's character... where you sympathize with the villain or dislike the hero.) When those feelings are what the writer purposed, it's a great thing. (I saw the movie Wanted recently, and could not get into the hero at all-- and I ADORE James McAvoy!!-- and I don't think that was the writer's intent, so that wasn't cool.)

Anyway... I find personally, I like the complexity of a story with characters that evoke different emotions in me than I initially expected. I enjoyed falling in love with Ben Wade, especially because I didn't see it coming.

Review: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer (Twlight Saga)

2008-08-22T07:08:00.001-04:00

When Bella reluctantly moves to the dark and dreary city of Forks to live with her father, she is not expecting much out of life. A few precious days of sunshine at most. But fate brings something to her that's far more dear and far more deadly. At first Edward Cullen seems repulsed by her presence-- and for no reason at all. Gradually he softens toward her, but still remains aloof though alluring. But once Bella learns his secret, and the war it causes inside him, she begins to understand. He is a vampire, and she has already fallen in love with him.

If you've hit my blog before, you know that since I picked up Twilight, I've been ogling over Edward Cullen. The ultimate bad boy trying to be good. The dialogue is snappy and smart. The romantic tension is intense. I've never been into the vampire thing before, so I don't really know how it's usually done, but I found Stephenie Meyer's interpretation of the vampire condition to feel fresh and thorough. I am already reading New Moon, the sequel to Twilight, and enjoying it just as much. Expect that review next Friday!

Fay Days and Ramblings on Anime

2008-08-20T08:51:00.003-04:00

It's raining outside. It's been raining since Monday night. It will probably rain until tomorrow night. Our street is underwater. But our house is dry and we have electricity! So we're doing great. :)

We started watching this bizarre Anime series last night called Esca Flowne, which just has WAY too much Tarot card stuff in it, if you ask me. Very weird. A couple of the voice actors had roles in Gundam Wing, which I adore! Shout out if you're with me...

"Raelena. I'm going to kill you."

"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeerooooooooo!!!"

Anyway. One thing I love about Anime, aside from the big endearing eyes and the mouth that is ridiculously HUGE when it's open and teeny teeny tiny when it's closed, is how they have entire conversations without using words. You know, like this:

"Hmmm... Huh?! Ohh. Hmph. Ugh!"

If only writing dialogue in a book was that simple! :)

It's a little dated, but if you're already laughing and thinking about the silliness of Anime, check this out.

Books to Look Forward To

2008-08-18T07:21:00.000-04:00

If you're like me, you haven't paid much attention to the behind-the-scenes of book releases. (I'm only just now getting really into this stuff...) You know new stuff is out because you see it on the shelf, or because you've become addicted to a series and are counting the days until the release date posted on signs all over your favorite bookstore.

But how do you find out what's going on in the world of young adult fiction? Can I just say teen fiction? This is much easier to say than saying YA, YA, YA all the time, and reminds me less of a Sandra Bullock movie. But I digress.

So is there a handy, convenient place that lists all the upcoming teen releases in one nifty spot???

I'm so glad you asked! WHY, YES THERE IS! Check it out: www.teenreads.com

I stumbled onto this web site through this really great blog I've been reading lately. When I grow up I want my blog to be as cool as Laura Johnson's.

If I lost you to reading her post about teenreads.com, then you'll hear how it's not just a great source for upcoming releases, though I am really psyched about that-- there is a month-by-month listing as well as a recommended reading list. Woo! Nice. But in addition to those pearls, there is also a wealth of info about authors and other bookish things. If you read or write teen fiction, hop on there and check it out.

Review: An Irishwoman's Tale by Patti Lacy

2008-08-15T07:53:00.001-04:00

All her life, Mary Freeman has been alone. She is estranged from her family in Ireland and unable to please her ailing adoptive mother. But all that changes the day she meets Sally, an open Southern lady, whose warmth and affection begin to draw Mary out of her lonely shell. But Sally's friendship carries a price with it-- and Mary isn't sure she can face her haunted past, even with Sally's combined strength. A family crisis forces Mary's hand, and Sally accompanies her back to her homeland, back to her roots, to face the terrors of her past.

This novel is based on the life experiences of a friend of the author. I find I'm always more interested in a story if I know it is based on real people. To be honest, women's fiction isn't really my preferred genre-- but this was one read I am not sorry about in any way! Great story. Really winning characters. Quite a bit of it detailed Mary's growing-up years, so YA readers may be interested in it from that perspective. Overall, the story is very nicely done. I'd definitely read it again.

On the Journey: Stalled Out Again

2008-08-13T07:38:00.000-04:00

So other than analyzing the thoroughly fascinating qualities of Edward Cullen... er, I mean of the first book in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga, I haven't even thought much about my manuscript. And that's not exactly a good thing, because baby the clock is ticking! The ACFW conference is just around the corner.

There are a few other writing developments, though. Most recently, I accepted a volunteer position within ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) as an Area Coordinator for the state of FL. This basically means I'm kind of a point person for the ACFW members in the state of FL and I am responsible for encouraging membership growth and the formation of local meetings or chapters. So we'll see if I've got the charisma to do it!

My daughter begins pre-school three mornings per week next week, so my new plan is to spend those mornings at the nearby library chopping up and smoothing out the tangles in my manuscript, Broken Glass. (Yes, I realize there's a jumble of metaphors there.)

In other news, I got a few new books at the bookstore last night! I can't wait to crack the covers and dive into them. Look for my review of Patti Lacy's An Irishwoman's Tale this Friday.

I Am Officially Joining the Rest of the Girls in America...

2008-08-11T09:07:00.002-04:00

And falling in love with Edward Cullen! Read it yourself and hate him, I dare you. Just try.

I am about 200 pages into the first book in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight Saga. So far I love it. I'm totally hooked on the characters Bella and Edward. I love that she's kept the story so clean. I don't think there's been any language. There is HUGE amounts of sexual tension without there being any real explicit encounters. Except for the vampire theme, my mother would love it. :)

Review: Sweet Caroline by Rachel Hauck

2008-08-08T07:43:00.000-04:00

Caroline Sweeney has never really done anything big for herself. When her mom left the family, she devoted herself to caring for her dad and brother, then took a job to help a failing local cafe. But when the cafe's owner dies and leaves the establishment to Caroline, just when she's been offered the job of her dreams, Caroline is floored. As she struggles to make her decision, life, or... as she comes to realize-- God-- throws her a few curves she wasn't expecting, but which make her choices and His plan perfectly clear.

Rachel Hauck's writing is always lively, light, and humorous. I laughed out loud several times in the course of the story. Strong spiritual values are woven in through the plot, but without being preachy. The setting felt real and genuine, very truly southern.

The story of Caroline's best friend Elle has just been released. It's called Love Starts with Elle by Rachel Hauck. That one is definitely on my reading list as well. (which somehow seems to keep getting longer rather than shorter!)

On Writing: Things to Bring to Conference

2008-08-04T08:51:00.002-04:00

While I am far from an "expert" writing conference attender, I feel like I've learned so much already, just from my limited experience. A writing conference is a chance to network with other writers, get the word out about your projects to potentially interested agents or editors, learn new things about the craft and the process of getting published and marketing, and to just take a few days away from the keyboard and celebrate the amazing calling of being a writer.

So with all that in mind, there are a few things I'm planning to bring with me to the ACFW conference next month. What are they you ask? How convenient! I'll list them...

1. Business cards. Something simple that includes name, email, and web site, if you have one. I'll be listing this lovely blog. Printing a professional-looking photo on the card isn't a bad idea either. Last year I got home with a few cards without pictures, and couldn't place who the card's owner was. I think I brought 50 last year and still had a few left over. Some people bring more than that.

2. The One-Sheet. These are possibly not hugely known, but they're a really handy way to quickly communicate your project to someone, or help jog your memory while you present to an agent or editor. As it sounds, the One Sheet is a single piece of paper that contains information about you and your manuscript.

3. The Elevator Pitch. This isn't a hard copy of anything. It's a two or three sentence spiel that introduces an interested party to your story (in an elevator, for instance). You want it to clue your listener to your genre, major themes, major conflict, etc. Ideally it should also raise some deeper questions about your story as well.

4. Sample Chapters. While you shouldn't expect an agent or editor to collect pages from you to take home (just imagine the paper load if each author they spoke with gave them a sample chapter or proposal packet), I think it's a good idea to bring a sample chapter or two so that they can skim over it if interested. Do yourself a favor and bring several copies if you can-- I find that I like to make notes on the chapter with suggestions the agent or editor might have.

5. Dress to Impress. Normal attire for a writing conference is business casual... whatever that means? Personally, I choose to dress more comfortable for the workshops and meal times, and more professionally for appointments. A meeting with an agent or editor is a job interview, for you as well as for them. Don't distract them or undermine their opinion of you by looking sloppy and unprofessional.

Patti Lacy's An Irishwoman's Tale

2008-08-02T15:37:00.003-04:00

I've just started reading a new book by author Patti Lacy. It's her first novel, and is based on the life of a close friend of hers. While I'm only a few chapters into it, I'm totally hooked on the story and the characters as well as the beautiful Irish setting.

You can read another review of it here.

If you enjoy women's fiction or stories about Ireland, be sure NOT to miss this one! You can order it online here.

Review: Fire Dancer by Colleen Coble

2008-08-01T07:33:00.000-04:00

Tess Masterson is not afraid of parachuting into the inferno of a forest fire, but uncovering the secrets surrounding her parents' deaths may undo her. But when a string of fires started by a dangerous arsonist show connection to her family, she may not be able to let the past remain hidden.

This is the first book by Colleen Coble that I've ever read, and I really enjoyed it. She really makes the reader experience the emotional struggles of the characters. The plot was deep and with lots of twists and turns that kept me turning the pages.

If you read and enjoyed Jodi Picoult's My Sister's Keeper, I think you'd like this one. It's a little bit different in genre, but the style and some of the themes were very similar.

On the Journey: Wednesday Already?

2008-07-30T13:50:00.002-04:00

I'm home from vacation finally! :) It was a much-needed change of pace, but toward the end it really hit me that there's only about seven more weeks until the ACFW conference in Minneapolis. Yikes!! So I better get with it on that!

I'm also thinking of trying to refocus my blog a little bit and possibly changing the Monday post to be more specific to YA, either things that apply more specifically to YA or maybe news about what's happening in the YA writing world. Still working on that. Comments? Ideas? Help me, O Beloved readers!

Oh! When I got home from vacation, a package was waiting for me on the table containing the very first novel written by my mentor and close friend Patti Lacy! I'm so excited to read it!! You'll see that one reviewed here over the coming weeks. Very exciting!

I've drafted the bulk of the text for my upcoming web site... so stay tuned for more about that development! Sometime over the next few months... I will have my very own site! Woo-hoo!!

Still On Vacation

2008-07-28T07:45:00.000-04:00

Today we head home from our lovely vacation in the Smoky Mountains. It's been a fabulous week, but it will be good to get back home again.

Over the next few weeks, my focus will be on preparing for the annual ACFW Conference in September. I've been thinking a lot about the things I learned last year, and will probably delve into that a bit here. So keep a watch-out for that.

Happy writing!

Review: Chasing Fireflies by Charles Martin

2008-07-25T08:16:00.000-04:00

Chase Walker doesn't remember a whole lot about his own early childhood. He doesn't even know his own name or remember his parents. But when a young boy turns up alongside the railroad tracks in his small South Carolina town, he must help discover the boy's identity. It's kind of a story of how sometimes what you're looking for is right under your nose to begin with.

I'm a Charles Martin fan-- he is my favorite author of Christian fiction (Catherine Marshall still remains my favorite). His characters are engaging and unforgettable. His stories are full of the warmth of the south. Good stuff.

While I still prefer When Crickets Cry over anything else by Charles Martin that I've read, Chasing Fireflies was a great story. I liked the story of the main character wrestling with the holes in his own past juxtaposed with the story of the young boy, whom he calls Sketch.

One of the reasons I think I liked When Crickets Cry better was that it showed the events of the past, then showed the story unfold at present. Chasing Fireflies had a lot of history that unraveled in the story, but more in a narrative experience, with the main character relating the story to the reader, rather than the reader experiencing it as a flashback or other kind of scene.

It was still a great story, and I enjoyed reading it.

On the Journey: In View of the Mountains

2008-07-23T10:02:00.002-04:00

I'm on VACATION!! Yea!! We are staying with family in Hendersonville, NC. I always forget how beautiful it is up here. There is a story that always seems more alive to me here, one I will write someday...

I'm grateful for the break, and it comes at a good time-- August begins another season. Anna's first year of preschool. Possibly a new year of ballet classes. The beginning of a new season even in writing, both as I begin a new project and transition to marketing the one I've completed.

All the new things are exciting. Maybe a little overwhelming. But I feel confident. If the last couple years have taught me anything, it is that the strength of my will is a force to be reckoned with. In the past, I gave up so easily. Tough things have happened. I've learned to fight. To keep on fighting. And I am not done learning it yet.

If I succeed as a writer, it will not be because I am monumentally gifted. It will be because I refuse to give up the dream, that I determine to learn a new lesson at every hard place. That every morning, I keep pressing through.

Review: Inexcusable by Chris Lynch

2008-07-21T07:40:00.000-04:00

(I'm on vacation this week, so here is an extra book review...)

After high school football player Keir Sarafian injures another player in a tackle that gives his team possession of the ball, he earns the nickname "Killer." In his mind, he has everything he could ever dream of-- fame, popularity, an acceptance letter to college, and a night with Gigi Boudakian, the girl of his dreams.

The only problem for Keir is-- things aren't always what they seem. He believes in his own good intentions... but his actions may prove otherwise. He tells the story for you to judge.

Ever since I read Raymond's Run in elementary school, I've had a fascination for unreliable narrators. The way the story unfolds in one direction, while the subtext leads you just the opposite. Inexcusable is a great example of just such a tale. Keir's firm belief that he is a good guy, his desire to continue believing it, even as he slides backward down an ugly path, compelled me to turn every page. I read this book in one sitting.

Chris Lynch has written several award-winning novels, but this is the first I've read of his work. I enjoyed it, and recommend it. There is some mature content. But if I had a teenage boy, I'd want him to read this.

Review: Over a Thousand Hills I Walk with You by Hanna Jansen

2008-07-18T07:36:00.001-04:00

Jeanne’s family and home are destroyed when the radical Hutu group, the Interahamwe, begin a nationwide massacre of the Rwandan Tutsi population. As Jeanne and others struggle to flee the Interahamwe soldiers and simply survive each day, a black hole yawns inside of her, a grief and rage that threaten to swallow her whole. But something else changes. She finds within herself an unyielding strength and will to survive.

It is a before-and-after story, told by Jeanne’s German adopted mother. Each chapter opens with a behind-the-scenes look at the events and the healing that unfolded even as the story was told, as Hanna Jansen walks over a thousand hills with her daughter.

Honestly, as I read Over a Thousand Hills I Walk with You, it wasn’t until about the third chapter that I really felt myself captured by this book. But by the middle, I couldn’t put it down. I became entranced by the parallels between mother and daughter, despite their differing backgrounds, and the struggles that Jeanne endured as a child on the run in a very dark time juxtaposed against her battle for inner healing, and the woman who never stopped fighting for her.

Over a Thousand Hills I Walk with You is raw, painful… and yet ultimately a beautiful and powerful tale of healing.

On the Journey: Monday at the ICRC

2008-07-16T07:55:00.000-04:00

At the last minute, I was able to go to the International Christian Retailer's Convention in Orlando. For the most part, it's geared toward marketing products to Christian bookstores and similar venues, so there are huge displays from various book publishers, jewelers, clothing companies, etc. Neat stuff! And there are lots of give-aways! I came home with over 30 signed books from just one day at the convention. :)

For me, it was a great time to meet some other writers as well as talk with publishers and kind of scope out who does YA and which of their books I've read and am interested in reading. I snagged a few catalogs for further research as well.

I'm totally excited that I got to go-- it just happened to be in Orlando this year, so it was a great time to check it out, since I live within an hour of the Orlando Convention Center.

Not too much fun and exciting news other than that. :)

On Writing: A Character Question

2008-07-14T07:56:00.000-04:00

What did your protagonist do the week before the story began?

It's a question that I noticed on a character interview I picked up someplace. A question I've pretty much ignored up to now.

But I've noticed a strange feeling in my first chapter, something that's off... and I think this question holds at least a part of the key.

Why?

Because a good story begins in the middle of something. It draws you in immediately. Knowing what happened in the days just prior to that opening moment adds to that feeling in the opening moment.

It also gives your character immediate context for the events that unfold in those first few pages.
Motivation. His actions are now reactions to some other stimuli.

The thing to resist in doing this is letting the character flash back to those prior days while you're still in those first few pages. Don't do it. Keep the focus forward.

So... what did your character do the week prior to scene one?

Review: Speak Rwanda by Julian R Pierce

2008-07-11T07:50:00.000-04:00

A haunting, moving tale of ten individuals during the Tutsi massacre in Rwanda in the late 90s. The story is told through characters both Hutu and Tutsi, some with hate and ignorance, but others with compassion and hope.

I was unaware that because the UN and other nations-- like the US-- called what was happening in Rwanda a civil war, no aid had to be sent. But if it had been viewed as genocide, which is indeed what the Hutu goal was-- to wipe out the Tutsi people-- then the UN would have been required to intervene and to bring charges against perpetrators.

This story made me want to know a lot more about Rwanda, its people and history. This same author has written some nonfiction about exactly that, which I just might add to my reading list.

I recommend this book. Because the stories told were personal, it was easy to be emotionally drawn in to what happened. I'm sure that was the author's goal-- for the reader to connect to what happened in a deeper way than just by watching a documentary about nameless people. Great job. Great idea. It definitely worked.

Be warned, however. This story contains some strong violent images as well as some sexual content and situations.

On the Journey: Feels Like Going In Circles

2008-07-09T08:47:00.003-04:00

So much more work to do on my project. Blah. Can we say "lousy attitude?" LOL. I'm so grateful that the draft is finished. A great crit partner and I spent some time brainstorming some tag line ideas and we came up with this for my manuscript:

A shattered past. A new beginning. But it could become his worst nightmare.

I've been working on removing the prologue, which means the info it contained has to be revealed in the course of the story (which, it kind of was anyway, but now I don't have the prologue there to help the pieces come together, so I have to be sure what comes out in the chapters makes sense and isn't confusing.) and also adding in some snapshots of the past at the opening of each chapter. I'm not sure what I think of them yet, or if an agent/editor will look at them and go "Um, no. Take those out!" At this point, I'm not worried about that. I like the dimensions it adds to the story and to the protagonist and his past.

Anyway, so that's my writing news. :)

On Writing: Using a Style Sheet

2008-07-07T07:24:00.000-04:00

A style sheet is my new best friend! It's a simple idea-- divide a sheet of paper into sections and put a few letters of the alphabet in each section: A B C, D E F, G H I, etc. Then use the appropriate section to list words with odd spellings, the names of minor characters (especially ones that might be spelled more than one way), and unusual phrases that you use in more than one place. For example, in my first section, I listed the words "case worker," because I kept forgetting whether I spelled it as one word or as two.

Keep the style sheet handy as you write (I've used it more while I'm editing) to keep your spelling consistent. It's just one simple way to keep the details from getting lost in the unfolding of your fantastic story!

Review: Go Ask Alice (Anonymous)

2008-07-04T08:05:00.000-04:00

Go Ask Alice is a haunting story of a young girl's descent into drug addiction and her desperate attempt to break free again. It is literally her diary. First printed in 1971, it still remains one of the most popular and definitive works about teen drug addiction.

If you've never read this, I challenge you to do so. It's rough in places-- describes some ugly trips and some raw things. But it is a very real depiction of a life afflicted by drugs.

When I was in school, I had a friend who made some very poor choices. Ironically, I first heard about this book from him. (Even more ironically, I remember him trying to get me to drop acid with him...)

You should be able to find Go Ask Alice in the YA (Young Adult) section of your local library.

On the Journey: That's HARDCORE!!

2008-07-02T07:41:00.000-04:00

LOL! I went to a hardcore show at the Melbourne JayCees (anyone out there remember the old Spectrum venue? Shows on like Tuesday nights at the Tab in north Melbourne like ten years ago?) with my sister, Cari. Seriously, I had a blast!

It's been probably almost ten years since I was at a hardcore show last, but some things remain the same. The dark, hot room. Kids standing or sitting around, bopping their heads. Older kids with tattoos and lots of piercings. (Pink snakebites, I tell you! This guy had pink, iridescent snakebites!)

Some things are different. Ten years ago the fashions were BIG BIG pants (legs wide enough for you and all your band equipment!) Now... there's the whole neo emo thing... and hmm. Those skinny mini pants. I am just not used to guys in those. LOL!

The first band we saw was okay. The singer was so emo-- you know that whole sullen, 'woe unto me for I am here' thing? Yeah, he had that going on the whole performance. I wanted to be like, dude-- showmanship. At least bop your head morosely or something during the three minute intro.

The second band, made up of my sister's friends, was a polar opposite. I kept cracking up-- in a good way-- because they were so HAPPY! Happy hardcore?! LOL! I loved it! They also had a singer who sang (and I mean that in the melodic sense) something akin to bridges of the songs. It really worked, I thought. They were really tight.

Anyway, I had a really great time! I'd like to go to shows now and then, especially while I'm working on this project. (and the sequel...)

I love research trips like that!

On Writing: Connect to Your Crowd

2008-06-30T07:52:00.001-04:00

I think one advantage young adult writers may have over certain other genres is that the target audience congregates en masse in multiple ways. Schools. Church youth groups. Concerts and other similar venues.

So how can you market to these groups? Seriously-- I'm asking! I have a few ideas, and it's still a wee bit early for me personally, but I figure it's not a bad thing to be prepared with some plans before I need to act on them.

Here are my own ideas... See if they spark a few more.

1. Volunteer for Career Day at a local school.

2. Volunteer for community or church youth events.

3. Speak at schools or church youth functions about issues and challenges you've written about. (For example... I have a story that addresses teen drug addiction.)

4. Can you advertise a local book signing by giving out flyers to local schools and youth groups? It's at least worth checking that out.

Okay... so those are probably pretty "duh" and not really too outside the box. Other ideas??
Seriously, I know people read this thing... hit me with some fabulous wit and brain power! :)

Happy writing!

Update on Book Review of Burned by Ellen Hopkins

2008-06-27T08:05:00.001-04:00

First--- SPOILER WARNING!! Do NOT read this if you haven't read Burned yet. I don't want to be slapped because I spoiled the ending of the book! Proceed at your own risk! :)

So if you read my blog after last Friday afternoon and checked out the comment... FROM ELLEN HOPKINS! (I felt like a high school basketball player who got a call from Michael Jordan!)... Lemme give you the follow-up to what happened after that comment...

I did email her and ask about Pattyn's next move. She gave me permission to share her response, and I really want to, because it makes the pacing and ending make complete sense to me now.

The premise of the story was what it would take to drive a young woman to go on a shooting rampage. She'd have to lose everything that mattered to her. She was a girl who had nothing, found everything, and lost it all in one fell swoop.

So with that in mind, thinking back on the last 20 pages or so, it all makes sense. Things unraveled very quickly, completely turned upside down. But that's exactly what it would take to drive her to that edge. I get it now. :)

The story doesn't show the rampage, which is why this wasn't immediately apparent to me. But now that I am aware of the premise, it really does make sense to me.

On the Journey: Journeying

2008-06-25T09:29:00.002-04:00

This will be short, because I am so very behind on things this week. I'm still working on editing the rough spots in the story. I expect it will be like sanding down a piece of furniture. I'll go through to fix them, then go back through and work on the finer details, etc.

I have some exciting and interesting news to post on Friday about the review I did last week and the comment I received about it. If you missed it, go back and check it out!! And look for the follow-up on Friday. :)

A Story That Must Be Told

2008-06-23T07:22:00.000-04:00

I just finished watching the movie Hotel Rwanda. (Sorry... I'm a little behind the times...) It was truly a moving story. Men Like Paul Rusesabagina are the most inspiring, humanity at its best. I'm awed. Still almost without words.

Stories of people like Paul Rusesabagina must insire others to rise above themselves. To reach out to those around them. To do what's right in a difficult place. To stand up for others.

It made me remember why I wanted to be a journalist at one time-- to tell the story that most needed telling. To shine light in the dark places so all the world can see. A lofty goal, right? :)

That dream still lives on in my heart. It is a part of what drives me to write. It is why any story should be told. Why any writer must write.

Good writing should always change the world.

Review: Burned by Ellen Hopkins

2008-06-20T07:21:00.000-04:00

When the religious beliefs Pattyn has accepted since childhood begin to suffocate her, her fight to find her own identity causes a rift between herself and her family, and touches on deep wounds of the past. Sent to live in the desert with her aunt for the summer, Pattyn finds something different than the punishment she expected. An aunt with a deep capacity to love, scarred by her own past, but who wants to give Pattyn the courage to love again. To find her own 'forever love.'

Told in the same haunting poetry as other Ellen Hopkins stories, Burned will move you. Make you ache. Make you remember the bliss of a first love.

I really like Ellen Hopkins. But I gotta tell you... I had a hard time with the end. A lot happened really fast, and I felt left with no real idea how things would go. It could just be me, since I tend to have a harder time with stories that leave me wondering. I don't want to give away what happens, so I won't say more than that. But I did have a difficult time with the last 20 pages or so.

If you've never read Ellen Hopkins, start with Crank, but be warned-- it deals with meth addiction, so some of the content is pretty heavy. Great story, though. It really communicated the struggles of addiction. I haven't had a chance yet to read its sequel, Glass, but it's on my list!

On the Journey (Part 2): Finished and Encouraged

2008-06-18T08:09:00.000-04:00

So it is finally done. Well, the rough draft, anyway. And a few minutes after I finished last night at 11pm, I noticed that I had received my first chapter back from one of the crit groups! Their comments were REALLY encouraging and helpful. So I feel a lot better about the story than I did this morning. :) There's still hope! Really, I'm awed by the comments left.

I know being a part of a crit group can be intimidating-- your mom might love every line you ever penned (I love my mom!), but a crit group of other writers is a whole different animal. Yet I have experienced the most phenomenal growth due to the exercise of reading, critiquing, and having my own work critiqued. Seriously. If you're into pursuing writing, you've got to try it! And it will force you to keep pressing on, too. It gives you a deadline for having your next chapter finished or edited or whatever.

Anyway, enough of the crit group infomercial! (Just call this number at the bottom of the screen... okay, just kidding.)

Now it's time to knuckle down and get the thing edited... and time to get that proposal put together! Stay tuned for more Wednesday updates on the wild writing ride...

On the Journey (Part 1): Waxing Punk-Poetic

2008-06-17T12:36:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I printed my entire manuscript, double-spaced (254 pages), and hopped over to Starbucks to read it. And I have to say that I completely disliked it. Which is no good.

I feel like it is a little bit melodramatic in places, Eli's a little whiny at times, and the whole thing is like a nice dinner with very little or no seasoning. So it's edible, but not engaging. It might be passable, but it's not pleasurable. Not memorable.

Anyway. I have been thinking about the voice (Eli's voice) and how plain and undeveloped I feel that it is, and about how he's this punk kid, so how would that flavor his voice? He's also a lyricist, so I think that makes him a little bit poetic. Just a little.

So I'm trying to figure that out, steep my brain in that idea (on the back-burner, though-- I'm still working on my last three chapters!) a little bit.

I started the read-through so that I could identify all the loose ends that still need to be addressed in these last three chapters, maybe resolve on some themes, too. So I'm still working on that a little bit. I have ideas for a second and third book, so I'm also keeping that in mind a little bit, so that this story sets up some of the premise for them.

So that's pretty much been my week since last blog. Still working on those trouble-some last three chapters!

On Writing: Rest

2008-06-16T07:31:00.000-04:00

For Christmas my "cousin" gave me a "writer's block" (it's a block with different quotes and sayings on it from different writers, etc. One of the quotes is by Gertrude Stein:

"It takes a lot of time to be a genius, you have to sit around so much doing nothing, really doing nothing."

It makes me laugh, but as I leap into the wall that is the last three chapters of my manuscript... I'm totally seeing the truth of it. Because sometimes you have to sit still and do a whole lot of nothing, just kind of "cloud-watching" in your head-- trying to clear out the annoying buzz of thoughts that form your to-do list, and just let your mind wander over the puzzle of the remainder of the story.

So... against my own will... I am making some time to rest this week. Because I think it's the only way I'm going to unravel the mystery of how these last three chapters should go. And I better do that in the most efficient way possible before my beloved readers come after me!

Happy wr... er... resting!

Review: The Last Book in the Universe by Rodman Philbrick

2008-06-13T07:23:00.001-04:00

Everything changes the day Spaz goes down to Ryter's to take the old man's stuff. He can't help but be intrigued by Ryter's unwavering and bizarre commitment to write down his own story, and his insistence that Spaz has a story of his own.

When Spaz receives word that his foster sister is ill and needs help, he embarks on a quest that risks his life, simply to see her one last time. In his heart, he hopes that he may find a way to save her. Along with Ryter, Little Face, and Lanaya, one of the mysterious proovs -- genetically improved humans who live in a paradise called Eden-- Spaz must find a way to get to his sister before it's too late.

LOVED IT!! Spaz had me at hello. Really great voice. Nice images and detail. Great story world. I loved it! This is a must-read! Great stuff!! Aimed at middle-schoolers, this is a read anyone from there on up should enjoy. Five stars, two thumbs up, etc etc etc. :)

On the Journey: With the End In Sight

2008-06-11T09:13:00.001-04:00

Current Word Count: 54,546
Finishing Chapter 28

So close! By this time next week, this manuscript should be complete! Everything has been going so well. Which probably means everything is about to change! LOL.

I am part of two separate and wonderful critique groups now-- one made up of writers I connected with at last year's ACFW conference, and the other made up of YA writers I've met along the writing journey this last year. I'm really excited about being part of both of them and eager to learn and grow even more.

So far I'm fully on track for my conference goals. It is a daily struggle to get things done, but writing down my goals has really helped me stick to them, and I find that there are more days when I get everything done than days where I feel like I've accomplished nothing.

I am blessed with good friends, both within and outside the writing circle. It's amazing. I'm so grateful. :)

On Writing: Setting Goals

2008-06-09T09:15:00.000-04:00

When I started learning about being a consultant for Arbonne, one of the main things they tell you is to write down your goals. You are 70% more likely to succeed at a goal that is written down. That's pretty amazing.

The second most important thing I learned is that if you want to be a successful consultant, you have to take on that attitude: you have to think of it as a business, treat it as a business from the get-go. You don't start acting professional once you get a certain level of sales or something.

Anyway. So what does all this have to do with writing as a profession? Everything.

If there was something simple you could do to make achieving your goals 70% more likely, wouldn't you rush right out and do it? Yeah. Pick up the pen and scratch out your goals. Be specific. Break it down. What do you expect to accomplish daily? Weekly? Monthly? Quarterly? Yearly?

Treat writing like a business. Chances are, you're not going to end up with a contract for a novel, or with a published article if you're not taking your writing seriously. How do you do this? Define your goals. Define your hours.

For example, my daily goal is to write 1000 words on my current WIP. I get up about 7am and before I check email, before I pass go and collect $200, I get those 1000 words done, or as near to it as I can. I make up whatever (if anything) is left during Anna's nap time.

That means a goal of 7000 words weekly. Keep track of your progress. And that, ladies and gentlemen is why I started my Wednesday posts!

I've found it helps to reward yourself for meeting your goals. If I meet my weekly word count, I hop on over to Starbucks for a Caramel Frapuccino. :) Whatever works!

If you look back at those Wednesday posts of mine, you can see that it doesn't always happen. I don't always make it. But I've actually done more writing on the whole since I started those posts than I did in some previous months. So it's starting to even out and become a daily habit-- and that's really what I'm going for.

Anyway. Enough rambling. So write those goals down this week. Make a list every day. Scratch off each item you complete. It's a good feeling and helps you monitor your productivity.