Megan

Oct 30

Photo from Raider of Gin's photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/fairerdingo/

I read a great blog post today about author platform and when/how to focus on building one. In short, publisher Rachelle Gardner said to stop trying to build your brand.

As writers, it is sometimes easy to tell ourselves that we are being productive when we blog and tweet and facebook. But are we really being productive? Or are we just procrastinating?

According to Gardner in her post Novelists: Stop Trying to Brand Yourself, an unpublished/unrepresented author should be focusing more on the actual craft of writing. Sure, writing blog posts and tweets helps with this to a degree, but what good is it if you have nothing to show your audience? And then we come to who your blog/twitter/facebook audience is. Are you writing these things for your future readers, or are you focusing more on attracting other writers/professionals in the industry?

Gardner stresses the importance of focusing on who you are writing books for. Industry professionals play into this, but the most successful writer blogs I’ve seen are the ones that focus more on the reader. And if you are writing to your reader, then it’s not procrastination. You are honing in on your voice while also attracting an audience.

How can an unpublished writer take their blog from industry focused to reader focused? How have you made your blog more reader friendly?

Aug 17

My writing has been slacking lately, mostly because I’m in the editing stage and I hate editing. It took about as long to edit my Master’s Thesis as it did to write the darn thing. Anyway, I am now debating – should I buy a Mac Air or not?

An argument for:

If I have a lighter computer, I will be able to take it places. Therefore, I can write more.

Why this argument fails:

Having increased portability does not guarantee that I would write more. In fact, it might encourage less writing. I may take my computer to the coffee shop and then sit and look at all the people. Or I might decide to just sit around the house instead of leaving. Not a good argument.

Another argument for:

It will be shiny and new and pretty. Therefore, I will want to use it.

Why this argument fails:

Yes, I will want to use it, but will I want to use it for editing?

Basically what it comes down to is this – the speed will be the same as my current mac, the screen will be smaller, and the computer will be lighter. So there’s really only one improvement, and in all honesty, that improvement will not magically make me more motivated or more creative. I shouldn’t need something new to finish my writing. But who knows, maybe when I finish editing my book, I will get a shiny new computer. After all, a little bribery never hurt anyone.

Jul 02

Photo by: yukatafish (flickr username) - http://www.flickr.com/photos/yukatafish/

Writing with an authentic voice is a difficult thing to learn, but lately I’ve been honing in on writers who do it well in an attempt to understand what makes a good voice. The writer I’ve been spending a lot of time with lately (through his books, not in person) is Scott Westerfeld. His books are compelling not just because of his ability to emerse the reader in a wonderfully built world, but also because of his amazing use of voice (which contributes to the world building, but more on that later).

Voice in the Uglies series

In the Uglies series, the main character, Tally, goes through a series of transformations. In each book, the reader can feel these transformations because of Westerfeld’s use of voice. Although told in third person, Westerfeld uses words and thoughts that Tally would use/have. He utilizes slang from his world (e.g. “bubbly” and “icy”) but also gets into the heart of the story. And because the voice is so authentic, he seemlessly transports the reader into Tally’s world. His use of voice wraps around the world, snuggling the reader inside; it is completely devoid of influences from our own world which keeps the illusion from being shattered.

Not only does his use of voice help to make the world real, but he also does a great job portraying many of the things that teenagers and adults alike face – wanting to fit in, insecurities about one’s appearance, never being good enough, etc. While he does this through the plot, these internal struggles would not be nearly as successful without the addition of a believable voice.

Voice in the Leviathan series

The other series of Westerfeld’s I’ve been reading is the Leviathan series. In this series, Westerfeld switches POV between Alek, the properly raised aristocrat fleeing for his life, and Deryn, the spunky Englander pretending to be a boy so she can be an airman. Again told in third person, Westerfeld switches the voice between the chapters. The reader can tell without thinking which POV belongs to which chapter. As with the Uglies series, Westerfeld is successful not just because of word choice and his addition of slang, but he brings out the thoughts and internal struggles of each main character in a believable way.

Other examples of good use of voice

If you are looking for other good examples of voice, Suzanne Collins’ the Hunger Games series uses great voice and is told in first person. In Ally Condie’s Matched, as in the Ugly series, the voice changes as the main character evolves. M.T. Anderson’s Feed, like Westerfeld’s books, incorporates rich dialog into the narration to aid the voice. Another book I recently read is Megan McCafferty’s Bumped, which, like the Leviathan series, uses two POVs. It’s not done to the same degree as what Westerfeld has done, but it’s still a good example of using two narrators within one book.

Do you have any other examples of authors/books that make good use of voice? What other skills can we learn from reading works by other authors?

Jun 20

I have finally made the tough decision to rewrite my entire WIP. I’ll still keep some of the same characters and the same general concept, but it just isn’t working. Coming to this decision was not easy, but you can only do so many edits to a piece of writing. Sometimes you need to just take what you’ve got and toss most of it out the window.

Have you had to do that? When you make that decision, is it something you just feel, or do you give yourself a certain number of editing rounds/time limit before coming to this decision?

Jun 17

Outside In, by Maria V. Snyder

Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary: Freedom is not as sweet as Trella thought it would be. As she struggles with the expectations that she continue to lead Inside when all she wants to do is explore and get to know Riley, disaster strikes. There is something Outside. And it wants In.

I’m always a bit hesitant when it comes to a sequel, especially if I really enjoyed the first book. I was a bit worried that Outside In would not live up to my expectations. But Maria V. Snyder has delivered just like she always does.

It quickly becomes evident that the lessons Trella learned in the first book, Inside Out, have been forgotten, as often happens to real people – we change in the heat of the moment but once everything stabilizes, it is easy to fall back into your old routine. But despite her reverting to her old ways, the plot is anything but routine. As the story unfolds, we are thrown into a believable fantasy/sci-fi world full of intrigue and suspense.

The characters we fell in love with in Inside Out continue to grow, with greater depth added to their personalities and new, realistic motives thrown into the mix. In addition, we are introduced to a new enemy and a new level to the history of the world of Inside.

A great sequel and a wonderful addition to Maria V. Snyder’s resume.

Jun 14

Photo courtesy of Robbert van der Steeg

I know I’ve posted about time management before, but since it’s slipping away from me again, I figured it might be slipping away from you again as well.

Managing your time as a writer

Now that summer is upon us, it seems even more difficult to manage my time. The winter was pretty dreary, so now I want to enjoy the sun whenever I can get it. Plus, I’m a bit sick of staying indoors. But I’ve also missed my self-imposed deadline, so something has to give.

The good thing about the summer is longer days and bad t.v. Because the days are longer, I feel like I have more time to get things done. But I also feel more inclined to go out instead of hanging around. When I am hanging around the house, there is little television distraction because, let’s face it, with the exception of Doctor Who and HBO’s new series Game of Thrones, there really isn’t that much going on in the world of the boob-tube. But the warmth and long days call me outside with a book and I find myself losing my entire day to reading or taking walks or dreaming up summery things to eat.

Reimposing the 15-minute rule

OK, the 15-minute rule doesn’t mean that everything gets only 15 minutes of my time. It’s more the general principal, meaning I have to give myself time limits for things. Example: I can read for an hour or x-number of chapters. I can watch 1 television show. I can spend 1-hour at the gym. And, most importantly, I must spend 30-minutes minimum each day writing. Of course, fitting those 30-minutes in is hard – I want to read outside. I have to eat dinner. The fiance comes home and wants to watch Dr. Who. And then it’s time for bed.

And this is where looking at writing as a job comes in. Because I want to get a book out there, I have to treat it like I treat my 9-5. Sure, some days I would rather sit home and read a book or hang out with friends or take a vacation instead of going to work, but I go to work because I have to. I have people to answer to and I commitments I made. I have deadlines and people that are relying on me. So I put aside the things I want to do and take care first and fore-most of the things I have to do. And that is how I have to look at writing. Even on the days where I feel drained of creativity, I must write. Because if you aren’t writing, you aren’t a writer.

How do you manage your time? Do you set up appointments with yourself? Do you treat it like a job? Do you have someone who holds you accountable for your time?

Jun 12

I stumbled across Mary Stewart in 9th grade, and she quickly became one of my favorite authors. Born in 1916, she wrote the majority of her books in the 1960s and 1970s, most of which were out-of-print until just recently when Hodder and Stoughton decided to re-release her books with newly redesigned covers to boot.

To celebrate summer, I will be giving away three of these re-released books. The first giveaway starts today and is for one copy of Mary Stewart’s Nine Coaches Waiting. *Open to U.S. residents only.

Review of Nine Coaches Waiting

Nine Coaches Waiting, by Mary Stewart

Rating: 5 out of 5

When Linda Martin is offered a position as governess at Chateau Valmy in the French Alps, it seems like the dream job for the homeless orphan. But when Linda’s charge narrowly escapes a bullet, Linda begins to suspect that things may not be all that they seem and the glamorous life she hoped for is snatched away as she questions the true nature of her employers and their handsome son.

This is the first Mary Stewart’s book I read, and I loved every moment of it. Stewart transports the reader into a world of 1950s glamor in the heart of the French Alps, with handsome gentlemen, cutthroat gentry, and a healthy dash of a heroine in distress who knows how to handle herself under pressure.

Nine Coaches Waiting recalls the wonderful story-telling abilities of Agatha Christie while bringing the reader back to a time when gentry and class were very much integrated into daily life. The suspense builds from the very beginning through the setting that Mary Stewart expertly paints across the pages and doesn’t dissipate, leaving you guessing until the very end. This is a wonderful, fun read and the new cover is the perfect compliment to the charming tale.

If you enjoyed the romance of Anna and the French Kiss, the mystery of Prisoners in the Palace, and are a fan of 1950s gallantry, this book is for you.

Book Giveaway

To enter, please fill out the form below to be entered into the giveaway. The giveaway will close at 11:59 on June 22. The winner will be selected at random and notified via email.

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*Disclosure: The publishers provided me with a copy of this book after I expressed an interest in the author. I was not compensated for this review and the opinions expressed are my own.

May 20

The Duff, by Kody Keplinger

Rating: 4 out of 5

(Summary from Goodreads) Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn’t think she’s the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She’s also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her “the Duff,” she throws her Coke in his face.

But things aren’t so great at home right now, and Bianca is desperate for a distraction. She ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him.

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn’t such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she’s falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

I won a copy of this book several months ago (sometime around October 2010) from Adventures in Children’s Publishing and because I had a difficult time getting into it, I only just finished reading the book. But let me say, I’m glad I stuck with it.

Keplinger wrote this book as a young adult and she has proved that age does not matter when it comes to whether or not someone can write. What I also noticed about the book is Keplinger’s willingness to address issues a lot of YA authors shy away from, like promiscuity, abuse, and excessive drinking. Whether this was in spite of her age or because of it, I can’t say, but at times it read more like adult chick lit than YA. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but if you are searching for a tamer, more traditional YA, this may not be the book for you.

What I really enjoyed about Keplinger’s book was that she did not lean on the stereotypes – there were no ridiculous bullies, the lines of the cliques were blurry, and the cheerleaders were not evil. It was more like the high school I remember fthan the high schools I’ve seen portrayed in the pages of books as of late. I found this refreshing.

I also found there to be an honesty to Bianca and how she viewed herself. Painted on the pages was the pain, uncertainty, and insecurities felt by most high school girls (and, if we’re being honest here, most women). It was really easy to relate to this part of Bianca even if I found it difficult to relate to some other parts of her character (to remain undisclosed so as not to reveal any spoilers).

All in all, I found this to be an enjoyable read that touched on some difficult issues, all of which were handled gracefully. I think audiences young and old will enjoy The Duff. And keep your eyes out for Keplinger’s next book, Shut Out, expected for release September 2011.

May 18

Let me preface by saying that the members of said pretentious book club called themselves a pretentious book club. Sadly, they waited to inform me of this until after I had joined. But let me back track.

A friend asked me to join a book club and I thought this seemed like a good idea. Why not expand my reading horizons? Not only would it help me as a writer, but it would also help introduce me to books I didn’t know existed. Just because I spend most of my time reading YA and MG doesn’t mean that’s all I read or all I want to read. Those just happen to be the books I most enjoy. So I set aside my YA dystopian obsession and my MG fantasy crush and picked up some good old fashioned grown up lit.

In the second book club meeting, we were trying to choose a new book. It was suggested that we pick something where stuff happens since books are supposed to be enjoyable (nothing happened in books 1 and 2). So I decided to offer up a suggestion. I was pretty sure YA would be rejected, but hey, I was there to venture out. I know some grown up books. I suggested The Help. It’s been sitting on my bookshelf for over a year and I just haven’t gotten around to reading it even though I really want to. And you know what the response was? A big fat No. Apparently this is a book club where they do not read books endorsed by Oprah, they do not read books that have been or will be turned into a movie, and they definitely do not read books people read on the T (that’s the subway for you non-Bostonians).

This seemed very close-minded to me. For starters, what about the classics that have been turned into movies time and time again? Are those not worth reading? And aren’t books generally popular because they are good? Now, I’m never one for jumping on the bandwagon. I resisted Harry Potter with everything I had until I decided to read it so that I could revolt against it intelligently. And you know what I discovered? The books were great. People liked them for a reason. They may not be high brow literature, but this series certainly had a huge effect on entire generations of readers and writers. But should we just ignore these books because they became a movie and a franchise and topped several best seller lists? I vote no.

I guess what this really shows is that there are two types of readers. There are those who read to get lost in a great story and there are those who read to be pretentious. OK, maybe I’m oversimplifying this, but if you are not willing to explore all that literature has to offer, if you are going to set such ridiculous standards on what you will and won’t read, are you really enjoying the books, or are you more interested in what you think the books say about you?

May 15

Courtesy of id-iom's Flickr photostream http://www.flickr.com/photos/id-iom/

Tucked inside a care package for my cat, I found an article my mom tore out of a magazine for me, Don’t Give Up, Just Lie,with a note attached telling me to read it when I get frustrated. The article chronicles the struggles faced by Kathryn Stockett as she attempted to find representation for The Help, which received 60 rejections before finally getting signed. The article tells how Stockett finally turned to lying – she didn’t want to admit to her friends and husband that she was still retweaking the manuscript, still sending it out. She was ashamed by the rejections and didn’t want to talk about it. She didn’t want to be told that she should give up or find a new project. Instead of being honest about how she was spending her time, she would do things like say she was on a girls’ weekend when really she was holed up in a hotel writing.

But what about the opposite lie? What about when you say you worked on your writing when really you did nothing of the sort? What about when you don’t want to admit that you are stuck? Well, that’s the boat I’m in. Just about every night I’m asked “Did you get any writing done today?” or “What’d you do today?” I’ve found it’s easier to say “yes, a bit” or “I did a little writing” than it is to be honest and say “no. I’m stuck” and then get the look that reads “give up. Find something else to be passionate about.” Or worse yet, to be asked if I need help or to receive suggestions for new ideas.

Although my lies are the opposite of Stockett’s, I’m betting the looks she got when being honest, the looks that drove her to lying, are similar to the looks I get when I’m honest. But why should we have to be ashamed of our dreams? Why should we have to lie? Obviously Stockett was meant to be a writer and was meant to write The Help. She should not have been ashamed of the time she spent writing it. And me, well I shouldn’t be ashamed either. Sure, I may be stuck, I may find the editing process to be a huge bear, but I’m sure other writers before me and others that will follow me will find themselves in the same boat.

Do you feel obligated to lie about your writing? What lies do you tell?

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Page 7

Building an Author Platform – Do you need one?

To New Mac or not to New Mac

An argument for:

Why this argument fails:

Another argument for:

Why this argument fails:

Writing with an Authentic Voice

Voice in the Uglies series

Voice in the Leviathan series

Other examples of good use of voice

Tough decisions in editing – undergoing a complete rewrite

Book Review Friday – Outside In

Time – the Writer’s Foe

Managing your time as a writer

Reimposing the 15-minute rule

Mary Stewart Book Giveaway – Nine Coaches Waiting

Review of Nine Coaches Waiting

Book Giveaway

Book Review Friday – The Duff

Attack of the book snobs – a.k.a. in which I accidentally join a Pretentious Book Club

Lies Writers Tell