Coming up with a Concept

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I think the hardest part about writing (for me anyway) is coming up with a stellar concept. While browsing the web, I came across this great post on MiG Writers (a great blog for middle grade and young adult writers) titled Finding a Rocking Premise. Christina Farley lists the following steps for come up with a premise:

  • Daydream
  • Brainstorm
  • Research
  • Have a critique group or writing buddy
  • Choose your favorite/best idea

To add to the above list, while brainstorming and researching, some things that help me find inspiration for my concepts are:

  • Flickr – I like to look at the top photos of the day/week/month/etc. and see if any of the subject matters catch hold of me. I often copy the inspiring photos into a word document and then write out my ideas and a short plot sketch right alongside the photo.
  • Art museum – art is a great source of inspiration
  • Watching kids in the park – not in a creepy way, but rather to see what excites kids. The smallest sentence overheard can develop into a full plot
  • Reading the news – stories in the news can provide great inspiration. I often try to think what would happen if the story were taken to a new level, or if society were completely changed because of this one story.

While I spend 2/3 of my writing time writing, the other 1/3 is spent daydreaming/brainstorming new concepts to add to the future books folder. It’s nice to take a mental break from my current story, and knowing that I have things in the pipeline encourages me to write faster so I can explore where the next book will take me.

How do you come up with your concepts?

For additional resources on choosing a concept, check out today’s post on Ask the Publishing Guru, The Right Write Idea.

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YA? Tween? MG? W.D.I.A.M. (What does it all mean)?

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Life is all about cataloging. We are taught from a young age to sort things into groups. Apples go with bananas because they are fruit, or they go with firetrucks because both are red. Groups and order are integral to our daily lives. In my paid profession as an archaeologist, I do this on a daily basis. As authors, we too must catalog, only it is our writing that we must put into the appropriate box.

Playing the Genre Game

When I tell people I’m writing a book, the first question they ask is “what’s it about.” I find this to be a surprisingly hard question to answer, not because I don’t know what my plot is about, but because people are looking more for where your book falls in the grand scheme of the literary world. In my case, my category is not one that many people think of when they make their literary map.

I used to tell people that my book is a children’s fantasy. “How far along are you?” they would ask. Anything over 20 pages got me a weird look. “Isn’t that a bit long for a kid’s book?”

YA = Vampires, right?

So then I switched to telling people it was a young adult book, thinking the success of Twilight and other such books would have put this category on the map. Unfortunately, this almost always leads to the question “Are there vampires?”

So what am I writing? In the publishing world, its a middle grade fantasy book. But how many non-writers know what this means? How many writers know what this means? Or what any of the under-18 categories mean?

MG Defined

The basic difference in categories is the age group the book is intended for. Middle Grades tend to be aimed at the 8-12 year olds. Tween or Upper Middle Grade extends upwards to 13-14. Young Adult is intended for the 12-18 age group. And children’s books include everything below 8, and they in turn have their own sub-divisions including chapter book, picture book, etc. And of course, to correspond with these varying age groups, content and the age of the main character are also affected by the above categories.

To learn more, check out MG vs YA fiction: What’s the Difference?

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An online platform for Children's Writers

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I’m not quite sure why, but the thought of creating an online platform to draw in MG/child readers seems a bit strange to me. I think about when I was a kid and had to pay for Internet usage by the minute. If I was looking for a new book, I asked the school librarian or perused the shelves at my local bookstore. But oh, how the times do change.

In thinking about younger siblings of my friends, they were extremely active online, joining writing communities and list serves and engaging in online role playing games from 8th grade up. And this was 10+years ago. With the advances in technology and publishers such as Simon & Schuster launching online books (see my post from July 30), why wouldn’t you be able to build an online platform for children, middle grade readers, or young adults? Who knows, it may even be easier to capture these age groups online than it is to capture the 40+ readers who did not grow up surrounded by constant access to the Internet and technology.

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How long should your novel be?

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I just found this great post by Sarah Webb on how many words a book should be. She, in turn, got some great info from kidlit.com. The general breakdown is as follows:

• Board Book — 100 words max
• Early Picturebook — 500 words max
• Picturebook — 1,000 words max (Seriously. Max.)
• Nonfiction Picturebook — 2,000 words max
• Early Reader — This varies widely, depending on grade level. I’d say 3,500 words is an absolute max.
• Chapterbook — 10,000 words max
• Middle Grade — 35,000 words max for contemporary, mystery, humor, 45,000 max for fantasy/sci-fi, adventure and historical
• YA — 70,000 words max for contemporary, humor, mystery, historical, romance, etc. 90,000 words max for fantasy, sci-fi, paranormal, etc.

You can also check out Chuck Sambuchino’s Word Count for Novels and Children’s Books: The Definitive Post

Looks like I’m closer to my target word count than I thought I was. Guess that means there will be some serious editing in the near future.

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Writer's Voice – Telling your story in 1st or 3rd person POV

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Which is better, writing in 3rd person or 1st?

I remember when I was younger my teachers told me to write in 3rd person. It’s less messy (not a sentiment I agree with, but it’s what they told me). Lately I’ve seen a lot of books written in 1st person and it’s got me wondering: will my book have less appeal if I stick to the tried and true 3rd person POV?

I recently read an article (for the life of me I cannot remember where, so my apologies) that said it is better to write in 1st person if you are writing to a younger audience. This makes the reader feel more connected to the story and like you are one of them. But there have been a lot of books written for the mg/tween/ya audience that were not written in 1st person, many of them published this year.

In an attempt to jive with my intended audience, I’ve given first person writing a chance. The problem I’ve run into is that getting an entire story to flow when told in first person is pretty tough. Not to say it isn’t possible. I’ve read many successful examples recently, but every time I try, the writing seems forced. So after much perusing of the Internet, I’ve come to the following conclusion: write in whichever style you are most comfortable with. You writing will flow better and your reader will be engaged because you were engaged.

To see page one of my novel, written in 3rd person, check out my writing excerpts page.

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Combating Writer's Block

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Finding Inspiration, Tips for Writers
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We all get it, some worse than others. But is it really writer’s block? In a post on The Urban Muse, Is it Writer’s Block? Or Overthinking?, the writer examines the real reason behind writer’s block. Perhaps we are not interested in the project at hand, and, like a child being told to do their homework, fall into a mental slump. Or maybe we are over-thinking our writing. Instead of just getting something down and coming back later to revise the content, we worry about getting it just right or obsess about an idea not being perfect. We are so afraid of failure that we do not give ourselves the opportunity to fail.

Sometimes the best cure for me is to take a walk or go for a run. Or if its been a while since I last read my content, I do a reread and mild edits. Usually this happens when I have decided my work is rubbish, and the reread helps me see that its not actually as bad as I thought. Copyblogger recently posted a post about stepping back and putting your work into perspective:

  • Let it rest (at least 24 hours)
  • Read as a reader – I find it easier to do this if I’m reading a hard copy. Something about a hard copy makes it feel more real.
  • Ask for feedback
  • Proofread

Check out the blog for additional details on each suggestion. It was an interesting post.

Another post with good suggestions for ways to break through writer’s block is from Time to Write. And if worst comes to worst, apparently a half hour of exercise can boost creativity, plus it keeps you healthy.

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Capturing Your YA Audience

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I came across this short list of ways to attract your YA audience, or 5 Rules for Writing YA. The rules are:

  • Convince the reader that the protagonist is one of them
  • Don’t speak down to your readers
  • Read YA novels
  • Don’t worry over whether your book will have commercial appeal. Write first, then figure out how to sell it
  • Forge new paths – don’t be afraid to cross boundaries or create fresh content.

I think the rule I have the hardest time following is the 4th one. I find myself worrying about commercial appeal way too much. I know commercial appeal means nothing if you don’t have a product to sell, but I always come back to the nagging question: “What if I write it and no one wants to buy it?” The truth is, even if no one wants my book now, they may want it in the future since markets are not static. Trends come and go all the time.

Which rules do you have trouble following? Can you think of any additional rules?

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Writer's Voice: What if it just isn't very good?

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How do writer’s deal with voice? I’ve been reading a lot on voice lately (mostly in attempts to solve the never-ending problem of which to use – 1st of 3rd person?). While I did not come up with a definitive answer to my question, I did come across a lot of interesting articles about voice.

So what is voice anyway?

To sum up all of the definitions I found, voice is the personal flavor you add to your writing; it is how you inject your own personality into your writing. Of course, this can be problematic. What if your personality is boring? The simplest solution would be to quit writing, but that is easier said than done. For those of us who love to write, giving it up is no small feat. So can you make your voice more engaging?

The good news is, yes! In this blog post on Inky Fresh Press, 5 tips are listed to help improve your writing voice:

  • Pay attention to the voice in the books you enjoy reading. Describe the voice.
  • Write from a different perspective – instead of writing a scene from the point of view of your protagonist, try writing it from the point-of-view of the antagonist
  • Read your work out loud. Does it sound natural? Does it sound like you? Why or why not?
  • Write a scene for a different audience
  • Write letters to friends. I find that writing journal entries and rereading them to see voice helps too.

Why is it so hard to find your voice?

In a blog post on Rants & Ramblings, Rachelle Gardner discusses the reasons we find voice so hard. A writer’s voice is a personal thing. It is who you are, what makes you unique. But it is so easy to try to be something you are not. We spend so much time putting up a front to our friends, coworkers, strangers we see on the street, and even our families that it is easy to get lost and forget who we really are.

Do you find it hard to stay true to your writing voice? Do you catch yourself copying the voices of successful writers?

Check out this additional post from Inky Fresh Press: What is Writing Voice?

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More on creating characters

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The next best thing to attending the SCBWI (Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) Conference is reading the conference blog. One blog post caught my attention today. It is an interview with Carolyn Mackler on Creating Characters That Come to Life. In the interview, Mackler stresses the importance of:

  • Thinking about your characters quirks – what makes them special? Does your character twirl his/her hair when nervous? Does he/she trip a lot? Is your character prone to worrying?
  • Reading your books/story out loud so you can hear your characters – the way a character speaks says a lot about who the character is
  • Research – talk to real life people who share traits similar to your character’s. If you’re writing a nurse, talk to a nurse.
  • Imagine what your character’s closet looks like.

The third point was probably my favorite. Usually I try to imagine what a character’s bedroom looks like, but a closet is even better. While a bedroom is private space, people do occasionally wander into them. A closet, though, is completely private space. Are the clothes organized by season and/or color? Does your character use hangers or is everything piled on the floor? Perhaps a secret alter is hidden away in the closet, or a stalker collage? Maybe it is so crammed with things that the door barely opens, like that wonderful scene in Mary Poppins when everything comes spewing out of the closet as the door slams shut (or did I imagine that scene). A closet can reveal so much about a character, bringing that character from words on a page to a living, dynamic being that your readers can engage with.

What questions do you ask about your character to gain insight into his/her life?

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Engaging the Reader Through ‘Prime Real Estate’

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I read an interesting article last night called Prime Real Estate. The articles looks at the key areas you need to pay special attention to so as to keep your reader engaged. The prime real estate areas are:

  • The first page of your novel
  • The first paragraph of a new chapter
  • The last paragraph of a chapter

I’d always kept the first page and the last paragraph of a chapter in the back of my mind as important sections, but somehow I’d never put much thought into the first paragraph of a new chapter, but it makes sense. Your last paragraph of a chapter will only keep the reader reading if the first paragraph of the new chapter is equally engaging. Otherwise, the reader will just put the book down, the last thing you want. I know I’ve put several books down and never returned. Now I feel like I should go back and reread the prime real estate parts of books I’ve abandoned along with books I couldn’t put down so that I can see how other writers handle their prime real estate.

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