Saturday Sketch 4.4

I've been in an experimenty kind of mood lately. This isn't anyone in particular, just trying a variant style. Okay, the girl's still anime, but if you'll notice her eyes are a lot bigger than I usually go. I'm a weird one, usually like my anime eyes a little on the small side. I'm in good company though—ahem—Miyazaki. Don't need to say more.

I think experimenting is my favorite part of the creative process. It's when I allow myself to fail. It's okay; I'm just messing around. By freeing myself of expectation, I learn and grow in a different way from editing or trying to write the "perfect" story. Trying something new challenges me, and I think we all know how much I like a good challenge. (Maybe too much.)

The Ridiculous

Sometimes life is ridiculous enough on its own that it needs no embellishment. It doesn't happen often, but there are moments in my past that I look back on now and think, "Did that actually happen?" It's the stuff of books and movies—too ridiculous to be true. Just wanted to share a few today. I've been such a whiner lately. Time for a happy post!

The Water Heater: It was a normal school morning. I ate breakfast, pulled on my winter coat, grabbed my bag, and opened the door to find a water heater standing in front of my house. I cocked my head. Who the heck would leave a water heater on someone's porch?

There was a note on it, so I pulled it off and read: "Hey Natalie! Here's a water heater. Will you go to the Valentine's Dance with me? Brennan."

Needless to say, I totally went with him. How can you say no to a boy who gives you a water heater?

The Parachute: I was on Prom Committee my Junior year of high school. Let's just say the Junior student council blew up—leaving three members plus me to plan/execute Prom. We tried, we really did, but it was beyond sad.

See, we had to have Prom at the school because some hooligans got in a fight and all the venues banned us from scheduling events. So we already had three strikes against us. You'd think we couldn't make it worse, right? Oh, ho ho...you'd be wrong, my friends. Very. Wrong.

We wanted to lower the gym ceiling with fabric and lights; it was going to be so pretty. But before one of the student council members went off the deep end and quit, she bought an army parachute from a discount store. Non returnable. So we had to use a green parachute, complete with cammo mesh patches, to lower the ceiling. Looking back, we probably should have packed it away and opted for the gym ceiling. But we hoped it'd be dark enough that it wouldn't look like the kind of parachute they use to drop vehicles from the sky.

You know what a bundt cake pan looks like, right? Picture that, but upside down and olive green. And that's not even the worst part—the Prom was medieval themed. So above a fancy stone fountain, mock castle walls, and a fake drawbridge hung our parachute, like some G.I. had fallen through a time warp and landed in King Arthur's court. Wait, isn't that a movie? If it's not, it should be.

At least the fireworks at the end of the night were pretty cool.

The Wig: I watched the door as I roller skated around the rink, a ball of nerves in my stomach. Nick and I had been flirting up a storm the whole week. He had to like me, and I was pretty sure I liked him. He was late. I tried to play it off, but I worried he wasn't going to come.

A lot of weird people were showing up. I think it was disco night or something. This one freak caught my eye—he wore a long black wig and silver head-to-toe. You couldn't miss him. He looked like a psychedelic Rastafarian.

He skated up to me on roller blades and smiled. I tried not to cringe. Why did I always attract the weirdos? How was I going to scare him off before Nick showed up? And then I glanced at him again.

It was Nick.

I busted up laughing, then briefly reevaluated my budding crush on him. Let's just say it was a good thing he took the wig off.

Book Commentary: Silver Phoenix

Short Summary: Ai Ling goes in search of her missing father, and along the way discovers she has a much greater destiny than she ever imagined. One that involves lots of monsters.

I think the coolest thing about Cindy Pon's Silver Phoenix is the way it "feels," if that makes sense. The prose reads like Asian myth—it has such an authenticity to culture and world that I could picture the story being an old legend. It especially reminded me of some of Miyazaki's work, like Princess Mononoke or Spirited Away.

Ai Ling is a well-balanced strong female character. She remains feminine and tied to the expectations of her culture, and yet she also finds ways to gain her power in a male-centered society. I appreciate her as an example of overcoming great obstacles as a woman.

While the storyline sometimes seemed random or episodic, I could get past that because this is often the case in myth, so for me it added to the authenticity factor. Pon pulls the strings together in the end—Ai Ling learns the purpose of what seemed "pointless," showing her (and us) that the gods did have a plan even if it wasn't apparent at first. Though Western minds might find the non-Disney ending frustrating (I'm not going to explain more and ruin it), the finish also remains true to the genre and culture Pon set in place.

I await the sequel with much curiosity.

Also, Cindy is an incredible person, one of my personal examples of what can happen when you don't give up. She's still holding an awesome giveaway contest at her blog until June 8th. Serious prizes, people—one of her beautiful paintings or a $100 dollar gift certificate for BOOKS. I'm salivating. Go check it out.

The Ugly Truth

I don't take criticism well. No, I don't get offended, tell the person they're crazy, and storm off in diva-like fashion. Criticism crushes me—as in I'm a crap writer, I should quit now, and I will never be able to make my book what I want it to be. It doesn't matter how nice or mean the critique is, that's how I feel immediately after. It's the perfectionist in me. I hate to fail, and crits make me feel like I failed myself, my characters, and the reader. Dude, that's like TRIPLE FAIL.

But guess what? I get over it. Eventually.

Once the initial shock and despair over reading the critique lifts, I somehow find a way to pick myself up and form a plan to fix things. And once I have a plan, things suddenly don't look so bad. I can do it—I just have to follow my plan.

I stopped writing for a long time, thinking maybe I wasn't cut out for this kind of constant critique and rejection. Then I started writing again, thinking maybe if I took enough pain my skin would get tougher and the crit and rejection wouldn't hurt. But now I know that for me it will always hurt, I'll cry more often than not, and I'll consider quitting more than I like to admit. Then I will brush myself off and keep on keeping on.

Just because I'm a wuss doesn't mean I can't write a book.

Wax On, Wax Off

If I'm allowed, I tend to run my life in fast forward. I can't help myself. I've never been the kind of person who wants to wait for my dreams. I want to run them down, scoop them up, and keep on sprinting. Life's just too short, ya?

But. (Always a but, huh.)

It's like in the Karate Kid—Mr. Miyagi teaches Daniel-san slowly and steadily, forces him to repeat the core motions over and over until they are instinct. (Yes, I watched all the Karate Kid movies as research for Relax, I'm a Ninja. Not to emulate, but to learn more about the stereotypes our culture has about Asian martial arts.)

I think I need a little rinse and repeat, as boring as it can be. I need to slow down and get back to basics for my own benefit. I'm trying. I really very much am trying my hardest to chill out. I am going slow. Sure, it may not look like it since I just hit 20k on my WIP, but I usually average that in a week. This time it took me two! See? That's HALF as slow. And I'm not even going to write anymore today. I have a lot of reading I'm anxious to catch up on.

What have I learned? I think the biggest thing I've learned is that my ideas don't dry up or disappear when I stop writing/take my time. This gives me hope that I can go even slower if I like and my brain will still retain the stories in my head. And the time spent just thinking about the book has helped me gain a better understanding of what I'm trying to accomplish. This one is going to be big, guys. Big. I can feel it.

I've decided to let myself experiment with writing more as I wait for things to happen. I used to write poetry for kicks, and I'm thinking I may try a short story for fun. Just to feel free and remember the small things about writing. And, of course, I have a lot to read. I really believe reading makes you a better writer. It's like learning from a Master.

I guess I'm putting myself through my own summer writing boot camp. Excuse me while I go sand the deck, paint the house, and wax cars.

Side Note: Please take a moment to mourn the loss of Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. The show—my favorite show—has been CANCELED. I was so excited Dollhouse made it through the Fox machine, but now I'm conflicted because it likely took the place of my beloved cyborgs. Sniff. I just can't win.

There's Something About 20k

When I hit 20,000 words in a WIP, it suddenly feels like there's no going back. I'm past the beginning, in deep enough to see how things will probably pan out. It's exciting—motivates me to work faster.

Of course, I shouldn't work too fast. I need something to distract me while I'm waiting for readers, etc. I have a stack of books and Transparent to do that. Must...be...patient...

I'm just going to post a little clip today.

From Chapter 3:

Fantabulous Friday Frenzy!

I have a feeling this weekend is going to be busy for me, so I'm going all out today! In Dread Pirate Sara style, here's a list of AWESOME things. I have way more than I'm allowed to put here, but still this list is, as the title of this post suggests, fan-freaking-fantabulous. (Be prepared for a gratuitous exclamation marks!!!)

1. Another Round of Ninja Edits DONE!
That's right people, Tosh is all squeaky clean and off to yet another round of gracious betas. I feel very relieved to have a bit of a break. I'm proud of the changes I've made—I really think the story keeps getting better and better. Every time I think it's peaked it only gets more cool! I'm making brownies to celebrate.

2. I Have Metallic ORANGE Nails!

3. Good Things Happening To Good People!
I'm bursting with wonderful news! I love hearing good news. It just makes me all happy inside to know that other people are chasing their dreams and getting somewhere. Sweet people like Tess, who just snagged herself an agent for her MG novel. There are others, but I'm not at liberty to say.

4. Kiersten Is Coming To Utah!
I might even get to see her when she's here! Kiersten is my BFF, and just having her in the same state gets me all giddy. Love hanging out with her. Wee!

5. Dancing Storm Trooper!


6. School Is Almost Out!
I only have a 3 and 1 year old, but my mom works at school and I've missed her SO MUCH! I can't wait to hang out with her some this summer. It's been a long school year without her.

7. Saturday Sketch TODAY!
Since I'm going to be crazy busy, I drew up a little elf for your enjoyment. Sometimes I just like drawing pretty dresses. Now let me go watch Deadliest Warrior...


8. Cute SONG!



Okay, I think that's it for now. I'm gonna go finish Cindy's book, stinking edits got in the way. Arg.

How To Write YA

Yesterday I talked about How Not To Write YA, which is pretty easy in comparison to what I'm going to attempt to do today. I already know I'm insane for trying to write this post, and yet I want to give it a try anyway.

I've heard some stuff floating around out there about what YA is and how it should be written. Short answer—it depends. Of course it depends. I can't really tell you how to write your YA book—so much works in the market. But if you are going to write and succeed in the YA genre, the most important thing is understanding what makes something YA.

What makes a story YA? People make the mistake of thinking YA is super trendy. Maybe on the surface it is, but you have to look deeper. I'm only twenty-five, and the world has already changed since I was a teen. My friends, for the most part, didn't have cell phones, etc. That doesn't mean I can't write it. Most YA writers are in their 30s, no? If you're chasing trends, you aren't seeing the ultimate vision of YA.

Keep in mind this is one amateur writer's opinion, but a YA book isn't just a book about teenagers. It's a book about the essence of what it is to be adolescent, if that makes sense. This is why more than just current teens can relate to YA—we've all been there. The core themes in YA are timeless, human issues we all face.

And by issues I'm not talking sex, drugs, and alcohol. I'm not even talking teen pregnancy, depression, and abuse. While I'm at it let's throw out getting your license, going to prom, and the first date. Those are just reflections of the core issues all teens must come to terms with as human beings.

What issues am I referring to? I'm referring to the essence of adolescence:

Who am I?

Where do I belong?

There are lots of questions that stem from these, but it really boils down to these two, I think. This is why the YA genre is so vast and diverse—there are about a million different answers to those two questions, aren't there? And about a bajillion different ways to arrive at those answers. At the very heart, every YA book you read will be about the triumphs and mistakes of a teen discovering who they are and where they fit.

Adolescence is a time of incredible, fun, awful, scary, painful, joyous firsts. It's about discovering the world and where you fit in it. It's about learning the wonderful and terrible aspects of humanity. It's about life in its purest, most emotional form, when everything is new and intense and downright confusing.

This, for me, is what makes a story YA.

Let's look at a few classic and contemporary examples. Of course there are a ton of other themes that join this one in YA, but you'll most likely find "identity" near the heart of the MC's inner conflicts.

The Giver: Jonas lives in a "perfect" society and is chosen as the community's Receiver of Memories. The rest of the book is essentially him coming to grips with his identity and what it means.

Harry Potter: The entire series is about Harry dealing with his role as "the chosen one."

Twilight: Bella doesn't feel like she belongs in her world—she wants desperately to be part of another, one that she does feel like she belongs in.

A Wrinkle In Time: Meg sticks out, she's awkward, she doesn't belong. She learns to come to terms with that.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian: Junior is one thing—he wants to be something else. He straddles two worlds, which does he really belong to?

I could go on forever—every YA book has this theme somewhere—but I'll stop there. It's incredible that so many different stories can come out of a few common questions. Very important questions, in my opinion.

Coming into my own as a person was the hardest, most liberating processes of my life. I think that is why, as a writer, I keep coming back to adolescence, to YA. Sometimes I still find myself questioning where I fit as a person and if I really am who I think I am. It's a dang hard thing to figure out. I don't know if my stories will help others figure it out, but they have helped me understand more about myself. For that I am grateful.

In the end, I can't really tell you how to write YA—only what it is to me. Hopefully knowing the heart of the genre will help. Because it's so much more than some people make it out to be.

How Not To Write YA

It's no secret that YA (young adult) is kind of a hot genre right now. There are a lot of people trying to get in on the fun. It's interesting to me that people are choosing to write in the genre just because of that. I'm one of those hippies who thinks everyone has a "right" genre for them, that you can't just hop genres without a lot of relearning and work. There's no way I could write a thriller just because the market is hot, ya know?

Anyway, there are some people that think weird things about writing for teens. Actually, I'm not even sure they are consciously thinking it, but it comes off that way in their writing or how they talk about the genre. It's subtle, but it makes all the difference. Let's look at a few.

1. Overusing "Teen Speak"
Of course there's room for a little slang, but it's wrong to think that you can turn your book YA by making all the characters talk like they lived in the Sweet Valley High books or Clueless. Beyond the fact that it's kind of annoying even to teenagers, you run the risk of coming off very fake.

Why? Because teens are constantly changing their language. Every year there will be a new hot word, a new phrase parents don't get, etc. Slang also varies a lot based on region and even clique. I still remember moving to Utah and people laughing their heads off when I said "hecca tight." Oh, those were the days.

Also, not every teen speaks like that—you are using a stereotype. And teens really hate being stereotyped. It would be like writing every American with a Southern accent.

2. "Dumbing Down"
I think a lot of YA writers find this one particularly enraging. Believe it or not, there are people out there who think you have to write "simply" for teens and their "smaller" minds. Simpler plot lines, more straight forward characters, nothing to make their brains hurt. I'm getting a little ticked just thinking about it.

Uh, do you remember what you read in high school English? I don't know, but I'm pretty sure The Scarlet Letter is NOT on the list of easy reads.

Teens hate being talked down to, and they can spot it from twenty miles away, I tell ya. I had a teacher once who talked like we were in kindergarten, and I remember all my friends saying the same thing, "What, does she think we're six?" We hated her just based on that.

Also, teens are smart. And teens who love to read are even smarter. If you're planning to write a book for "dummies," you are writing for the wrong audience.

3. Straight Up Moralizing
Teens are like most people—they don't want to read a book that forces its views on them—but it seems like some people want to write for teens to teach them how they should be. Sure, in some niches you can get away with that. In general, not so much. Teens are very aware that reality rarely matches up to the ideal and they will call you on it.

That doesn't mean you can't have messages—it just means the book can't be solely about that message. First and foremost it needs to be a great story with compelling characters. Not a tale on the hazards of insert-awful-thing-teens-do-here. If there's an awesome message, yay, but don't shove it down my throat, ya know?

4. Too Influenced By Teen Pop Culture
Seriously, not every teen loves or acts like Hannah Montana, etc. Once again, this is a stereotype of one aspect of teen culture. I will bet you cookies that there are teens who despise Hannah Montana and everything she stands for. It's like assuming every teen girl out there watches Gossip Girl...no, I'm positive that's not true no matter how popular the show is.

And speaking of Gossip Girl, not every teen is wildly having sex, either. And high school today is so not like High School Musical. Copying what you see isn't going to get you there—you have to go deeper and understand why these things are successful.

Of course there is room for pop culture in the YA market—but it is NOT the whole market, not by a mile. And there has to be an authenticity that you can't quite capture from solely imitating pop culture.


So, if writing YA isn't any of this (and believe me it's not), then what is it? I'm going to attempt the answer, at least for me personally, tomorrow. Yeah, wish me luck.

Playing The Villain

Writers usually put a good dose of themselves into an MC, right? I even talked about that recently—it's unavoidable that parts of you will end up mixed in your protagonist. It's how I personally maintain a connection, sympathize with the story, and make it more emotionally authentic. Of course you don't want a Mary Sue, per se, but having pieces of you in there is natural.

BUT. Have you ever put yourself in the villain?

Honestly, I never have—at least not until Transparent. That's right, the villain has a lot of my nastier traits. Traits I'm hoping I've overcome at least a little. I'm not saying he IS me, but I'm using a lot of things I'm not proud of in my life. Like how mean I was to my little sister, for example. How I felt completely justified in being mean to her. (I wasn't, but I felt like that growing up.) How I thought I was better than people though I never said it out loud.

It's a bit unnerving to use my faults instead of my strengths in a book, but I find it cathartic in a strange way. Usually the villains are made up of our fears, of uncontrollable outside forces, of those who hurt us growing up. Pulling "evil" from myself is...humbling. My own humanity is spread out before me and it's so not as pretty as I wish.

Though I have grown as a person, the past is still there. And some of my actions hurt people that never ever deserved to be hurt. People I should have stood up for. People I should have loved. What I did shaped who they are, and probably not in good ways. It's a sobering thought. And in this book I kind of deserve to be the villain. I'm totally okay with that.

Like, Totally Not Cool

There's been a lot of talk about stereotypes in books on the web lately, what with racefail and all that going on. I'm not going to venture a lengthy post on my opinion there, I'm sure you can guess since I'm a white female who wrote a male Asian MC. And now that I think about it, Relax, I'm a Ninja has a lot to do with throwing out stereotypes. Because really, anyone could be a ninja...

There will always be stereotypes; we will always have to fight them both in and outside of ourselves. It's human nature to categorize and sometimes that comes out in ugly ways. Sometimes even stupid ways. We always have to be on the lookout. I want to address another kind of stereotype today, one that I don't think will ever go away no matter what. One that people always brush off because it falls into the "all in fun" joking category.

I'm talking Hair Color. I know, you thought I might be getting serious for a second. Well, this is kind of serious. Roll with me here.

I read a lot of YA, and I see certain hair color trends that begin to drive me crazy over time. Let me just share a few:

Girls:
• The poor, victimized Brunette who is unpopular and awkward.

• The strong, smart Brunette who must fight to be herself.

• The queen bee Blonde who is gorgeous and everyone falls at her feet.

• The sweet, innocent Blonde who is gorgeous and everyone falls at her feet.

• The slutty Blonde who is gorgeous and everyone falls at her feet.

• The Redhead who is snarky and strong and different (MC route).

• The Redhead who reads and is the MC's BFF.

• The Wild Color Hair girl who's a rebel.

Boys:
• The player Blond who is gorgeous and everyone falls at his feet.

• The funloving/goofy Blond who is gorgeous and everyone falls at his feet.

• The brooding Brown-haired (sometimes with copper highlights) boy who no one understands.

• The cunning Brown-haired boy who is dangerous and doesn't care who knows.

• The shy Redhead who's a little geeky and the MC's BFF.

• The goofy Redhead who everyone loves but no one dates.

• The Wild Color Hair boy who's a rebel.

Sound familiar? You bet they do. I know it's something not near as devastating as the issues surrounding race and religion, but it's really a small part of the bigger issue. We as humans assume (and we all know what happens when we assume...). Does every bratty popular girl HAVE to be blonde? I don't think so. I was blonde in high school, and I was no where near popular and I tried very hard to be nice. This is an ancient stereotype that needs to die with the rest of them.

I actually purposely wrote Danie in Hammered as a blonde MC because I haven't run into very many in YA. The blondes are always the enemy, always have everything they want. It drives me crazy! Promise, hair color does not exempt you from having a hard life.

Does every Brunette have to be homely? For goodness gracious I've met GORGEOUS Brunettes. I wrote Coral in Void this way because of that. She's smart and beautiful and brunette. And, fancy that, she still has a lot of problems.

I'm positive that most of these hair color mishaps come down to one simple thing—people just don't pay attention. No one intends to continue a stereotype. I believe we are all well-intentioned writers. And I'm not saying your popular girl can't have blonde hair. I'm just saying we as writers must be diligent in creating real, feeling people in our work—not just charicatuers. Hair included. There are thousands of more in depth ways to give a character personality.

Miss Invisible

Haven't done a Sunday Song for a while. Been lazy and such. I thought I'd share the song that got me thinking about my own invisible girl: Miss Invisible by Marie Digby.



I was listening to Pandora one day, writing/editing along as usual, when this song came on. I stopped what I was doing a listened to the whole thing all the way through. The words, the melody, entranced me. Especially the chorus:

Take a little look at the life of Miss Always Invisible
Look a little closer, I really really want you to put yourself in her shoes
Take another look at the face of Miss Always Invisible
Look a little harder and maybe then you will see why she waits for the day
When you'll ask her her name

Well, I asked for her name. Enter Fiona.

Not only did the song remind me a lot of my own experiences growing up, but the chorus made me think "what would it be like to actually be invisible?" The first thoughts were—that'd be kinda cool. You could be whoever you wanted. But the more I thought, the more I realized maybe it wouldn't be as great as we think.

For better or worse, our identities are partially tied up in what we look like. Our outside identity is one we never have to figure out—it's always there like an anchor so we can delve into out inside identity.

Could you imagine having no face as a teenager? For real—not just on your bad days when disappearing sounds awesome. Okay, if you were ugly no one would know. But they also wouldn't know you were pretty. And how do you make friends when you literally have no first impression? Or date? Where would you belong? Depending on how you dressed/acted for the day, you could be anyone. A geek, a cheerleader, a jock, an artist, etc. But being everyone really makes you no one.

That's what Fiona faces. It kinda breaks my heart. She is great at being what she thinks people want her to be, but she has no clue what she wants for herself. The lines blur constantly. I hope we both can figure out who she is by the end.

Saturday Sketch 4.3

I'm about 6k into Transparent, my new little baby project. I'm enjoying getting to know new characters and delving into a new world. It has been so long since my brain had some fresh material to work with, and now it's hopped up on endorphins, doing a little jig of joy in my skull. Good stuff, people. Good. Stuff. I'd tell you more about it, but well, I just can't, hehe.

Since I can't exactly draw my MC, Fiona McClean (she's invisible, remember?), I decided to draw her new friend. This is Beatrix Navarro—but don't you ever dare call her that. It's Bea or Trixy, depending on who you ask. She may be beautiful, but you better watch out because she has four brothers (who have panther tails, actually) and no problem fighting back. She curses like a sailor and can mimic anyone's voice. She also has a beat up old Bronco named Sexy Blue. I love her.

The Butterflies

Crushing on the new story. I know you've felt it before. I don't have have to describe it. I'm totally giddy.

Yes, I'm writing to take a break from editing...

I know, I know! Okay? I'm a freak. Honestly, I just love what I do. The baby is napping, so I may as well enjoy myself.

Hello There, My, You Look Nice

Wow, talk about a late post today. I should probably just not post...I could do that...but I can't help my blog addiction.

I've been revising. A LOT. Today was the big "finale," and it went pretty good thanks to the help of my bff. I'm freaking exhausted, honestly. But I have two more chapters to iron out before I can call the big changes accomplished. Tomorrow, then break for the weekend.

In other news, I've started another book. Yeah, number 10. Invisible girl now has a name, a first chapter, a vague plot, AND a hot date! I'm kind of in love, trying to be good and not write when I have so. much. editing. left. I'll probably break down here and there.

I NEED something new right now. I thought that revising would make me critical of my writing forever, but I've now hit a point in revising where if I don't do something new I might go insane. I need creativity—and first drafting is the purest creativity out there. I kind of live and breathe on the stuff, and it's been 6 whole months since I started a brand new project. WOW. That's like ten years in my brain.

How about all y'all? How you doing out there in blog land?

Deadliest Warrior

If you follow me on Twitter or chat with me at all, you know that I am freaking obsessed with a fairly new show called Deadliest Warrior. Oh my gosh, it is the best show ever in the whole entire world. (And Nick says it's extremely sexy that I think so. I guess that's good.)

Basically, the show pits two legendary warriors against each other to see who would win. They pull out all the stops—comp simulation, experts in combat, doctors to assess damage, trash talk, ballistic gel skeletons, dead pigs. They do a bunch of tests, enter all the data into a program, and run the "battle" a thousand times to see how the warriors fare against each other. Then it's acted out in a dramatic finish to discover who is the Deadliest Warrior.

Freaking. Awesome. I'm getting all pumped just thinking about it.

Not only is it entertaining, but I've learned so much about weaponry, warriors, and the kind of damage they do. As a writer who quite frequently writes action/fight scenes, I feel even more equipped to describe what's going on and the aftermath that would follow.

If you enjoy a good fight, you gotta check out this show. It's on Spike if you have cable. They have been running reruns on Saturdays, but I think you can also snag episodes online. I'm bursting with excitement over next week's match up—Shaolin Monk vs. Maori Warrior.

What do I have to say about that? Well, with Maori in my blood, I think you can guess. I'll just let the New Zealand Rugby Team speak for me. (Yeah, they're hot, huh.)

Malleability

To Nick: Happy birthday, love! You are the best husband a girl could ask for. Thanks for the relentless support and encouragement you give as I chase my crazy dreams.

Now, on to the post.

When I first started writing, I thought my stories were carved in stone. Once I wrote it down, it couldn't change. Characters said what they said. Plot unfolded how it unfolded. Setting was what it was. If I tried to alter it in any way, the stone would crumble or become something different from what I intended. Like refining the rock with tools, I could clean up awkward language and punctuation, but that was the extent of change I could envision without destroying my sculpture.

I was wrong.

Turns out what I thought was stone is actually gold—precious, shiny, and most importantly malleable. As I have grown as a writer, I've learned that stories can withstand much more change than brittle stone. Pieces can be remelted and recast. They can stretch and shrink. They can be moved around or reattached. And through it all—your golden story doesn't lose any of its value. In fact, usually it becomes more beautiful than the initial design.

Sure, it's not easy to melt and remold gold. But it's doable. Sometimes I mourn the loss of my favorite pretty pieces, but I'm also happy with the new creations I make. After a while, I can't believe I ever liked the old parts to begin with. The new ones fit better, are more elegant, or just plain make sense.

I'm not afraid to remold my writing anymore. The end result is something more incredible than I ever imagined it could be.

Planning Edits

FYI: I'll most likely be pretty low profile this week (and the coming weeks), but I'm still reading and I think you're fabulous whether I comment on your blog or not.

I'm beginning my plan of attack for edits today, and I'll be drowning in ninjas yet again (it's totally funner than it sounds, since ninjas can breath under water). I'm looking forward to tackling this hurdle. The book will be better for it.

The Plan:
Week 1: The BIG edits. There aren't too many, but just enough that it should take me all week to get the sequence worked out. I have it all in my head, now to map it out and write/rewrite.

Week 2: The tweaks. Once I have the big stuff taken care of, I need to go through the MS to make sure everything matches up with the altered ending. Nothing hard, just time consuming.

Week 3 (and maybe 4): Paper Edit. Again. Like I've said before, I just edit better on paper. So I'll be taking a whole week to read it through and make sure it flows.

After that I'll do betas again. Party. Hopefully I'll be somewhere close to a stellar MS by then. Either that or the ninjas might have to intervene. Let's hope it doesn't come down to that. They aren't nice.

And looking at all this work ahead of me...I need a happy song. Say Hey by Michael Franti makes me want to jump up and dance all day. Perfect for editing.

The Day Of Moms

Before I became a mom, I thought the whole idea of Mother's Day was a good idea. Moms deserve a day! They work their butts off 24/7. It's a life time job with little gratitude, honestly. One day for moms isn't enough. I never understood why my own mother always seems to cry on Mother's Day when we're celebrating her.

I get it now.

While I still love to celebrate all the mothers in my life (LOVE you all! You are wonderful and have made me the woman I am), I can't help but think about how often I fall short. My kids don't speak four languages, for goodness gracious! And they don't freaking eat their vegetables! Or speak with inside voices. Or share. I must have done something wrong because they aren't geniuses.

Worse than that, sometimes I yell at them. And sometimes they drive me so crazy I have to leave the house and let my husband take over. Then there's my constant frustration that I can't potty train the boy. Not to mention whining about how hard it is to have two kids under three. Why should all this be celebrated? Why should I be celebrated for my lackluster performance?

Then I realized why I should be celebrated:

I brought some freaking cute kids into the world, even if they don't speak four languages. So I guess people can cheer me on all they want for my good genes. I'll take that.

Happy Mother's Day, all.

Saturday Sketch 4.2

Small update—more ninja revisions! I'm taking deep breaths and reminding myself how great the story will be once this next round is done. Having been through now three revisions with an agent, I am so pleased with how the story looks even if I'm getting a little tired of my MS. It is so different from where I started, but I truly believe it's a much better story. Even a kick butt story of awesomeness. After this revision, it may be so awesome people will read it and pass out from the sheer coolness.

Anyway...

Drawing. This chick isn't anyone in particular. I decided just to mess around today and see what happened. I've been editing so much that I'm craving some creative freedom. Since I can't really write with all the edits I'm facing, thought I may as well just let my colored pencils do what they wanted.

Okay, off to see Star Trek. Party.

Feel free to give the girl a story. Writing exercise? I'd love to see what y'all come up with.

Growing The Locks

There's something I've always wanted to do, but I've never managed to get there. See, I like to chop off my hair. The second my hair gets to my collarbone, I usually hack it off because it's summer and I'm hot and all I do is wear it up in a ponytail. Then I feel like crap because I didn't meet my goal again.

What am I talking about? Locks of Love! I've always wanted to donate my hair to that organization. They do so much good for kids who have lost their hair for whatever reason. And we all know how that could affect a child. I think it's such a good cause—I've just never had enough hair to donate. And then I started dying my hair and thought I wouldn't be able to donate because of that.

Well, I hopped over the to website and it turns out you can donate colored hair! Just not bleached hair. Yay! I can't tell you how thrilled I am that I still qualify. I am officially growing out my hair to donate, which better keep me from chopping it this summer.

I still have a long way to go—you need at least 10 inches in a ponytail—but I'm so excited. I'm finally going to do it. If you want to join me in the hair growing adventure, please feel free! All of their regulations are on the website, as well as who receives the hair, etc.

Odd Day!

I've been informed by my FIL through email that today is 5/7/09—all odd numbers! Consecutively, even. Okay, so it's not a huge deal, but just knowing that makes me so very happy. I'm going to celebrate by wearing my orange shorts all day. Why? I LOVE odd numbers. It's true.

See, with odd numbers there's always a number that falls smack dab in the middle. My brain likes that. I don't know why it likes that, but it does. It's like a balanced scale, that one number in the center holding up both sides. Even numbers just have a hole in the middle! The horror! How can they stand?

What? I'm crazy? Uh, yeah—you should know that by now.

This got me thinking about characters, though, because Danie in Hammered inherited this little tick from me. She has a lot of issues I don't have, but she does have a thing for the number 3 and odd numbers in general. And when I really think about it, all my characters have pieces of me inside them. And they take those pieces and transform into their own unique being, as if they're my kids. My genes, but manifested way better.

I've heard writers say you're not supposed to write a character like you, but I'm not sure that's entirely right. Maybe you shouldn't write an exact clone of you. But how can you not put pieces of yourself in your characters? Danie isn't me just because she shares my love of odd numbers, but I can identify with her there. I think it's very important to identify in some way with your characters. That way you fight for them, empathize with them, and thereby create someone more real.

I'm so fine with Coral inheriting my sense of self, Tosh getting my loyalty, Adrie absorbing my creativity, and Danie developing a few of my neurotic tendencies. It's like having friends—we have something in common that brings us together. Yes, I'm talking about fake people who live in my head. Technically, I guess I'm bffs with my own brain...I better stop before someone calls the crazy house.

So, uh...Happy Odd Day!

Being A Beta

It has been such a pleasure to see a few of my friends' WIPs recently. My poor betas get worked to death with how many WIPs I've written, and I'm so happy to return the favor. They sure have helped me so much.

Did I mention my friends are so, so very extra cool? I'm way too lucky. And guess what happens when you have cool friends? They write super awesome books that you get to read FIRST. I love that. I love watching the writing process unfold, watching their stories change as my own do. I feel so honored that they trust me enough to read.

Being a beta is just exciting to me. I don't have time to read for every soul out there, but I love to see how creative my friends are. I love their worlds and characters just as much as my own. I get all worked up and excited to help make their stories shine. And I'm so caught up in one right now that I have nothing else to say. See yesterday's post. That was probably my weekly quota of smart.

Critiquing With Class

A friend recently told me of quite a shocking experience she had with one of her beta readers. Basically, the beta rather rudely said the book sucked and that it should be rewritten from scratch if it had any hope of being good.

Now, I'm not saying there aren't occasions for rewriting. And I'm also not saying that betas shouldn't give their full honesty. Today I want to address the manner in which we critique another writer's work.

Personal experience time: I worked as an editor in college, and I was a pretty cocky little thing if I'm being honest. I was majoring in the English language, getting a minor in editing, and my co-workers at the magazine just didn't know as much as I did.

I don't know what my problem was that day, but I reamed one of our writers. Seriously, I slaughtered his writing. Told him it was BAD, that his piece had no organization, that it made no sense and he better rewrite before he even thinks about sending it back to me. Then I left work without another thought.

The next day, my boss took me into her office. She pulled out a shredded article covered in my edits, telling me the writer was so hurt by my comments that he destroyed the piece and refused to write it. He'd worked very hard, put his heart into it, and felt like it would never be good enough after my comments. So he shredded it and gave up.

Some people might say that writer needs to get a backbone. Some might even say I did nothing wrong. But I learned a very important lesson from my boss that day. She said, "Natalie, we are here to help people improve, not to tear them down. You could have told this writer the issues with his article in a much kinder and more productive way. You catch more flies with honey."

Yeah—I was a jerk. And I felt about two inches tall when someone called me out on it. I took no thought to how the writer might view my comments. I was only focused on myself and the task at hand. I should have worded my edits more positively, should have suggested places where he could improve, should have treated him with respect. From then on, I promised myself I would never hurt another writer like that. I was mature and smart enough to find nice ways to address the issues in someone's writing.

Sharing Time!

Guide to Critiquing with Class:
1. Address the writing, not the the writer.
This is a very subtle thing, but when you talk about the writing instead of telling the writer what they personally did wrong, it comes off sounding more positive and professional. And when you do address an issue, talk about it specifically. Vague crit is worse than none at all. Though many writers are a little crazy, most of us aren't mind readers.

Bad Example: You wrote this chapter in a really clunky way. I don't think you knew what was going to happen.

Good Example: The writing in chapter 2 didn't match that of chapter 1. There is room for tightening the text, especially concerning tags.

2. Turn the comments on yourself, the reader.
Writers always care about how the reader receives their work. If you are pointing out that, as a reader, you are not understanding a certain part it will be more helpful and sound much kinder.

Bad Example: You wrote this character wrong. He needs to have more balls.

Good Example: As a reader, I'm unsure of this character's motivation. Why did he do that? Can you clarify it for me? I really want to understand him and don't have enough information.

3. Always say something nice
It might be hard, but there is always something nice to say even if it is "I really liked the idea." Point out everything you love just like you point out the problems. Writers crave to know what is working, love to know how people react to scenes, and smile wider than Julia Roberts at every compliment. That knowledge balances out the critiques, helps a writer know where they did succeed so they can emulate those sections. And if you want to go the extra mile, don't just tell them you loved it, tell them why it worked for you so they can remember.

"Bad" (but still perfectly acceptable) Example: Love this!

"Good" (more like golden) Example: The way your character discovered this really resonated with me. It felt so authentic, and the words were perfect. Sweet, simple, and powerful. Keep up the good work!

There are many other ways to critique with class, but I think these three have helped me the most. Remember that we are all writers, and we all care about our work. You might be able to take harsh crits, but that doesn't mean everyone can. There is no reason to play Anonymous Amazon Critic when you can be kind and professional.

Book Commentary: An Abundance of Katherines

Quick Summary: Colin Singleton has been dumped by 19 girls named Katherine. After "losing it," his best friend Hassan and him take a road trip, end up in Tennessee, and make sense of Colin's rather sad dumpee streak.

Yes, I know, I'm way behind on the John Green boat. But I finally made my way to him so don't flog me or anything. I'd heard a lot about Mr. Green—mostly along the lines of "omg, he's a freaking genius and one of the best YA writers ever born." So let's just say my expectations were far too high starting out...and I tend to be quickly jaded by a lot of hype. Awful personality flaw, I know. I'm working on it.

That said, I really enjoyed this story. Green does an incredible job painting his characters. If you want to see what you can do with voice in third person you better take a look. He made third person feel just as "close" as first. Kudos, Green, kudos. (Like you need kudos from lowly amateur writer-me. Anyway...)

The story took me a little to get into, only because Colin was a tad hard for me to like. I think it was supposed to be that way though. The engaging supporting characters keep you going, as they help keep Colin going too. He's a whiny dumpee washed-up child prodigy. Lots of "why me" going on. I wanted to slap him. But as he started to grow out of it, I started to like Colin and the story more. Loved it by the end.

Note: For those of you who care, I feel like I should mention there is a lot of psuedo-f-word dropping in this baby. I didn't expect it, and it kinda made me cringe every time since I so utterly hate hate hate that word. He didn't use the actual spelling, but still. I'm weird on that one. Personal thing. Also, it is a strong "boy" book, and there are references that might make younger girls blush. Neither of these made me put down the book, because I did feel like it was authentic, but I know some are even more uncomfortable with that than I am.

Saturday Sketch 4.1

Right about this time last year, I met my first two writer/blogger/mommy/mormon friends. I thought it was only right to draw us all together, since we all live in different states and can't celebrate our one year "anniversary" for real. This is (from left to right) Renee, me, and Kiersten.

These two awesome girls have been such a positive force in my writing endeavors. They were the first "strangers" to ever read my work. They were the first to encourage and critique and laugh and cry with me about this crazy publishing business. They have truly become my two best friends.

We've been through the trenches together. We've seen successes—like Kiersten snagging that agent she so deserves. And we've seen plenty of depressing rejection. We've put projects to bed and created new ones. And above all, we have all helped each other grow as writers and people.

Love you guys, and you better bet if I ever get an acknowledgment page you two will be way at the top of the list. *Raises can of Dr. Pepper* Here's to many more years of writing, laughing, and friendship.

Chasing The Ever Elusive "Voice"

We've all heard it. Your writing has to have a compelling voice. But what, exactly, is that? It's a voice both unique and familiar at the same time. Something readers can identify with, and yet haven't quite heard before. A voice that's easy to read, but also uses the language beautifully and differently. And every other conflicting statement possible. Can it get more confusing? Let's face it, trying to pin down voice is like trying to lasso a horsefly.

Even once you supposedly find that voice, some people still won't like it. Even on Relax, I'm a Ninja I've had an agent tell me she didn't connect with the "voice" of Tosh. I've gotten a lot of crits, but those are the ones that hurt the most for me. At that point, I turn into a rabid dire bear bent on protecting my fuzzy young. You said WHAT about my precious Tosh? *Claws come out.*

But then someone shoots me with a tranq and I remember that voice is one of the most subjective parts of writing. It's okay if not everyone likes my voice—most have and that means I'm on the right track. If several people had brought it up, then it would be time to reconsider what I'd written. Which has also happened to me. Sometimes voice can be a major crutch to a book.

Take my second book (the zombie book)—several people told me they couldn't identify with my MC or the love interest. In fact, one girl said the only character she liked was one of the supporting cast. Um, ouch. There were several things wrong with that book, but looking back one of them was voice. With that hindsight, I pointed out several things I did wrong when I wrote that voice:

1. It was a tad too "gruesome" for first person. People were more grossed out by Linea's POV than pulled in by it. Third would have provided some healthy separation.

2. My MC tended to ramble and be excessively rude and apathetic.

3. She had NO motivation, which made many people say "Why is she even doing that?"

4. It wasn't "authentic." The book managed to get to one agent, and she said just that. My MC didn't sound like a teenager. It was off. I was trying too hard.

And that just voice—the plot was a mess too. There were enough problems with that poor book that I've shelved it. It would take a complete rewrite to correct, and I know how I'd approach it next time. Maybe someday. The story is pretty cool.

I took a lot away from that experience though. Getting reamed on voice helped me change and get closer to pinning down my true style. And once I found that, I was able to improve in all areas of writing, from mechanics to plotting. I finally felt confident that I had hogtied my personal voice. Sometimes it gets loose, but I have great people to help me wrangle it in again. So keep trying to lasso that horsefly. It gets easier the more you practice.