Knowing Your Readership with Author Kasey Crawford Kellem

I'm lucky to work with a lot of authors between Stories for Children Publishing, its many divisions and the World of Ink Network. Every time I work with a new author, seasoned author or an author at my level of experience, I always learn something new. However, I have found one thing to be true no matter where you are as a writer and what genre you writer for...

You need to know who your readership is before you sit down to write. With this in mind I asked a fellow author to share her insight on this for two reasons, she is a children's counselor and has a unique outlook on understanding children and two because her debut series of books are wonderfully done. She truly as a new author understands how to relate to her readership. So sit back and enjoy this weeks guest post from debut author Kasey Crawford Kellem on Knowing Your Readership.

My Mind Over Matter picture books were written for children primarily under the age of 8. I have several young nieces and nephews, and a number of friend’s children in my life who have been an asset in helping me write the books to their level. In fact, my niece, Jackie Kennedy, was five at the time I created the book idea. She and I spent many hours brainstorming what a child believes, loves, dreams and what makes them laugh and relax. The ideas were later tweaked and broadened with the help of the other children and parents in my life. I feel pretty confident the books are appropriately geared towards young children.

The use of simple wording and whimsical illustrations was a must to reach the children. I knew illustrations were key to engaging a child in a book. My illustrator, Janet Hill, has a special touch that appeals to children with her artwork. She knew the use of both animals and children in the books would captivate them. She knew vibrant colors would keep the child interested in the illustrations, too. In order to really engage the young readers, Janet thought it would be a great idea to add a hidden bug in each book. In Believe, a caterpillar is on each page showing how he believes. At the end, the caterpillar shows how he believes in himself and turns into a butterfly. The children love looking for the caterpillar on each page. The other books each have an interactive bug, as well.

My goal and purpose of these books is to teach children resiliency skills. It is rare to go through life without facing obstacles, challenges or adversity. Unfortunately, some people do not have the coping skills to rebound after such life changing events happen to them. Every child should be exposed to Believe (and the other four books when they come out) to learn the skill to prepare themselves for their future. I feel strongly that given the added stressors in life including increased divorces, disabilities, diseases and deaths, children need to learn early how to face these challenges with resiliency.

My books are a good fit for all children no matter how great their life is now, because at some point they will face some sort of challenge and need to be prepared. The books are both a preventative tool, as well as a reactive tool. For those children who have a pretty good life, this book series will teach them the skills to have when, and if, they ever have to face any challenges. For those children already experiencing adversity, these books can help teach them the tools needed to get through the obstacle in which they have been faced. Either way, any child would benefit from learning to Believe they can get through all that life offers. The same is true for my other Mind Over Matter Books and the resiliency techniques: Love, Laugh, Relax & Dream!

Kasey Crawford Kellem, a School Counselor and former Special Education Teacher, has devoted her life to helping children facing adversity be resilient. Kasey created Mind Over Matter (M.O.M.) books to teach children skills to overcome life’s challenges. She has earned a Bachelor’s Degree and Masters Degree in Special Education and an Educational Specialist Degree in Counseling. She is a devoted wife, stepmother, sister, daughter and counselor.

 Halo Publishing, Int. and the World of Ink Network are sponsoring Kasey Crawford Kellem's World of Ink Tour this February 2012. 

 

You can find out more about Kasey Crawford Kellem’s World of Ink Author/Book Tour schedule at http://storiesforchildrenpublishing.com/KaseyKellem.aspx. There will be giveaways, reviews, interviews, guest posts and more. Make sure to stop by and interact with Kellem and the hosts at the different stops by leaving comments and/or questions. You will be entered into the main the Book Giveaway each time.

In addition, come listen on February 20, 2012 to Blog Talk Radio’s World of Ink Network show: Stories for Children at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/worldofinknetwork. The hosts VS Grenier and Irene Roth will be chatting with Kasey Crawford Kellem about her M.O.M Books, writing, helping children to be resilient and her experiences. The show airs live February 20, 2012 at 2pm EST. You can listen/call in at (714) 242-5259. (Note: if you can’t make the show, you can listen on demand at the same link.)

To learn more about the World of Ink Tours visit: http://worldofinknetwork.blogspot.com  

To purchase any of Kasey Crawford Kellem’s books, visit Halo Publishing: www.halopublishing.com

Blinding us with science? Or just blind science?

Bad science is rampant in Sci-Fi. You might find an atmosphere made of gases that are highly combustible. You will probably find simple planets with a single ecosystem (as is common in Star Wars). Loud fiery explosions in space. Planets with multiple suns or moons, yet they work just like our Earth.

Writers of science fiction and fantasy--or historical fiction, or any other genre for that matter--owe it to their readers and their characters to create a detailed, immersive, realistic world with all the complexity of our own, without letting the world building interfere with the story.

One reason I don't read a lot of science fiction is because it often assumes too many things that don't work for me. For example, if humans and apes cannot possibly interbreed, despite being very close genetically, what chance is there that we can breed with aliens? Spock is virtually impossible. No matter how an author justifies it, it stretches credibility to the breaking point, especially if we are expected to suspend disbelief more than a couple times.

The same is true of communicating with aliens. We would be about as likely to communicate with an alien species as with a fish. And let's not even get started with planets that have earth-like gravity.

Stories set on other planets can be fun. But the very thing that makes them interesting--imagining what other planets might be like--is the thing that is often neglected.

It's not just sci-fi. Fantasy does it all the time, especially with magic. If magicians can destroy walls or otherwise render them useless, nobody will go through the expense and trouble to surround their cities and strongholds with stone walls. And, historical fiction is often peopled with characters who have a modern outlook.

So make your speculative fiction real. Take the extra steps to make your world rich and detailed. Claiming that science and physics work differently in your fictional milieu isn't good enough. Most readers won't notice your science Benders. True enough. But some will. Besides, isn't it more fun to do it right?

Foil Characters

A few months ago I won a full manuscript critique from Michelle Argyle. She sent it back with fantastic notes and ideas. Still, I was overwhelmed with the thought of revisions. My critique group suggested I set the story aside for a little while and look at it anew later.
I was going to follow their advice, I really was! Until I listened to a Writing Excuses podcast on foil characters.
What the heck?
The image of Joaquin Phoenix in a tinfoil hat came to mind. But that isn't what the podcast was teaching me.

Foil - a character that is used to enhance another character through contrast, highlighting strengths and weaknesses. Create characters in pairs like the straight man and the comedian or Cinderella’s grace and beauty as opposed to her nasty, self-centered stepsisters.

Here are a few other examples of foil characters:
Batman & Robin
Sherlock Holmes & Watson
Danny Glover and Mel Gibson (Lethal Weapon)
Wise mentor & newcomer
Siblings

The last example is the one that perked up Le Muse from a sleepy state of boredom. Siblings! I need to add a a sibling.
My story centers around Mandy, a girl who found out her mother is really an alien impostor and her father has been with holding this secret for years. She didn't want to believe there were aliens taking over her town or abducting boys until her father is taken.
Not really intense. But! Add a teasing brother who drives his sister nuts and not only believes in aliens but claims to have seen them. Mandy makes fun of him.  Not until the brother is abducted does she have to face the facts and save the day.
I'm happy to say I'm ready to do revisions now. Well, the job is still overwhelming but now I can move on to the next step and make this story better!

What foil characters come to your mind?  Do you have them in your story?

PS Don't you LOVE Joaquin in The Village? Best. Romantic. Scene. Ever.

Best Networking Advice Ever

by Deren Hansen

Networking. It's yet another thing we're supposed to be doing to build our careers. As an anthropologist, I've long understood the value of well placed relationships in theory, but I've been unclear how to put that theory into practice.

The best networking advice I've heard to date is from Doug Eboch. In a post on, "How NOT to Network," he advised us to network laterally.

Here's how Doug defines networking laterally:

There are different kinds of networking. What Joe was trying to do I would call “networking up.” In other words, he’s trying to build a relationship with someone more successful than he is. That is a logical way to go but actually not the most useful kind of networking. Tom Cruise networks with Steven Spielberg, I don’t. I don’t have much to offer Spielberg and real networking is a two way street.

"You’ll get most of your breaks by networking laterally. When I was starting out as a writer the people that helped me the most were the interns at production companies and the assistants to agents and producers. Those people are looking to move up and they do that by discovering great material that nobody else knows about. If my work is good then helping me helps them."

Perhaps part of my difficulty is that most of the networking success stories focus on networking up: making that critical connection to someone who can give you a break. But if I put on my anthropologist cap and think about what I've observed, the real networks that pay dividends day-in and day-out were formed among peers.

So how do you do it?

In a second post, titled, "How to Network," Doug lays out his rules of networking:

1. Nobody is doing you a favor. "If you are talented and your work is good, you have value in the business relationship."
2. It’s an ongoing relationship. "When you meet someone the goal should be to build that relationship not to get them to do something for you."
3. Nobody is unimportant. "The guy delivering your script could be a major player long before your movie ever gets made." Corollary: "What you need to be looking for is talent and drive."
4. Quality is the commodity. "All the charm in the world will not help if you don’t deliver good work."

Don't put your energy into trying to impress someone who's much further along than you are. (Chances are they don't have the time or energy to pull you up to their level anyway.) Instead, look to peers--people in roughly the same place as you--and see if there might be some place where two heads are better than one.


Deren blogs at The Laws of Making.

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

I just watched this beautiful video called "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. It has already won several awards including "Best Animated Short" at the Austin Film festival and is up for an Academy Award.

It's 15 minutes long so get a cup of hot chocolate and sit back and enjoy. It's worth the time.

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore from Moonbot Studios on Vimeo.

Here is a little blurb that explains the inspiration behind it:

Directed by William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg, the 15-minute film draws from Hurricane Katrina, "The Wizard of Oz," Buster Keaton and, of course, a love for books. The story starts in New Orleans with the Keaton-like Mr. Morris Lessmore writing a book on the balcony of a hotel. A menacing storm swirls into town, blowing away houses and street signs, taking Mr. Lessmore and his unfinished book with it.

My take on the film: *spoiler alert*

I love the story and the idea of finding a magical place where books and literature become the food of life and happiness. But at the same time I felt sad for Mr. Lessmore (and herein lies the genius of his name), there is so much more to life than simply books. He finds joy in his fantasyland and his writing, but he misses out on the best part of life--family and friends, relationships. 

It was a good reminder to me that (to quote Uncle Iroh) we must all find balance. No one part of life, no matter how wonderful, should completely take over.

What are your thoughts?

Reputation

Your reputation--and the personalities of those in question--affects how people treat you. It defines who you know and your ability to obtain things from them. As writers we need to know our characters reputations; to recognize who knows them, why, and their opinions about them considering their knowledge of them; knowledge they acquire from interactions with the character and gossip from others.

Suppose you have a character who is an esteemed contralto in high school Madrigals; she can flawlessly hit even the tenor notes and is always in tune. The choir and drama kids all love her; even most of the band students know her name. But does the athletic program know who she is? Do future science majors even know what Madrigals is? She may find herself respected in one setting but invisible in another.

I have a character right now who’s high class in a secret organization. As the MC explores this organization the people he meets have worked with or at least heard about the character. The MC comes to find that he is seen within the organization as the ambitions ‘dog’ of their leader. Others outside of the organization however see him as a meddling child who is getting involved in things he doesn’t understand—when in all reality he understands more than they do.

Our contralto’s social network can allow her to get certain things within her program but when alone and invisible in math or even at home she has less chance to succeed comfortably and may have a loss of confidence. Similarly my character’s social network allows him to help the MC get certain things within the organization but can also weigh him down when they’re travels lead them places where he is seen negatively.

When outlining, remember to include your characters’ reputations. The people they have influenced and the things they have done in the past should give them depth and affect their relationships and the plot. Remember also to have layers; characters will have close friends that know everything about them, other friends who can’t completely define those deeper things but see hints of them and know the more advertised characteristics, acquaintances that may have varying general ideas about them, and enemies with maybe completely other inferences.


I apologize if this is disorganized and doesn’t flow; for some reason I am very distracted right now… Hope I got my point across and this helps someone :)

What is an Antagonist, Really?

by Scott Rhoades

It's fun to make your bad guy an evil villain, wicked through and through. The kind of guy who ties young maidens to railroad tracks for the fun of it, and throws the hero on to the slow-moving conveyor belt at the saw mill, just because he can. You know: the kind of bad guy who spends his time laughing maniacally while he twirls his 'stache.

This kind of villain is motivated solely by the fun of being e-vile. Yeah, he might want something. Maybe he wants the hero's girl. Or the gigantic diamond. But he only wants it for the sake of being wicked. And he would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for those pesky kids. But this kind of villain is one dimensional, and doesn't work well in most books.

All an antagonist is, really, is somebody who either wants the same thing your protagonist wants, or who has a good reason to stand in the way and keep the good guy from achieving his goal. The antagonist could be a good person, but we're rooting for the other guy, so we don't like him. The antagonist could even be a better person than the protagonist.

The important thing when you're writing is to keep the motivations of both the protagonist and antagonist in mind. Chances are good that your bad guy wants to stop the good guy from winning for reasons that he thinks are good. He might be right, or he might be misguided, but he's convinced.

The bad guy almost always sees himself as the good guy. That means he sees the good guy as the bad guy.

I'm sure Sauron thought he was doing Middle Earth a favor by taking dominion, while Saruman thought he was doing good by trying to stop the Black Lord and taking the power himself. Darth Vadar probably saw the Jedi as nefarious rascals, upstarts who wanted to thwart his plan to make the universe a better place.

My favorite example is politics. Whatever your political position, you believe your candidate is right and the others are wrong. The others see their side as right and the others wrong. For the most part, all sides believe they are going to make the world a better place if they win. If you are interested in politics, you no doubt see a good side and a bad side, and think of people on the other side as misguided at best, but most likely as people who are out to intentionally destroy the country. Guess what. The other side sees you the same way.

That's how it is with your antagonist. He believes he is right, that's why he is so determined to stop your protagonist from succeeding. During the course of the story, your reader might even start to wonder if the antagonist is right, because he clearly means well and is not such a bad guy. Meanwhile, your protagonist's flaws cast doubt on just how good a guy he is.

When two people want the same thing and both believe they are right, you have interesting conflict. As a writer, you can play with that. Maybe your narrator is unreliable. Maybe you play your reader so he thinks the bad guy might actually be the better man. Maybe your good guy does something that's easy to interpret as evil, even if his motivations seem honorable.

In other words, your antagonist is the good guy, at least in his own mind. His wants are every bit as valid as the protagonist's. It's just that he wants the same thing.

If you keep that in mind, you are sure to have an interesting story.

Writing Journeys and Destinations

by Deren Hansen

I often hear people talk about the writer's journey or their own writing journey.

At first I thought it was a nice metaphor implying the zen of traveling well; the value of stopping to smell the proverbial roses; the importance of enjoying the process over the product. It's also a concise (and gentle way) to help aspiring writers understand that the endeavor upon which they've embarked is likely to take a long time.

But metaphors are at least a two (and sometimes three) edged sword. I think one of the nastiest edges is the fact that a journey implies a destination.

The problem with publishing is that there's no destination. There are certainly milestones, but in this industry there's no place to reach that signals the end of the journey. Remember, breaking in only means that you're a player.

A cynical wit might suggest one's coffin represents the certain end of one's writing journey. While often true, there are some writers who are much bigger dead than they ever were alive.

Part of the problem is simply structural: remember, novel means new. In the market that is commercial publishing, like Hollywood, it doesn't matter what you did yesterday. The only question people care about is, what have you done for me today?

"Wait," you may protest, "when people talk about their writing journey, they mean their personal development as a writer."

Fine. But can one ever reach a point where they have completed their personal development as a writer? Are there authors who have mastered their craft and truly have nothing left to learn?

I thought not.

Now I'm not arguing that you don't measure up as a writer if you're not constantly producing new material. Quite the opposite: you should write because you want to write, not because you've got to undertake a journey.

My critique, however is more fundamental: the very notion of a writing journey does more harm than good because it encourages aspiring writers to look forward to the day when they reach their destination. In other words, it's the writer's equivalent of saying, "I'll be happy when I [win the lottery; get a better job; lose some weight; etc.]

It's much better to live, and learn, and love in the present. Write your current project so that if you write nothing else you can still proudly say, at the final accounting, "I am a writer."

And if you must have a travel-related metaphor, writing is like being a nomad in the desert: it's not about getting to any place in particular, it's about living well each day.


Deren blogs at The Laws of Making.

One of our own

When this blog started, several years ago, Kiirsi Hellewell was one of the first people to step forward and volunteer to help. She has been a great strength and support since the beginning.

Two years ago, something unexpected happened that changed Kiirsi's life forever: her best friend Susan Powell disappeared. That horrible act catapulted Kiirsi onto a national stage, appearing almost every national and local news program, as she fought hard to keep Susan's name out there. Kiirsi gave up everything to focus on rescue efforts, including her own writing.

Just this morning, I turned my radio on to KSL only to hear, once again, Kiirsi talking about the tragedy yesterday of Susan's husband, Josh, taking the lives of their two young boys. I can barely begin to fathom the heartbreak for Kiirsi and her family as well as the Cox & Powell families. I wanted an indulgent moment here to ask our amazing readers to rally around Kiirsi here.

Please leave your thoughts & comments below. :o) Thank you.

Researching My Writing with Award-winning Author Hope Irvin Marston

RESEARCHING MY WRITING 

AGAINST THE TIDE: THE VALOR OF MARGARET WILSON

Because I am a librarian by profession, I know where to search for generic information. Since I write in several genres, my research follows different patterns. Margaret Wilson’s story is historical fiction, based on the life of a teen martyr in 17^th century Scotland.  Obviously, that required a different type of research than My Little Book of Bald Eagles or Eye on the Iditarod: Aisling’s Quest, a biographical account of an eleven-year old Maine musher with a lofty goal.

Through nearly forty years of writing, I have learned that research is time-consuming, that one often neglects to take the road she should have taken the first time and time runs out for getting that particular story published. My observations, considerations and conclusions can help you write your historical novel no matter its location or time frame.  

            First of all, don’t attempt to write about a period of time or an historical person that does not cause you to react emotionally. You may have to spend years gathering sufficient information to write a story that will catch an editor’s eye. If your excitement wanes before you complete the piece, your writing will lose the spark that ignited it. 

            I first heard of Margaret Wilson when I was proofreading for a now defunct publishing company. I was awed by her unshakeable faith that enabled her to die a martyr’s death at the age of seventeen. I couldn’t get her out of my mind. It was at least thirty years after I first read the inscription from her grave marker in a Scots kirkyard that my novel was published. Since I was writing about a foreigner living in her native land, it was a challenge to make the story authentic.

It took two trips to Scotland and several years of e-mail exchanges with my Scots friends before this story took shape. (Pleasant fringe benefits!)

I found general information about family life in Scots reference books borrowed through ILL, but they didn’t tell me fine details such as how family members addressed each other. I learned that from reading books about life in Scotland, written by Scots.

Margaret lived at a time when an immoral king attempted to force the Presbyterian Church in southwestern Scotland to accept him as its head. To understand her plight, I dug out histories of that time period.  

Though Margaret didn’t have reason to travel far, I still needed to know how her father traveled and for what reason. Not finding this information in reference books, I quizzed my Scots writer who had researched this time period for a book she was writing.

Vocabulary and speech patterns must reflect the era accurately. Modern idioms slip into your story unawares. When in doubt, look up a word or phrase. I keep by my desk English through the Ages for checking such things. I found some useful Scots words and phrases accidently when checking certain words in The Synonym Finder. The big Random House Unabridged, Second Edition gives word origins and usage notes.

My integrity as a writer is at stake with each new publication and so is yours. You must be absolutely certain your references are reliable. If something you read amazes you, it’s unwise to accept it as gospel unless you find the same information in two reputable sources, such as credentialed researchers and trustworthy encyclopedias and reference works.  I found many helpful resources in the bibliographies of books written about events in 17^th century Scotland.

Social customs differ from family to family, from North to South, from one era to the next and from one country to another.  To know about Margaret’s life I had to find and read stories about Scots children growing up in the 17^th century.

I searched for years for information about Margaret’s childhood.  Imagine my joy, when I found a book, published in 1897, describing her early life. What a bonanza, so I thought.

              When I shared some of the things I’d learned from this book with my Scots historical writer, she was aghast. That writer’s repeated scenes of Margaret’s early evening visits with her mentor in Drumjargon were impossible inasmuch as that village was twenty miles away from Margaret’s home in Glenvernoch.  Authentic information?  Hardly!  How could I trust anything else in that book.

            Had I not visited Scotland to experience the ambience of this delightful county while corroborating the details in my manuscript, it would have been full of misinformation.

 Bottom line: Play it safe, even when you are not writing about life in a foreign country five hundred years ago. Don’t write about a place without visiting it unless you have contact with someone who lives there and is willing to vet your story.

                           About Hope Irvin Marston: 

Hope Irvin Marston is a native of central Pennsylvania, the eighth child in a farm family of nine, an honor’s graduate of Lock Haven (PA) High School, Milligan College (TN) and SUNY at Geneseo. She and her husband of fifty years share their Black River (NY) home with Heidi, a lovable Bernese mountain dog. A former junior high school teacher/library media specialist in Watertown (NY), Hope retired in 1990 to write full time. Her bio is listed in Something about the Author (Gale).

           

She is a member of the New York State Retired Teachers, the Greater Thousand Islands Literacy Council, the Jeff-Lewis Librarians Association, the Adirondack Center for Writing, the St. Lawrence County Arts Council, the North Country Arts Council and SCBWI. She organized the Black River Valley Writers Club and served as its leader for several years. Later she founded the North Country Children’s Writers and Illustrators arm of SCBWI and directed the annual writing conference for five years. 

           

In addition to writing thirty-two children’s books and several adult titles, Hope has been on staff for Christian Writers Conferences at Hephzibah Heights (MA), Montrose Bible Conference (PA) and at St. Davids Christian Writers Conference at Beaver Falls, PA. She has taught creative writing workshops at Jefferson Community College, the Jefferson-Lewis Teacher Center, and the North Country Arts Council.

           

Her picture book series, MY LITTLE BOOK COLLECTION (Windward), has grown to eight titles thus far and has 125,000 books in print.

           

Hope was a book reviewer for the now defunct Provident Book Finder.  She currently writes reviews for Church Libraries.

           

Hope does school visits from kindergarten through post-graduate college and presents writing workshops for kids and adults. When she is not researching, reading or writing, you may find her cooking or baking in the kitchen, or out walking Heidi.

 

The World of Ink Network will be touring three of award-winning author Hope Irvin Marston books. Her most recent release Eye on the Iditarod: Aisling’s Quest (ISBN: 978-0-89317-071-4) is a biography, but was written as an autobiography. Windward Publishing (An imprint of Finney Company) released the book December 1, 2011. The other two books on tour are My Little Book of Bald Eagles also from Windward Publishing (An imprint of Finney Company) and Against the Tide: The Valor of Margaret Wilson from P & R Publishing. 

You can find out more about Hope Irvin Marston’s World of Ink Author/Book Tour schedule at http://storiesforchildrenpublishing.com/HopeIrvinMarston.aspx. There will be giveaways, reviews, interviews, guest posts and more. Make sure to stop by and interact with Marston and the hosts at the different stops by leaving comments and/or questions. For each comment, you will be entered into the big Giveaway at the end of the tour.

In addition, come listen on February 6, 2012 to Blog Talk Radio’s World of Ink Network show: Stories for Children at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/worldofinknetwork. The hosts VS Grenier and Irene Roth will be chatting with Hope Irvin Marston about her books, writing, the publishing industry and experiences. The show will air live February 6, 2012 at 2pm EST. You can listen/call in at (714) 242-5259. (Note: if you can’t make the show, you can listen on demand at the same link.)

To learn more about the World of Ink Tours visit: http://worldofinknetwork.blogspot.com  

We Are Not The Exception

By Scott Rhoades

(Written in a hotel room in San Francisco on a small tablet, so please forgive weird little typing errors.)

When querying agents, it is important to follow submission guidelines exactly. Agents often lament the number of queries that do not follow the rules. There are too many people, they say, who think they are exceptions, exceptional talebts who can get an edge by ignoring submission guidelines. Rules are for saps, some believe, and their superior talent will wow the agent so much that the rules won't matter.

1. This is a highly unprofessional approach, and agents want to represent professionals.

2. Agents are very busy, and they establish guidelines to help them work more efficiently. If you don't follow the guidelines, you waste their time, and you'll never win anybody over by wasting their time.

3. Following guidelines shows you've done your research and are most likely querying the agent because you are interested in working with that agent, not simply because you're blanket-querying all agents.

4. Not following the guidelines is rude.

It is difficult to attract an agent. When rushing through a stack of queries, agents look for reasons to reject. You're not going to get an agent on your side by ticking him off.

So remember, no matter how good and special you believe you are, you are not an exception.

Today's Free Fridays Nook Book: Winston's War: A Novel of Conspiracy, by Michael Dobbs

Professional Relationships

by Deren Hansen

How many of us wouldn't jump at the chance to be a professional writer?

How would it be to spend our days wrapped in a comfy smoking jacket, pipe in hand, dispensing pearls of prose to eager readers?

Oh, wait, that's the fantasy writer (not the writer of fantasies). You know better.

You know that professional writers work hard at writing, revising one book, drafting another, and outlining a third all at the same time. You know that professional writers work constantly at promotion in every venue, both real and virtual, they can find.

You know all that, and you think you're up to the job.

But do you know how many of your private prerogatives you'll have to give up?

One of the things you must give up as a professional writer is your public opinions. That's not to say you don't have opinions, simply that you're no longer at liberty to share.

Why?

Because professionals must work with everyone.

The mantra of the consultant is,

I'm a professional.
I don't have problems.
I don't cause problems.
I solve your problems.

As a professional, you don't have the luxury of not liking someone, particularly in an industry as small as publishing where there's a real chance you might have to work with them at some point in the future.

In a panel on professional comportment at LTUE,  Tracy Hickman said, "There's only thing you can be sure of: you never know who you're talking to, so treat everybody as important."

In the same panel Howard Tayler reminded us of the 2010 Dr. Who Christmas episode where the doctor, in response to someone who says another character isn't important, replies, "How fascinating. I've never met anyone who isn't important."


Deren blogs at The Laws of Making.

Challenged Books

by Scott Rhoades

Every year, I set at least one reading goal to help lead me to the books I'll read that year. Last year, my goal was to read the last two Twain novels I'd never read (that's Mark, not Shania), and to begin rereading all of Steinbeck's novels and selected non-fiction in the order written, to study his development as a writer.

This year, I am continuing my Steinbeck goal, but I've also decided to read at least ten of the most-often-challenged books in the US as listed by the American Library Association. I've also added a few other books to my list that have led to authors being banned or even jailed in other countries.

These are books whose very presence in a library or classroom is challenged by parents, community organizations, school boards, churches, governments, and a host of others who feel that the very presence of a book in one of those pesky storehouses of knowledge and ideas we call libraries threatens the fabric of society, the idea being that books, as well as other art forms, should always be uplifting (according to their definition of "uplifting"). The ALA website has a fascinating list of some of these books and the reasons they have been challenged by specific groups, including some right here in Utah, as well as lists and graphs describing various facts about bans and challenges.

Many of the reasons why a book is challenged are valid from particular perspectives. Parents are, by far, the largest group of challengers. Certainly, parents have a right to raise concerns about assigned reading they consider offensive or inappropriate for readers of a certain age. Whether they have the right to determine what an entire community reads based on their own opinions, well, that's an argument I won't get into here (but just saying that probably reveals my position well enough). This post is not about parental rights.

Many books are challenged or banned for reasons that appear weak to most of us. Banning the Harry Potter books for glorifying witchcraft and magic, banning Twilight because it includes supernatural characters who fall in love with mere mortals, or banning The Lord of the Rings for being satanic all sound kind of silly, but all have happened. Banning The Adventures of Captain Underpants for depicting a boy in his underwear, or banning the entire Goosebumps series for being frightening and having ghosts and other spooky ookies, doesn't sound any better. Many of these bans obviously come from people with extremely narrow views who have never read the books.

But many challenges are much more complicated. For example, the most-often challenged book in the US is often challenged, not because of closed-mindedness but because of an attempt to discourage bigotry and closed-mindedness. I'm talking, of course, about "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." True enough, That Word is deeply offensive. Even though it is considered worse today than it was in the story's (and author's) time and place, it was still not a nice word back then. In Twain's time, it was very similar in effect to the currently misused adjective, "gay." Questioning the presence of a book so full of the N-word in a classroom, especially one in which many students are likely to be personally offended, is not completely ununderstandable.

The problem is, to ban the book for depicting racism is to miss the point. Yes, it depicts racism. Huck struggles with racism throughout most of the book, believing that slaves can hardly have feelings like "real people," and questioning whether he's doing the right thing by helping him. For much of the story, Huck ponders turning Jim in. But over the course of their journey, Huck learns that Jim is, in fact, a person, has feelings, loves his family, values freedom, and is not all that different. When Huck finally decides that he'll even risk eternal damnation to help Jim become free, Twain is making one of the most powerful anti-racism statements in American literary history.

In many cases, books like "Huck Finn" are taught in order to make points that go beyond the book. Twain's opus opens the door for discussions about racism and civil rights, about how much has changed and how much change is still needed. The answer is not to ban, but to discuss.

Of course, that's not always understood or appreciated, nor is it easy. Take, for example, the recent controversy right here in Utah when a teacher was discussing Martin Luther King and the lesson morphed into a discussion about the hated N-word. Many parents were upset that the word was used in class, in many cases not an inappropriate response. However, as reported anyway, that response seems misguided in this instance. During the course of the discussion, kids mentioned that they hear the word all the time in the music they (or older siblings) listen to, so it can't be that bad. The very fact that the kids would respond that way shows why the discussion is needed, even at a young age.

Often, it's government who challenge a book. The USSR was notorious for banning books that depict anti-communist sentiments, and the USA is notorious for challenging books that are pro-communist. 1984 by George Orwell has been banned in both countries for both reasons. I think that most of us agree that when government gets in the business of controlling ideas, good never follows.

I've taken a long time to make my point, so I'll do it now and wrap up. Good art is often challenging. It challenges our society, our morals, and our beliefs. It discusses very real parts of the human condition that people don't like to talk about openly, such as sex or our own prejudices (and we all have them). It holds up a magic mirror that shows our world as it is, not necessarily the way we like to pretend that it is. Many people don't like to be challenged, and they certainly don't want their children to be challenged or exposed to certain ideas. The problem is, by hiding those ideas and those unpleasant aspects of who we are and the world we've created, we eliminate discussion and ensure that the problems will not be addressed. We contribute to the lack of change and improvement. And, worst of all, we short-change our children and their ability to think and reason and to see for themselves why the ideas and words and actions depicted in the book are considered bad, and to learn how to deal with them.

And, by pulling those books from our libraries, we prevent children and adults who have issues or questions from a safe place where they can learn more about those issues and resolve their questions. That's why libraries (and, to a somewhat more controlled extent, schools) need to contain the widest variety of ideas, including those we do not cotton to, and why access to libraries must remain free.

I'll step down off my soapbox now. Please discuss.

Today's Barnes & Noble Free Friday e-book: Zombies Don't Cry by Rusty Fisher.

Pop Culture Controversy

Maybe I'm a few years late to this particular discussion, but I think it bears repeating.

Last week on Pandora, I heard a great new song: "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People. It had a catchy, edgy beat and I found myself humming along. Later, my daughter said her 6th grade class had discussed this song because it talks about a school shooting. I didn't think much of her comment at the time, but the thought stuck with me.



Yesterday, I did some research on the song and, thanks to Google, found out the story behind the song. It's about a student who is bullied and harassed and who takes his gun to school to seek revenge. The lyrics are "run faster than my bullet." Here's what SongFacts says about the song:

Mark Foster explained the song's meaning to Spinner UK: "'Pumped Up Kicks' is about a kid that basically is losing his mind and is plotting revenge. He's an outcast. I feel like the youth in our culture are becoming more and more isolated. It's kind of an epidemic. Instead of writing about victims and some tragedy, I wanted to get into the killer's mind, like Truman Capote did in In Cold Blood. I love to write about characters. That's my style. I really like to get inside the heads of other people and try to walk in their shoes."

Foster says he considered writing the song from the perspective of the victim, but felt that would be a cop out. He also points out that there is no actual violence in the song, as the threats are all the kid's internal monologue.


Another writer for the Chicago Tribune decried the song's dark meaning: 

But after looking closely at the song's lyrics and listening to it many extra times, I have come to agree that this song is more deserving of a push away than the warm embrace it has mostly received.

I don't for a moment fear that my kids or yours are one ill-considered pop song away from going bad, but I'd just rather not have their environment include a school shooting treated with all the gravity of bubble-gum pop — with whistling! 

One person's edgy, thought provoker is another person's dark influence to be shunned. Who's right? 


Writers of songs and writers of books live in parallel universes when it comes to pushing the envelope. We each decide how far to push boundaries in our creations, and often society will push back. 


So where's the limit? Is it inherently wrong to tell a song (or story) from the perspective of the bad guy? I bet you can name books that do that exact same thing. But will that perspective glorify the violence? Are we condoning the behavior we discuss? Who decides that? Certainly there is no real fear in our teens hooking up with vampires who then love them too much to bite them. But what about realistic fiction? What about writing about the power a kid feels when he pulls a gun on someone or when a girl smokes her first joint? Are we giving kids ideas they wouldn't otherwise have? 


What do you think? Leave your comments below. 


(and tell me if you like the song too! I think the song is catchy and the words create a vivid scene in my head that could easily make a powerful book.)

Finding Balance

by Deren Hansen

Sandra Tayler, speaking at the 2011 Life, the Universe, and Everything (LTUE) conference, addressed the perennial question of finding balance. She said you can balance your life by paying attention (as in at least 10 minutes a day) to the five things that are most important to you.

I've amplified Sandra's five things to illustrate the technique.

Source of Inspiration

The word inspire comes from Latin root that mean, "to breath into." Many creation stories have God, the Flying Spaghetti Monster, or the Amorphous Essence of the Universe breathing life into creation.

What is it that breaths life into your writing, your work, and your very existence?

What fills you with joy in being?

Whatever it may be, take time each day to reconnect with your source of inspiration.

Important Relationships

For good or ill, humans are social animals. Much of our sense of who we are is a function of those with whom we are close. Put another way, much of what we do is motivated by the people with whom we have the most important relationships. Some have pursued their art at the expense of those relationships and wound up with no one to share it with when they won the prize.

Take time each day to acknowledge and nurture your important relationships. Not only will you have more support right now, you'll likely have someone to appreciate it when you succeed.

Health and Welfare

As Count Rugen, in the Princess Bride, says, "If you haven't got your health, you haven't got anything."

Take time to take care of yourself.

Writing

If you are serious about writing it should have a high priority. While writing every day is an important habit, the point here is that you ought to do something related to writing each day to keep in touch with your passion.

"Something only I care about."

Sherry Wachter, writing on The Blood Red Pencil, talked about the importance of a room of one's own. That is, how having a project of your own makes it easier to compromise when you're working on someone else's project. Taking time each day to do something only you care about is essential if you don't want to lose track of yourself amid all the demands placed upon you.
 
Balance = The Things that Matter

You can think of this as the plate-spinner approach to personal balance. Like the performer who runs back and forth spinning up the plates that are slowing down, taking time each day to at least touch the five most important things in your life will go a long way to helping you find balance.

And don't think of it as balancing your life. The job of balancing an entire life is overwhelming. Sandra Tayler said, "Balance the day and the year will take care of itself."


Deren blogs at The Laws of Making.

Best Writing Advice Ever

By Julie Daines

In 1986, Frank L. Visco published this advice in Writer's Digest. It's so awesome I had to post it again here, even though I'm sure many of you have already seen this.


How To Write Good:

My several years in the word game have learnt me several rules:

Avoid Alliteration. Always. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They’re old hat.) Employ the vernacular. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive. Contractions aren’t necessary. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos. One should never generalize. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “I hate quotations. Tell me what you know.”

Comparisons are as bad as cliches. Don’t be redundant; don’t use more words than necessary; it’s highly superfluous. Profanity sucks. Be more or less specific. Understatement is always best. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement. One word sentences? Eliminate. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake. The passive voice is to be avoided. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed. Who needs rhetorical questions?

Here are a few more added to the list by another guy:

• Never use a big word when a diminutive alternative would suffice.
• Poofread carefully to see if you any words out.
• A writer must not shift your point of view.
• If you reread your work, you can find on rereading a great deal of repetition can be by rereading and editing.

Click here for source.

Posted by Julie Daines
www.juliedaines.blogspot.com