What A Reader's Looking For, And What They're Hiding From

I have very little writing experience, but what I do know is reading. After reading approximately two thousand-ish books, I have come to realize that my reading style has pattern; anything. Having a vast variety within reach, I do however stick to YA in place of my much beloved classics. Here is what I mean to provide authors, not exactly sure how it may be interpreted but hey, what turns an average teenager off from a book or series. However, do not write strictly for readers, you will never please everyone. You must tell your story, and all the clichés that you feel need to accompany it. But if you need a little, um, guidelines to making something worth while today.

Numero Uno, A stupid flipping love triangle. It is played out and unnecessary. Unless, of course, it consists of a girl, a fictional character, and food. But let's face it, that is an unlikely novel that I would very much enjoy reading. Off topic, my bad, seriously. Teenagers who read are typically amazing but not the type to be caught between too incredibly attractive supernatural beings, okay?

Secondly, can we stay away from vampires and werewolves for a little while? Now, I am speaking strictly of average werewolves and vampires. By average, I mean the teenage forms of the two that fall in love with whiny girls. Lycans, the creepy things from I Am Legend,  and other deviations of the two are acceptable and still draw intrigue, just maybe keep them out of high school. I sound like I am attacking a certain book series, but I swear I am not doing so intentionally.

Also, let's try some older settings. Trust me, I love post apocalyptic and alien worlds, but we should change things up. I am talking some teen friendly Games of Thrones type books. (Yes, we still read those books but it is frowned upon.) The time of kings and queens and dragons was fantastic, therefore it needs more glorification. By saying fantastic, I am aware I am forgetting the lack of hygiene, modern medicine, and running water... but those can overlooked.

Lastly, where are the cool parents? All the parents I know are pretty awesome. Okay, some are pretty awesome; some, not so much. I keep reading about parents who just do not parent. And they are boring. Parents can be good guys and not all kids hate their parents. I personally love my mommy and tell my friends about it to the point that they just ignore me. Beside the point, parents can have a positive impact on their children and children can recognize it.

Do I know anything, really? No. But, I think I might speak for others. Either way, this is what choir freak, nerd fighting, highly functioning sociopath wants. There must be more of us, so let's just agree upon my cries for variety. If you have any of these, or do not, in your story, that does not make it a bad story or an amazing story. You are the one who makes it; your characters that take form; first in your mind then on the page.

You Stay Classy, San Diego.

Key Essentials For an Authentic YA Voice

Jordan Dane
@JordanDane



Purchased from Fotolia by Jordan Dane

On Oct 17th at the KILL ZONE blog, I critiqued the first page of an anonymous author’s work –A Game of Days. Some interesting comments on the YA voice came from this post and I wanted to share more on what I’ve learned from writing for the teen market. My personal epiphanies.
 
Writing for the Young Adult (YA) market and capturing the voice of YA is less about word choices (and getting the teen speak down) than it is about getting the age appropriate decisions and attitude right. Urban fantasy or post apocalyptic plots can build on a world that is unique and unfamiliar. Books like the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins or the Divergent series by Veronica Roth can have its own voice, so teens are familiar with reading books like this.
 
When I went looking for solid examples of teen dialogue or introspection to share at a workshop, I searched some top selling YA books, only to find the voice I expected wasn’t there. Sure there are YA books where authors can sound authentically teen, but to keep up the realism for a whole book can be a challenge and an overabundance of “teen speak” can date the banter or be too much for adult readers to catch. (Yes, adults are HUGE readers of YA.)

As you read through this list, think about how each of these tips might also apply to writing ANY voice, even book intended for adults. Many of these tips work for cross-genre writing.
 
Key Essentials for An Authentic YA Voice:
 
1.) Use First Person or Deep Point of View (POV)—This technique of “deep” POV, or “close third” person, is used in fiction writing as a glimpse into the head of your character. In YA, I think of deep POV or close third as conversational thoughts deep inside your teen. First person POV is like reading someone’s diary.

2.) Don’t be afraid to mix POVs—You can mix POVs (for example, first person for your storyteller and third person for other characters), but since it’s your story, only you can decide how you want it to be told. Many YA stories are in first person, but more authors are exploring a mix. By adding in the element of third person for other characters, you can let the reader in on what is happening outside your character’s head and add twists to your plot more effectively. Plus if you have secondary characters or villains who may threaten your protagonist, letting the reader in on what’s in their head can make the reader more fearful for your hero/heroine. (Most adult books are not in first POV, but first POV is very intimate and fun to write. My current adult book project has first POV for the main character, but third for everyone else. Very liberating.)

3.) Don’t worry about your vocabulary. Today’s teen reader can handle it. There’s no need to simplify your choice of words or sentence structure if the character warrants it. Just be mindful of the experience level and education of the teen in your story. A homeless kid without much education won’t have an extensive vocabulary unless there’s a good reason for it. If you’re writing a futuristic dystopian book, you’ll be world building and perhaps coming up with your own vocabulary or teen life choices or social customs that would be different from a contemporary YA.

4.) Character first or story first? In my adult fiction thrillers, characters usually come at me first, but in YA I think it’s important to conceive a plot then fit the best characters to the premise. This may help you conjure the most fitting character and voice for the story, without creating a cookie-cutter teen that follows you from book to book.

5.) Don't force it. As many kinds of teens there are, that’s how many varied “voices” you can create. As long as the story is compelling and the characters draw in the reader, the voice of YA only needs to match the tone, age, and character of that story. Don’t force voice or language that doesn’t seem real to you. Your protagonist’s voice should come naturally from the story premise and the conflict, filtered through your head as the author. If you force it, it will show.

6.) How does the story and character motivation affect your storyteller’s voice? One of the biggest mistakes writers make in YA usually has to do with the sarcastic voice. Biting sarcasm alone does not make a YA story. Without a reason for this behavior, the author runs the risk of making their character unbearable, unlikeable and a real turnoff for the reader. The manuscript must have a cohesive story with solid character motivation to go along with the attitude. Even if the voice is great, what happens? Something needs to happen. And if your character starts off with a good reason to be snarky, give them a journey that will change them by the end of the book.

7.) Know your character’s motivation. Sarcasm, voice, and maturity of your character must be driven by a reason in your story to add depth. Provide a foundation for the “attitude” your character has and don’t forget a liberal dose of poignancy. A reader can tolerate a sarcastic teen if a scene ends with brutal honesty or catches the reader off guard with something gripping to make the whole thing come to a real point.  

8.) Beware of stereotypes—Avoid the cliché character (the geeky nerd, the pretty cheerleader, the dumb jock). This doesn’t only apply to YA.

9.) Can you relate to your storyteller? Peer pressure, dating, zits, kissing, sex, being an outsider, not fitting in—these are teen concerns that, as adults, we have to remind ourselves about. With each of these words, what pops into your head? Does it trigger a memory, good or bad? Sometimes the best scenes can come from these universal concerns that haven’t changed for decades. Filtered through your own experiences, a scene can carry more weight if it’s still relevant and relatable.

10.) What is your storyteller like emotionally? What effect can raging hormones do for your character? Is everything a drama? Not all teens are like this. Some are withdrawn in front of adults or in social situations. It’s important to ask yourself: What are they like around their friends and who are their friends? I would resist the urge to create a character based on a teen you know if it’s at the expense of your plot. Certain aspects or perceptions of “your teen” can influence your character, but your book is fiction. That’s why I recommend devising your plot first before you place the right teen in it.

11.) Who or what has influenced your storyteller most? Like in the movie, JUNO, the teen girl had a dry wit that sometimes referenced an older person’s humor. Not everything was “teen speak.” She was influenced by the adults in her life, using references she heard from her dad and step-mom. Her pop culture references were peppered into the humor of another generation. She still sounded young, but her dialogue appeal was more universal. Don't be afraid to make up a word or phrase to suit your character's world.

12.) What journey will your storyteller take in your book? Getting the voice right is only half the challenge. Your YA book must be about something—a plot, believable world building, and the reaction and journey of a real teen amidst it all.

13.) Don’t forget the imagery. Teen readers have great imaginations and can picture things in their heads like a movie. Give them something that triggers and engages their imaginations. Picture your book scenes on the big screen and write them that way, but don’t go overboard and slow your pace. Teens get it. Give them a glimpse and move on. They’ll roll with the imagery.

14.) Turn off your parent switch—If you’re an adult and a parent writing YA, you may find it difficult to turn off your mother or father switch, but you should consider it. Kids can read between the lines if you’re trying too hard to send them a “universal parental” message about conduct and behavior. Simply focus on your story and tap into what your teen experiences were—without censorship—and without the undertone of sending kids a special message. Your story will read as more honest, without an ulterior motive.

HERE is a link on a video about one teenager’s story from The Onion News (DISCLAIMER: I had nothing to do with making this video):


 
For Discussion:
1.) Any other writing tips to make your YA voice read as authentic?
2.) What books have you read where the teen voice seemed very real and please share why you thought so?

I Don't Want to Grow Up...

By Dan Haring

...if growing up means being like you.

The year was 2001. I was 22 and driving tour buses for the summer in Seattle. On an off day some friends and I went to Freeway Park, which is a cool park that happens to sit right above the Downtown freeway. We were running around, enjoying the splendid summer air, when we happened upon a place to play hopscotch. We decided hopscotch was a grand idea and commenced playing. We'd been up to it for a while when a young guy who couldn't have been much older than us walked by and said, "Aren't you a little old to be doing that?" We laughed it off, but from that day on, obviously to today since I'm still thinking about, I've felt sorry for that guy.

Call me crazy, but growing up has some major pitfalls. Sure, I can eat ice cream for dinner if I want to, (as long as the kids don't see me) but there are a whole lot of negatives that come with the territory. Too many to list, in fact.

Last week at work someone put out a huge stack of MG and YA ARCs, free for the taking. A bunch of us wandered over to see what there was to be had. As we were perusing the titles, a guy came walking up and asked his friend what was going on. The guy made some disparaging remark about only checking them out if you liked reading "kid's books."

You know what, Hopscotch Guy and YA Book Guy? There's a reason a lot of growing up sucks, and it's you. What part of growing up says you should stop having fun, stop doing silly things, stop reading about fantastical places and people and things?

Why is it not cool to have childish wonder?

I submit that it IS cool.

If you think you're too much of an adult to play a kid's game or read a book aimed at teenagers, don't do those things.

But don't blame it on growing up. Growing up doesn't have to be staid and stiff and boring.

It shouldn't be.

Blame it on your own lame self, because you're the one who's more concerned with looking cool than having fun.

The rest of us are going to be enjoying both adult and kids books and activities. And eating ice cream for dinner. 

Why Sci-Fi is so often pessimistic

Sechin Tower

@SechinTower

Name 10 sci-fi books or movies and I'll bet at least 7 of them are pessimistic. Post-apocalyptic worlds (e.g.: The Hunger Games), overwhelming threats to humanity (e.g.: War of the Worlds), dystopian societies (e.g.: Divergent), and inventions with unintended consequences (e.g.: Frankenstein) are the stock and trade of the science fiction writer. Why are the stories of our future so negative?

I blame evolution. We evolved to be intelligent creatures with the ability to learn from others and anticipate the future, and that influences how—and why—we tell stories of danger and darkness.

Imagine our caveman ancestors living in a world surrounded by deadly predators. If one of them wandered into a cave and got eaten by a saber-toothed cat, the other members of his hunting party had the ability to tell the story to warn others away. Those who paid attention lived, and those who didn’t ended up as smilodon kibble.

We are the descendants of people who survived in part because they told and listened to stories. Science fiction writers often make their stories frightening because they know we are instinctively inclined to listen to warnings about the bad things that could happen.

Science Fiction Dangers

Sure, most of the dangers portrayed in science fiction aren’t as immediate as saber-toothed cats were to our ancestors, and they’re even less realistic: deadly arena games, genocidal space aliens, and zombie hordes aren’t exactly the leading causes of death in America today. Yet hidden away in these scenarios are warnings and survival strategies for real-world problems.

Science fiction has the power to make us aware (even if in a metaphorical way) of the dangers of damaging our environment, the evils of dehumanizing an enemy, or the dangers of a totalitarian state. And the zombie apocalypse? Well, if you’re prepared for that, you’re ready for the less-awesome but much more likely event of an earthquake or hurricane. (Even the CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) recognizes the power of zombie stories to encourage people to prepare for any disaster, undead-related or otherwise.)

Trouble is, all this adds up to a pretty pessimistic view of the future. If you read enough of these stories, the glass won’t seem half-full, it will seem cracked, drained, and ground into silicon used to make killer cyborgs. Pessimism makes for great stories, but is there a way to escape the negativity?

Is Optimism possible?

Yes. Probably the most famous example of optimistic science fiction is Star Trek, which presents a society that has solved the problems of racism, poverty, and nationalistic war. Maybe more authors could experiment with portraying a future so bright it’s worth fighting the Klingons to preserve.

Science fiction can be optimistic when it follows the ancient mythological pattern where the hero travels through unknown lands to bring back a boon to the rest of humanity. We can see this idea in a few science fiction books, such as Robert Heinlein’s YA classic “Have Space Suit, Will Travel,” in which Kip Russell battles tentacle-faced aliens and returns to Earth with scientific secrets that will unlock antigravity and faster-than-light travel. This idea of a “science boon” is where I hope to go with sequels to Mad Science Institute. I would love to see other authors pick up the torch here, too, and have a hero who returns with more than just the head of the hive queen.

Is Pessimism Bad?

None of this is to say that we should shun pessimistic science fiction. It’s fun, interesting, and sometimes deeply important to our society and our future. But if you’re a writer or a reader who feels like you’re not seeing any new ideas in the post-apocalyptic or space-war genres, well, maybe that’s because we’ve been walking down the same dark paths for too long.

I'm an optimist by nature, so maybe the pessimism inherent in most sci-fi stands out to me because it contradicts my expectations for the future. I also like to think I'm a realist because I know we don't have any guarantees to continue as a society or a species, and nature is unforgiving. Just ask the dinosaurs.

What do you think? What are your favorite science fiction stories/books/movies, and do you think they're pessimistic?

Sechin Tower is a teacher, a table-top game designer, and the author of Mad Science Institute. You can read more about him and his books on SechinTower.com and his games on SiegeTowerGames.com

Girls & Monsters don't always play nice...

Luckily, today they're being downright SWEET!

I'm honored to welcome the ever lovely, ever dark Anne Michaud to ADR3NALIN3 today! I met Anne via blogger and fell in love with her delectable, seductive, and morbid prose while reading the short stories and poems she would post on her blog. Now at last she has a book coming out and the whole world can savor her terrifyingly twisted tales! Her new YA horror novel is launching in just a few days, so she has stopped by to tell us a little about it.

Anne, you have the spotlight!

***

They hide under the bed, in the closet or in a dark corner of your mind; they want to scare, play with or eat you. Monsters are everywhere, feeding off your screams, waiting for the perfect moment to attack - and sometimes, only girls can kick their butts. A killer mermaid, suburbia, hallucinations, one huge spider and zombies all face their match in this dark horror collection of 5 novellas for young adult. Annoyed by weak and fragile protagonists waiting for boys to save the day? Here's GIRLS & MONSTERS! Death Song, an excerpt:

Something catches in the back of my throat. I hide my face in my hands to quiet the sobs. But then, something ain’t right. Air moves around me and I stop. I look between my fingers, but the blur of my tears thickens everything: the bathtub, the towels, and someone on the floor. A woman’s in here with me, door still closed and locked. An exhale, like after a deep swim, and a smell, like the swamp close to my empty home. A chill runs down my back, I wipe my eyes, rub and scratch them to see more clearly. And I do. Two gray hands scratch the floor tiles, nails green with algae, putrid flesh sagging on her legs, arms and torso, hair so long and wet and heavy, it drags her down. Diluted, impossible to focus on, like little waves rippling over her body from head to foot, seaweed in the water. Scales and fins, mermaidlike, little knives, those are. And they scrape the floor, like a fork on a plate. It’s her—Limnade. She opens her mouth of scissor-teeth and the rotten smell of fish wraps around my throat like two hands trying to choke me. "You can’t be…” I don’t finish my breathless thought and jump backward, knocking over the dish of decorative soaps. Blurry waves, vision impaired, out of focus, unreal. She crawls toward me, eyes unblinking, lethal, hands inches from me: my legs refuse to move, as my body feels like stone. Frozen, hypnotized, a statue. Then I hear something coming from within her…A melody, reminding me of something lost, tickles my ears. It drags on until the sweetness turns sickly, vibrating into a full-on super-scream, hyenalike, enough to pop my ears and make them bleed. Her large mouth deforms her face into one gap of black, the cry so high and strident, I scream from the pain. Limnade stares at me, everything but her fades away—Jo’s nice bathroom, Jo’s new life, Jo himself, none of it matters anymore. Her fingers brush my forehead, they’re cold and sticky like clams. And I let the darkness take me away.

***

To celebrate the release of Girls & Monsters on April 30th, the author has handcrafted Skellies, The Monster Collection, each representing a monster of the 5 stories. The giveaway also includes a softcover of the collection, autographed if requested. The grand prize winner will be announced during the book launch's LIVE CHAT with Anne Michaud on April 30th at 9PM (east)! Girls & Monsters will be available at Darkfuse and other retailers from that date on. ♥

***

Anne Michaud

She who likes dark things never grew up. She never stopped listening to gothic, industrial and alternative bands like when she was fifteen. She always loved to read horror and dystopia and fantasy, where doom and gloom drip from the pages. She, who was supposed to make films, decided to write short stories, novelettes and novels instead. She, who’s had her films listed on festival programs, has been printed in a dozen anthologies and magazines since. She who likes dark things prefers night to day, rain to sun, and reading to anything else.

She tweets
She blogs
She facebooks

And don't forget to add Girls & Monsters to your goodread list ♥

SIGN UP NOW! The groundhog says Spring is coming early and I believe it.

HarlequinTEEN and KismetBT are putting on a major event in March 2013 - Spring Reading into Romance. You want to be a part of it? NINE YA authors in NINE days & daily giveaways!

For deets, click HERE and see who will be part of the tour.

Location Scouting!

 Carol Tanzman checking in!

In a previous post, I talked about writing thrillers. One of things I enjoy when reading contemporary thrillers is that so many of them have a city as a “character.” There’s something about the realistic depiction of place that helps give a thriller an extra “zing.” It most definitely can up the ante. In dark paranormal or dystopian fiction there is some sense of remove. On some level, the reader knows that this cannot happen to them in this moment. But when the setting is an actual place, in the here and now, there is no remove. What happens in the story could happen to you—and that can be more terrifying that a herd of zombies (do zombies hang in herds?).

In both Circle of Silence and dancergirl, the city is Brooklyn, NY. I always go “location scouting” during the writing of a contemporary to find those details that help create the real world. For example, here’s a photo I took of the inside of the gate at Promenade Park, one of the locations in Circle of Silence.

When I visited, it took me awhile to unlock the gate because the latch is on the inside. I then ended up using it in the novel. My main character, Valerie, is investigating a story for the school’s TV News program about a secret society, called MP. She is set to meet an unnamed source inside the park at night. Excitedly, she shows up at the appointed time.

The final minute is taken up with trying to open the gate. Did MP screw up? Did the city lock it early? Finally, it occurs to me that I have to reach through the metal bars, twist my hand and slide the latch from the inside edge.

It’s a tiny, tiny moment but the photo helped me add that extra frisson of confusion in the scene.

Another photo was lucky happenstance. Meandering around the area of Brooklyn known as Red Hook, I snapped this picture.

The painted graffiti has two sayings: Some walls are invisible (to the left) and Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere (on the right).  The entire wall felt so Brooklyn, I knew I’d use it. In my first draft, I described it in great detail: the colors, the actual drawing on the wall.  In a later draft, I had to cut it down because all that detail slowed the pace. So… it’s a bit tricky. You want details but sometimes too many is just...too many. Here’s what I ended up with:

Peeling paint in doorways, overflowing garbage cans. This part of Red Hook is especially sketchy. A graffiti mural proclaims SOME WALLS ARE INVISIBLE.

However, the scrawled sentence resonated far beyond that particular scene. It became a theme that I went back to, not physically, but in the main character's mind. Definitely a happy “accidental discovery!” (Note: The Red Hook I was writing about is the same Red Hook that was devastated by Hurricane Sandy. Definitely NOT a happy discovery).

This last photo is a view that can only be found in Brooklyn. The picture was taken in a small park bordering the East River, with the Statue of Liberty in the background.

Earlier in the chapter, I describe the view of the Statue and the fence. With a bit of dramatic license, this is how I “used” the picture in the book:

Low laughter gets my attention. Finally! Somebody’s shown up. My heart beats fast. Carefully, I peek around the plant. False alarm. A couple of fishermen, dressed in bulky coats and earflapped hats, carry buckets and poles. I’ve never understood why anyone would eat fish caught in the dirty East River, but it doesn’t seem to bother the men. Casting poles into the water, the two settle onto a bench, content to watch the sun sink into the horizon.

Had I not visited and taken this picture, I probably would not have realized that people fish from that particular part of Brooklyn. It's real, it happens, and I like to think that when readers are reading, they take the leap: if the fishermen are real, what is happening to the characters are "real." So, even though these are short passages, it can give you a sense of how location, location, location, helps create the necessary reality your writing might need!

Pretty Little Liars, SCBWI, and me!

Carol Tanzman here! A few weeks ago, I attended the SCBWI National Conference as a faculty member. That means that I presented a break-out session AND I got to attend all the other sessions—the best part. So many inspiring authors, wonderful editors, agents, published and pre-published writers (and illustrators) of picture books, middle grade and YA. And yes, some great parties but, ahem, we are here to talk about the conference!

First, if you don’t know about SCBWI, I am here to tell you: it is a most awesome group. It is the only professional, as well as aspiring, writers and illustrators dedicated solely to the kidlitosphere. After you join the national organization, you are also automatically a member of your local region. There are one-day writer’s days at the local level, weekend retreats, various workshops set up for a Saturday or week-day evening, schmoozes (gabfests for a couple of hours with local writers), critiquenics (where you can get a couple of pages critiqued by published authors for free!), and two national conferences: summer in L.A. in August, winter in NYC in February. There are also grants you can apply for, ten page contests to win—and access, access, access to professionals in the publishing.

At the conference, some of the things I did were: attend a wonderful writing workshop led by YA author Gary Schmidt, participate in an intimate, round robin evening discussion on LGBTQ issues in YA facilitated by one of the regional advisors of the LA SCBWI region (Lee Wind) along with panelist Arthur Levine of Scholastic, an incredibly moving keynote by Golden Kite winner Ruta Sepetys (her amazing novel is Between Shades of Gray), an overview of Amazon’s new publishing arm for children’s and YA books, the illustrators portfolio display… and… well… I could go on and on. The truth is that the nicest, and most helpful, people in publishing belong to SCBWI.

Of course, I would be remiss in not sharing a fun highlight. At the faculty signing, I was paired with Sara Shepard—she of Pretty Little Liars fame. Here we are at our table, Sara (on the left) with her new book, The Lying Game, and me (on the right) with mine, Circle of Silence. 

I bet you can tell from the picture what a truly sweet person she is! (where do those devilish plots come from, Sara?)

So yes, it was a fun, fun, time!  Thanks to SCBWI for having me. And I urge anyone who writes for children up to YA to join the organization!

Authors Are Rockstars Virtual Tour!

For deets, click HERE!

Phenom book bloggers Fiktshun & Two Chicks on Books are hosting an amazing virtual book tour during the month of August that will feature OVER 30 YA authors. Bloggers who want to participate can sign up on July 15th. Click on the link above for the deets. This will be a real celebration of YA books.

Just when summer gets hottest, Fiktshun & Two Chicks on Books really know how to heat things up with more great summer YA reads. Jordan Dane will be featured on August 8th with book giveaways from Harlequin Teen PLUS something special to be announced. Stay tuned!

Join in the fun every day in August. Loads of fun posts and giveaways from your fav YA authors.

Giving Characters Opinions!!

Carol Tanzman checking in.

Pixar Story artist Emma Coates  tweeted 22 story basics that she’s learned from working at Pixar. You may have seen some of these tweets; they’re great.

I particularly liked:

#13: Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it’s poison to the audience.

It’s something I haven’t ever actually verbalized to myself—but I realized I’ve been unconsciously doing exactly that in the my latest YA novels from HarlequinTeen. In dancergirl, Ali is passionate about dance. She has opinions about her teachers and their choreography, as well as her own dancing. What’s working for her–-and what isn’t. Her opinions grow out of a deep commitment to the art of dance. What she is willing to do, how far she is willing to go, as well as discovering where the limits are––all grow out of her opinions and beliefs. It definitely makes her a more three-dimensional character that was fun to write.

Valerie Gaines, in Circle of Silence, is equally, if not more, opinionated. Val’s passion is TV news. She fights to be the Producer of her TV news crew, she fights to get to the bottom of the mysterious story that is the main conflict of the book (“Who—or what––is MP?”) and she fights her team, at times, in trying to figure out exactly how to report that story. Valerie’s opinions, which do change, don't come out of a vacuum. As a high school student, she learns from the Campus News teacher. She does her own “research” and watches her idol, Emily Purdue, a professional news reporter on TV, to gain tips for her own broadcasts. She also critiques the rival crew’s stories in Campus News. All to further her ambition--which is to be the best reporter she can be.  

One thing that I especially like about Valerie is that her friends are also opinionated. Because the rest of her crew is just as into TV production as she is, they have their own ideas of how to do things. It makes for some interesting scenes as the crew members argue over the best way to do something. The tenser the situation, the more opinions they have. Having characters with specific, and differing points of view, I believe, tends to make the writing feel very realistic. It also helps to keep things from getting too preachy, as if the author has a specific ax to grind.

And, while conflict may not be the most pleasant thing in one’s personal life, in literature it is exactly the thing that leads us all to turn those pages! As Emma Coates noted, having opinions creates not passive characters, but interesting ones that deepen the story you are telling!

Lose yourself…in a novel.

@CarolTanzman here.

I just read about a most interesting study by researchers at Ohio State University. They were studying the way fictional characters affect readers.  (The complete study will be published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology).

We all know how wonderful it is when you lose yourself in a book. Being fully transported to another time and place, “experiencing” another life so deeply that you don’t want the story to end. It’s what the twitter-universe has taken to calling #unputdownable. These are the books you tell your relatives they absolutely must read, the books you talk about at lunch with your friends. The novels you just can’t wait to read again.

What struck me about the article, though, is that the researchers were studying how and when “losing yourself” in a book translates into actually changing your behavior and thoughts to match that of the character you are reading about.

It’s a process they call “experience-taking” as opposed to “perspective-taking.”  Perspective-taking, as the researchers define it, is when the reader tries to understand what someone else is going through without losing sight of their own identity. Learning about others by becoming more emphatic, if you will. It is a worthy goal and one that is the most-often cited reason for the existence of literature over the last oh-so-many-centuries. The first book that I clearly remember “perspective-taking” was To Kill A Mockingbird.

As a New York kid, the experience of reading about the South, and the book’s take on both racism and true courage, definitely showed me a different perspective.

Experience-taking is a term I’ve never heard before.  Lisa Libby, assistant professor of psychology at the university and co-author of the study, describes it as “much more immersive––you’ve replaced yourself with the other.”

Wow! Read a book and get so into it, you become the author’s character! But hold on, writers, before you get too excited, it turns out that it’s not so simple. Libby states that you can’t plan for it. Experience-taking happens spontaneously.  For the most part, readers don’t even realize it’s happening—which is why it’s so powerful.

During the experiment, if subjects were given something to read in a mirrored room, they couldn’t get out of themselves enough to “experience-take.” That means that some of the losing of oneself in a book has to do with the actual experience of reading, which obviously an author cannot control. I imagine that the mirror could be replaced by emails, Facebook, tweets, or any of the myriad multi-tasking activities one does in-between page-turning. Just like love, there may a better chance at truly immersing yourself in a book when you give into it totally.

I grew up in a family of four rambunctious kids. It was a loud house, to say the least. From the time I was eight, I learned to shut out the noise around me whenever I picked up a book. To this day, if I am reading or writing, I do not hear anything else. The TV could be on, I have no idea what’s happening on that screen. My own children can—and have—yelled, “Mom!” and I don’t respond. It’s why I don’t play music when I write; I’ll only tune it out.  It never occurred to me that what I’ve been doing is trying to create my own “experience-taking” situation. An echo-chamber in which the only echo is that of characters speaking and living fictional lives.

There were other interesting points the study made, but there was one that related specifically to me as a writer. When I first started writing dancergirl, I wrote in third person: Ali said, she thought. After several chapters, writing the novel that way felt very removed. I changed it to first person: I said. I thought.

About halfway through the book, I still wasn’t happy. The immediacy that I was hoping for still wasn’t there. I rewrote chapters, I cut scenes. Nothing worked. One morning. I woke up and thought: present tense. Although I’d been writing in first person, it was still past tense.

I went through and changed everything to I say, I thought.  Eureka! The tension grew exponentially because it felt like the action was happening right here, right now. Since my upcoming book, Circle of Silence, is also a thriller, I began writing in first person, present tense––and never changed.

It turns out that what I’d discovered by trial and error has a basis in the science of reading. To quote Libby again: “When you share a group membership with a character from a story told in first-person voice, you’re much more likely to feel like you’re experiencing his or her life events. And when you undergo this experience-taking, it can affect your behavior for days afterwards.”

Writing in first person, of course, is not the only way to get readers to reach experience-taking nirvana. It would be a boring world if every book was written the same way. Readers will soon tune out.  But for the kind of contemporary YA thrillers that I write, first person, present tense is the easiest way for a reader to truly feel the story.

There is also literature that does not want you to experience-take in any way. Stories that need distance. The most famous example I can think of is the work of Bertold Brecht, who wanted his plays to “alienate” the viewers. Here is a clip of Meryl Streep in Brecht’s play, Mother Courage and her Children. 

So, keeping perspective, alienation, or experience-taking. Is one really more powerful than the other? Regardless of the answer, it’s a fascinating way of viewing, and understanding, literature! If you have examples of books, or plays, that gave you any of these experiences, I’d love to know.

It's Actually Happening

Imagine waiting for Christmas to come for four years. On Christmas Eve you'd probably have a mixture of excitement and disbelief. Would tomorrow really come? What was going to happen when it did? Would it be everything you'd hoped for? Those mixed-up feelings are probably the best way I can describe what I'm experiencing right now, since tomorrow my debut novel comes out.

 When I sat down four years ago and wrote what is now more or less the first chapter of my book, OLDSOUL, I really didn't have any idea what I had started. I didn't actually set out to write a book at all. I've always enjoyed writing, and had played with the idea of writing a book for a while. But it wasn't until after I'd written that chapter that I thought hey, maybe I could make something out of it.

From that point it became a goal and a dream to have the book published and for people outside my family to read it. It's been a roller coaster ride ever since then, and it's exciting to finally be just one day away from the dream coming true. I'm not counting on it becoming a bestseller. I'm definitely not expecting everyone who reads it to love it. But hopefully the majority of those who read it will find it worth their time.

On the long path to publication, I've learned a ton about the industry and about myself, and have met some amazing people. One of the most important things I've learned is that you can make that dream come true. It takes hard work. It takes putting yourself in situations well out of your comfort zone. It takes learning when to give in and when to fight for the story you want to tell. But it's possible.

The world won't be changed because my book comes out tomorrow. I understand that. But at the very least I'll have some fun stories to tell my kids about the whole experience. And I'll be able to tell them that like so many other things in life, it's worth every second of hard work. Now excuse me while I go put some milk and cookies out.

OLDSOUL is available 4/24/2012 on Amazon and BarnesandNoble.com in paperback, Kindle, and Nook editions. 

Robin Williams, Jonah Lehrer, Neuroscience--and Creativity.

Carol Tanzman here.

A few days ago, I read an interview in the LA Times with Jonah Lehrer, a bestselling author who writes about creativity.

Usually, I run like the devil from articles like that. I worry that if I actually analyze how the process works, the rarefied air will be let out of the bottle—and the magic (such as it is) will be gone. Not that I have any illusions that writing a book is magic. It is hard, hard work––but then, I do have to admit there are those moments of magic (creativity?) that come out of nowhere, which makes it all worthwhile.

I scanned down the article to read the bolded questions. You are an LAUSD kid, right?  Lehrer answered yes, which got my attention. In addition to writing, I teach drama in the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second largest public school district in the country. That meant that I could not pass up an article about someone who attended LAUSD from K-12. He not only lived to tell about it, he obviously thrived.

What Lehrer said about creativity in the interview is that there are simply two phases of the creative process and everyone requires both: focus and relaxation. You work and work and work – and you make progress – and then you hit the wall. That’s when you need to relax: do something else, take a walk, hit the showers.

Not an earth-shattering concept but here (perhaps) is the more unusual part of the interview.

Lehrer noted that when scientists put jazz pianists in a brain scanner and asked them to improvise (now, that’s got to be one BIG scanner), the musicians literally turn off a part of the brain that normally keeps people from saying and doing things—in essence, they create without worrying about what they’re creating.

I’m assuming that’s what’s also known as flow. Those moments when everything extraneous disappears and you’re in the moment. You don’t even realize you are in the moment—and then you look up—and hours have gone by.

How do you get to flow? Focus and relaxation, perhaps. The constant yin-yang of what Lehrer initially spoke of as the elements of the creative process loosens the binds of our internal censors. It’s not a conscious turning off of that part of the brain; after awhile, it’s automatic.

But you can’t get to that flow until you’ve spent time doing whatever it is you do, getting better and better. Writing, playing jazz, telling jokes. All of those need time, and effort, to develop craft. All those hours of rehearsal, or practicing jokes in front of a mirror, sitting at your computer writing and writing, even if it doesn’t initially seem that you are getting somewhere, will ultimately pay-off.

There is no better (or more fun) example than Robin Williams. It’s not only in his stand-up act, which one can assume he’s worked on, but in TV interviews that you literally see his brain firing on all pistons.  No censor. I love the bit about socks that comes up in this segment with Dave Letterman.

Clearly, one of the reasons he’s so successful are the years Robin spent practicing voices, becoming characters and then, as in the interview, focusing on Letterman. He finds the moment, and bam, he’s off, automatically turning off the part of the brain that censors people so he can get to those crazy, and hysterically funny places.

Hard to do… but so worth the effort. Focus and relaxation, focus and relaxation….no censor. Hmmmm, now that I’ve finally written this, maybe I can go relax….

What the ER taught me about writing

by A.G. Howard*

Almost two years ago, my son was diagnosed with epilepsy after my husband found him having a seizure on the living room floor. That in itself was scary enough; but ration in the possible side effects of the drugs available to treat this neurological condition and it goes a step beyond terrifying. We researched and researched, and resigned to try the most benign drug out there.


His pediatric neurologist started him off at the typical dosage for a child of his weight. His body reacted with jitters and what my son thought was the beginning of a seizure — a racing heartbeat and a “scary feeling” inside his head.


We spent several nights those first few weeks at the ER, trying to figure out what was going on. It wasn’t until I remembered my mom having a bout of panic attacks a year earlier with similar symptoms that I made the connection. My son was having drug-induced panic attacks caused by the dosage being too high for his system. After they adjusted the dose, his body slowly acclimated to the meds, and not only has it controlled his seizures, it’s now a rare thing for him to have any reactions.


So, what does this have to do with writing? Well, the last night we spent at the ER — before the panic attack revelation — I grabbed my laptop on my way out the door in hopes I could get some writing in. I was working on Splintered’s first draft, and had a self-appointed deadline.


I’d already dallied away enough nights (my most fruitful time for harvesting wordage) sitting in the ER waiting room and watching pointless TV shows. I was determined to finally get the scene done that I’d been toiling over for weeks.  What happened surprised even me.


In the three hours we were there, I managed to tap out all that was left of that chapter, even while worrying and wondering if my son was ever going to have a normal life again. My insides wound in nervous knots, my fingers trembled with tension, a mixture of emotions bled into every sentence, yet still I finished.


And not only that, I rocked that scene. In fact, when I had multiple offers of representation for this book, each agent commented on that particular chapter being the most “Lewis Carroll-ian” in the book.  Why? Because I hadn’t held back. I put everything I was feeling into that scene, and it came across as wild and uncontrollable and absurd, which was exactly how life felt to me in that moment.


I always knew writing could be therapeutic to a writer, but I never thought about how good it can be for our stories if we write through the dramas in our life, choosing the scenes to match our situation. Had I tried to write something tender, maybe a romance scene, the outcome might not have been so good. But because I was feeling all of the confusion, angst, and bemused terror my MC was supposed to be feeling at that moment, it was golden, and the best thing that could’ve happened for my book, not to mention a great revelation for me.


So next time you’re having one of those days when everything seems to be going wrong, funnel that frustration into a scene where your MC is facing similar challenges in their life. Whether brought about by the same situations or not, the emotions will still ring true, and will add authenticity to your writing.


It's one of the perks of being writers. We actually get to broadcast our emotions while we’re working, as opposed to stifling them. (◕‿◕)


*Originally posted on Gennifer Albin's blog.

When three wheels are better than two.

by A.G. Howard

Today's post isn't really about the cute and peculiar little German car above with its odd number of wheels. Although three can make for a much more interesting ride. Take love triangles, for example.

When I received my content edits from my publisher for Splintered, one of the things they wanted to expand upon was the two leading guys in relation to the heroine. There was potential there for a love triangle that I hadn't fully explored.

Later, a family member pointed out to me that she wasn't surprised they'd asked for those changes, because everyone was trying to emulate Twilight. She was convinced Stephanie Meyers started the whole "love triangle" craze in literature.

I kind of had to giggle, because there's literature dating back as early as the 1500's that utilized this same technique before any of today's famous authors were ever even born. One of the most unique triangles of its time was in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, where a woman dressed as a man, falls in love with a man, who's in love with another woman who falls in love with the first woman (thinking she's a man).

Confusing? Yes. But who could turn away from such a hot mess of unrequited love and wire-taut tension?

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (1847) is a more traditional triangle, yet there's a paranormal slant. Catherine, Heathcliff, and Edgar were caught in a crossroads of passion that in the end transcended death itself.  There was also The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux (1909) with both the dark Phantom and the equitable Vicomte of Chagny vying for the lovely and innocent Christine Daaé's affections.

I'm not going to explore why love triangles work. It's obvious they do since they've been a literary staple in gothic romances and the like for centuries or longer (there are even examples in the Bible).

But as for me personally, the best love triangles are either when the heroine is attracted to both men for different reasons ... when somehow they are the two halfs to her perfect soulmate's whole, in which case she'll always be questioning who she chooses for they only have half of what she's looking for; OR, when one of the heroes realizes who the heroine is truly better off with and sacrifices his own happiness for hers.  

Mmm. Nothing hits the spot like a broken heart. ;)

Here's a short list of some my favorite literary love triangles to date (including the two I've listed above) in no particular order, from classics to present bestsellers:

• Katniss Everdeen, Gale Hawthorne, and Peeta Mellark - Hunger Games
• James Potter, Lily Potter and Severus Snape - Harry Potter
• Stefan, Elena, and Damon - The Vampire Diaries
• Catherine, Heathcliff, and Edgar - Wuthering Heights
• Jace, Clary, and Simon - Mortal Instrument series
• The Phantom, Christine Daaé, and the Vicomte of Chagny - The Phantom of the Opera
• Sidney Carton, Lucie Manette, and Charles Darnay - Tale of Two Cities
• Sophie, Nathan, and Stingo - Sophie's Choice

Are some of your favorite third wheel love stories up there? Do you have some favorites in films? I'd love to hear of any that I've missed!

Guest Post: Unplug Yourself!

Carol Tanzman checking in. Today, I'm excited to introduce you to my awesome friend Leigh Purtill. Leigh is truly multi-talented. Both a YA writer and a ballet teacher/choreographer, she's choreographing the absolutely fun Zombie Ballet. You can see an excerpt in this first, decidedly low-tech book trailer for DANCERGIRL. She was also a dance consultant for the book, making sure that the dance combinations I described were actually danceable! 

Without further ado, meet Leigh!

I’m not addicted.  I can quit anytime I want to.

~Leigh Purtill

A few years ago, when my first two novels, LOVE, MEG and ALL ABOUT VEE were published, bloggers and readers would often ask me the same question: “Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?”

Without fail, I would respond: “Just finish it.” Finish the first draft, don’t worry about how messy it is, and then rewrite.  For years, that was just about the only piece of advice I had to offer anyone.  I can’t tell you what to write about or how to write it, but I can suggest you do that one thing.  Finish the darn thing.  Only then can you go back and start the real work, which is rewriting.

But now, I can offer a second bit of wisdom: “Unplug yourself.” Close your browser, turn off the wireless, and shut out the noise of the ‘Net. Well, finish reading this blog first and then close it all up. Sounds simple enough but it’s hard - harder even than finishing that first draft. But if you don’t, you won’t.  That’s even more simple.

When I first began writing novels, I was working a full-time job (I watched television for a living so it was a cool job but still, full-time is full-time).  I didn’t have a laptop computer so on my lunch hours, I would write in a steno pad that I could carry to a park bench or a bus stop or anywhere I could find an empty seat.  I’d scribble for an hour each day, five days a week, and then on the weekends, I’d sift through my horrible chicken scratch and type it all up.  That worked really well for me for seven years.  Then I left that TV job and began working as a ballet instructor which gave me a far different schedule.

It also gave me the opportunity to write indoors on my laptop.  So very close to my internet. As writers, we do a lot of research so naturally, I would keep the ‘Net open behind my document so I could quickly look things up (what’s the street value of a prescription drug? What’s an overdose look like? And more fun, lighthearted things like that.). But I have a hyperlink habit. I see blue-highlighted hypertext and I can’t help but click on it.  One click leads to another and another and soon, I’m at Huffington Post laughing at cat videos.

I continued to write, of course, and getting my words per day regularly. But I never realized what writing in bits and pieces was doing to my story until I didn’t have internet access.  I was down for over a week, with very limited ability to get to email and Facebook.  This left me with big chunks of time to just write.  I finished my draft in days.  Thousands of words flowed out of me; I never once stopped because I had to look something up.  I just kept on writing. Before the week was up, the draft was done. 

And then I discovered the second best thing about no ‘Net access: the work itself was more cogent.  I felt more in touch with the material and I could see connections between characters and plot points that I hadn’t seen before because I was always writing a few words or a sentence at a time. Because I had been getting my word count each day and was progressing enough to give my writers’ group pages regularly, I believed I was actually writing. When I stopped internetting, though, that’s when it all started to make sense.

Some addiction experts say that when you are serious about quitting something - like smoking or eating a bag of Fritos in the middle of the night - you should tell people.  That’s exactly what I did.  I told my friends how much cutting out the internet helped me finish my draft (and finish this blog post, too) and asked them to remind me if I began complaining that I was behind on my work.  They are free to use profanity if necessary to get me back on track.

HINT: If, like me, you find yourself constantly “needing” to do research, keep a list of what you need by the side of your computer.  Jot down, “Find ‘R’ name for brother character.” And, “Miles from Alaska to Seattle.” Use placeholders for the missing details and then when you’re finished for the day, spend some with Google.  Just keep the flow going.

So my draft is done and it’s about addiction, ironically enough.  It’s got a touch of the supernatural, too, and some ghosts.  I have to rewrite, of course, and when I do, I’ll be unplugged.

Remember: Friends don’t let friends hyperlink.  But before you unplug, check out my website: www.leighpurtill.com.

FAT GIRLS IN LA is the story of Veronica May, a plus-size actress with plus-size talent who moves to Los Angeles to become a star.  But in LA, no one notices Vee's talent, only her size. Can she stay true to herself and navigate Hollywood on her own terms? Or will success and love elude her? (First in a trilogy.) 

After a dozen years in the film and television industry, Leigh Purtill left the business to write and teach ballet in Los Angeles. Her first two YA novels, LOVE, MEG and ALL ABOUT VEE were published by Penguin/Razorbill.  She is independently re-releasing her novels along with a slate of brand new books. When she's not creating, she's bored.