YA Highway

Whether you're writing a James Patterson-like thriller or a more subdued, reflective literary fiction, there's bound to be an action scene or two worked in there somewhere. Is there a showdown in the high school cafeteria between cliques? A car accident? Maybe even one of your characters gets ran over by a stampede of wild moose? Whatever the situation, writing kickbutt action scenes is imperative to keeping the reader turning the pages.

So what makes an action scene work?
Use powerful verbs. Instead of someone simply standing, someone leaps to their feet.
Use shorter sentences. Don't use long drawn out sentences of descriptions. Incomplete sentences when used properly help keep intensity high Do not fear. The Grammar Nazi won't come after you. She approves of this in certain situations as well :)
Don't forget your senses. Remember to add in what someone hears, smells, tastes, etc. Using the senses helps pull readers in.
Act the action out yourself. Can't think of how to describe certain movements? Do them yourself. Watch how the body moves for the action you're trying to obtain.
Make sure you and the reader both know where all involved parties are. I like to write big action scenes involving several characters at once. It can be hard making sure all characters are accounted for without giving a boring rundown of their every movement. But that's how it happens-simultaneously. I've turned to using figurines to stage bigger action scenes. It helps to keep the layout straight in my mind as I write and move them accordingly. Because nothing could be worse than writing a scene where the duck races to attack Spock, only to discover later that it would be impossible since the batmobile was in the way.

Newbie Word of the Day: BIC-not that fancy ballpoint pen, but an acronym for Butt in Chair. BIC time is when a writer rolls up their sleeves and dedicates their attention to their writing. Distractions be damned!

Aaaand....Action!

I'm leaping in and out to link to a recent blog post by award-winning, esteemed and all-around marvelous YA author John Green, "Really Long & Boring Post about Book Advances and Publishing". Boring if you're a teen maybe, but pretty interesting (and controversial!) if you're a writer.

See, John's arguing that large book advances are usually detrimental not only to the publisher, but also to the author/agent team. If an author doesn't earn out a massive advance, it doesn't bode well for their career. Smaller advances are much easier to earn out, and that way, your publisher (or subsequent publisher) is more likely to stand behind your next book -- or even buy it in the first place. John claims a smaller advance plus a higher royalty is the winningest situation of all.

Basically, it's a case of immediate gratification versus career longevity. So what do you think? Make sure to check out the comments on John's post -- they're fascinating.

Also felt the need to quote this: "imagine a company that publishes Laurie Halse Anderson, Sarah Dessen, M. T. Anderson, Walter Dean Myers, E. Lockhart, Maureen Johnson, Coe Booth, anyone else you can think of other than J.K. Rowling, and me. The combined 2009 sales of that publishing company would be a fraction of the sales of a company that publishes just the Twilight series."

Really Long & Fascinating Post by John Green

It’s an exciting thing, deciding you want to try to get your writing published. But adding the element of ‘I want to find an agent for this’ changes the writing process. A lot. You’re not just writing anymore. You’re revising over and over and over again, you’re finding beta readers, researching agents, writing query letters and synopses, biting your nails down to nothing while you check your email every fifteen seconds to see if an agent has asked to see more. As much as there’s a sense of excitement with it all, there’s a danger too. It’s really easy to read about people who landed themselves huge deals, or whose books are in the hands of every teenager on the planet and think it’s going to be you. It’s fun to dream. I think it’s probably impossible not to imagine everything working out in the exact perfect way every now and then. But then what happens when it takes forever? Or when you get rejections that hurt?

That’s when it sometimes gets hard to remember why you picked up a pen and paper (or opened a word processer) in the first place. And maybe the passion leaves. Maybe writing doesn’t seem so fun anymore. To me, that’s the worst thing. Ignoring the fact that your loss of interest will probably be obvious to anyone reading your work, what is the point of writing if you don’t love it? I think everyone probably has their ups and downs; sometimes, you’re just not going to be in the mood to write. But if you ask yourself, ‘why am I writing?’ and the answer is ‘because I want to be famous,’ or ‘to be published,’ or something of the like, maybe you need to take a step back.

Whether you’re starting to feel too wrapped up in the world of finding an agent, or too tired from being a mom, or burnt out from work, or any of the other thousands of reasons that could make you not so happy with the idea of writing, that’s no reason to give up. There are so many ways you can recapture the magic. Write a short story. Or a poem. Look at pictures and write a descriptive paragraph to go along with them. All it takes for me to get excited about writing again if I’m feeling exhausted by it is to read something amazing. It makes me want to write something others will find amazing too. But it’s not the only thing to try. Here’s how the rest of the YA Highway ladies get their groove back:


Amanda: Sometimes, I just need a few days off. It can get really frustrating when the story isn't coming together like I wanted, so I put it aside and catch up on movies, books, or even music. Pretty soon, I'm itching to get back to it.

Kirsten: A fresh idea works wonders, and second drafts are always fun. But when I'm trudging through a first draft, here are my methods: 1) Every day, I start with the customized playlist for my novel. Usually that gets me in the zone. If dispassion is chronic, sometimes updating said playlist helps. 2) I also allow myself to jump forward in the narrative and tackle an exciting scene. 3) If I need more scenes to get excited about, I brainstorm a list of new ones. 4) If that doesn't work, I give myself a slap and say, "Girl, get your ass in the chair and write. No excuses."

Kristin: I honestly have not had a moment where I felt my passion for writing draining. My toughest challenge is keeping my focus on only one project. When things feel like a struggle my solution is two-fold: 1) Be disciplined enough to meet whatever goal I set for myself on a particular day. When that is complete I can 2) Work on something totally different. Having more than one project at one time keeps me interested because there is variety.

Michelle: For me, the best cure for a sluggish writing day is reading. Sometimes just a good book will do, but often I go to forums or read articles about the craft, and it really motivates me. Reading the thoughts of other aspiring writers on AW, both the positives and the negatives, is great-- it's just nice to know other people are in the same boat.

Keeping the passion

The first day it’s Leslie and Trix, two newly orphaned sisters against a system that wants them to move in with their evil aunt. The next time you sit down to write, Eduardo, fresh from the barrio, fighting oppression to make it to the world of the Ivy League, is crawling out onto the keyboard. That night, you find yourself lying awake while the rest of the house is silent, counting and naming the islands in the water-based fantasy world you’ve just created.

Love at First Idea

Most writers will tell you that you just can't be too picky about the conditions under which you write. If your creative juices are only flowing when you're alone in your private home office, with a blue spiral college-ruled notebook and felt-tip pen (ballpoint will not suffice), a cup of Colombian roast, and your Ella Sings Gershwin CD playing softly in the background...well, it's no surprise you haven't written a thing.

The truth is, most writers cram in writing whenever they can, from waiting in the car while picking the kids up at school to setting the alarm extra early to get in that hour of scribbling before all hell breaks loose. When I taught kindergarten, I wrote an 8,000 word short story solely during the kiddos' daily playtime. Working on this particular story only fifteen minutes a day, I finished in a little over a month.

But that's not to say that some things can't inspire us to write. I always come up with better ideas when coffee is involved. And while many writers prefer silence while they work, I find that the appropriate music is sometimes just what I need to motivate me.

For Social Upgrades, which is a thriller/sci-fi, I'd have to say my favorite "writing soundtrack" would have to be Björk, especially songs from Post and Debut. But when I work on my historical fiction, I tend to go back and forth between jazz albums (Ella, Louis, and Thelonious Monk being my favorites) and classical piano like DeBussy and Chopin.

But I don't believe what you listen to needs to be related to what you write. Sometimes, if you're feeling stuck or uninspired, putting on your latest favorite song can cheer your spirits and get your pencil moving again. My fellow bloggers weighed in on their thoughts about music and writing:

Kristin

For me it’s a 50/50 endeavor. Half of the time I need peace and quiet around me in order to get my writing done. The rest of the time I benefit from listening to music. The lyrics and the music both are tools that inspire me to write my scenes: fast guitars or hard beats are perfect for high-tension and action scenes while mellow alterna-rock or gentle acoustic songs swirl through my tender scenes. If I’m thinking kicka$$ girl character, I’m gonna reach for Pink, Heart or Kelly Clarkston. Love scenes are all about Lifehouse, Snow Patrol, The Format. 30 Seconds to Mars, The Raconteurs and Flyleaf help me out with action. And those moving-on scenes benefit from a bit of The All-American Rejects, Leona Lewis, and The Indigo Girls.

Amanda

I listen to everything from Sarah McLachlan to Blue October; whatever song fits the tone of what I'm writing. But I can't have the volume up loud. It has to be a soft hum in the background or I can't focus on the writing. Sometimes I'll even load the ipod with songs specifically for the book I'm working on and go for a walk or drive and listen to the music before I sit down to write.

Kirsten

I create an ever-expanding playlist for every novel I write. The first few songs are the most critical. When I'm working through a tough spot, sometimes I play them on loop. Listening to music only works works when I write -- when I revise, there's much more reading involved, and it's necessary to press pause.

Kaitlin

Usually I listen to nothing, because music tends to distract me. I get too caught up in enjoying the music and forget that I'm writing. But if I'm having trouble getting into the right mindset, I usually listen to Breaking Benjamin, Shinedown, or something similar because rock music makes me feel inspired and happy.

Inspiring Songs That Make Writers Salivate

The Great Outline Debate is familiar to most of us. Some writers are die-hard planners, pre-plotting every scene and twist like an armature for a sculpture. Others claim the muse doesn't visit unless they fly by the seat of their pants (where did that saying come from, anyway? It's pretty funny when you think about it).

I'm somewhere in the middle. When I plot every detail, I sometimes grow a bored with the book before I truly begin it. But other than the opening scene or two, I definitely need direction.

Which brings me to The Great Chronology Debate – less familiar, but possibly as controversial. Is it better to start at the beginning of your book and write chronologically? Dean Koontz, for example, famously starts at the first word and finishes at the last. Or is it better to tackle whatever scene strikes you in the moment?

Let's face it: some scenes are more interesting to write than others. Like that hot make-out scene under the bleachers. Or the scene where your narrator first stumbles upon her beer-powered x-ray vision. Or the scene with the mutant hedgehog stampede. Or whatever. The words spill onto the page like water from a fountain, and you know the action will leave your readers ' hearts thudding… once they've traversed the eleven chapters leading up to it.

Thing is, at some point those in-between, leading-up-to-it scenes need to be written as well. And when you've already written all the shiny parts of your book, filling in the gaps can excruciating – especially when you're set on squeezing out 1000 or 2000 words per day, every day, even when the sun is shining and pulling weeds sounds a lot more fun than plugging forward.

You might think I'm setting up a pro-chronology argument, but as with The Great Outline Debate, I'm a moderate. I begin at the beginning, or at whatever part I left off on, and I attempt to write chronologically. When I reach an obstacle, I give myself a few tries to overcome it. And when it's just not happening, I let myself skip forward. Because staring at a brick wall won't knock it down. Later on, when I'm refreshed and well-slept and I've just had my chai, I know I'll prove a worthier opponent.

I also allow myself this. When I'm overwhelmingly excited about a scene – like, it's playing in my head in surround-sound and Technicolor and even smell-o-vision – I let myself write it.

The ultimate goal, of course, is to make every scene exciting to write. Because if it's tedious to write, it's probably going to be tedious to read. That doesn't mean every scene needs to be action-packed or ultra-sultry. But there needs to be something about it that tugs readers forward.

Whether that's compelling dialogue, hints at events to come, layers in characters' actions or mutant hedgehogs is up to you.

photo credit: tburgey

The Great Chronology Debate

Newbie word of the Day: Betas- no, not those cute little fish that you can buy at the pet store, but trusted individuals who read your completed novel and offer their advice.

So you did it. You typed those precious words that weeks, months, or maybe even years ago, seemed like a distant dream. The End. You've read and re-read the work from beginning to end so many times you have it memorized. You've done all you know how to do to make it pretty and shiny? But before you start on the amazingly fun (note the dripping sarcasm) process of composing a query letter that will knock those agents off their feet, there's one more thing you have to do.

Get Beta Readers.

What's that? But your mom, your sister, and even your Uncle Bill have read your work and have nothing but wonderful things to say? Yes. I'm sure they do. But like it or not, they're going to be a little biased (C'mon. All our closest friends and family think we're the next J.K. Rowling or Judy Blume-that's why we love them). Not to mention, if they aren't writers themselves, they might miss pointing out some important things that you'll want to fix before you go knocking on the gates to that mystical kingdom of agents--or raiding it with the help of Trojan Horses. (If you haven't seen Renee's Photoshop Friday post with a lovely analogy of this process, I highly reccomend you check it out).

It's terrifying. I broke out in a sweat from the waves of nausea that washed over me as I hit the send button. But I've read the works of the people I'm sending my work to and I know that they will be able to offer me insightful and invaluable critiques that will help make my work the best it can be.

While having Beta Readers is important, offering to be one yourself is also extremely helpful. As you read and answer questions about another writer's work, you'll be able to learn what to look for in your own (not to mention the really cool stories you'll get to read that aren't on the shelves yet!). It's a way to meet other writers and share your knowledge while building friendships and it's an important part of the writing process.
Many little critique groups begin when writers exchange all their works to help each other out. Maybe that school of fish analogy isn't to far off from the truth afterall...

Beta Readers: They Do a Novel Good

I read and write YA for similar reasons. First and foremost, the excitement. The thrill of first freedoms. Unbridled discovery. It sounds cheesy, but it's so true. And I remember it so well. Me and my girls, we were always on the prowl. At least, we pretended to be.

Anyway, since I'm not sixteen anymore, I get my kicks by reading and writing. Writing emotion-packed scenes is my stand-in for the thrill of the real thing. And when I read a well-written, believable, smolderingly gradual YA romance, that same feeling gets me. In turn, it's one of the main forces driving me to write YA myself—to achieve the shivery, bouncy attraction I enjoy in outstanding books.

Call it a perpetual search for the love potion that makes us all go giddy. When masterfully mixed, it transcends genre, as well as the boundaries of commercial and literary.

And it's not always in straight YA romance novels. As my blog partner Michelle says, "I've always preferred the romance to be subplot rather than the main storyline… The pre-pubescent boy that apparently dwells within me can't go that long without seeing some sh** blow up, or a fight, or some ACTION."

LOL. Well, I can handle my romance in the foreground, or the background, or all over the place, as long as it's well-crafted, memorable and the characters are believable.

So what are my favorite YA love stories?

Hands down, my favorite YA romance was between Taylor and big, broody Jonah in Jellicoe Road. Read it and catch fire. I've read all of Sarah Dessen's books, and while she famously has a knack for creating crushworthy boys, my favorite was Owen in Just Listen—massive and musical, with a past. Melissa Marr steeps her whole trilogy with heat, but I prefer the electricity between Seth and Aislinn in Wicked Lovely. I had a huge crush on Po in Kristin Cashore's Graceling. And John Green makes us all long for Alaska Young, whatever our gender or persuasion.

I asked my YA highway blog partners the same question...

Kaitlin: "For me, the best relationship ever is between Lyra and Will in Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, because their love is so natural, so innocent, and so perfect. There has never been another couple that I've been so moved by, and every single time I read those books, I feel just as much excitement as I did the very first time."

Michelle: "Kaitlin, you beat me to Lyra and Will. :) So cute... I also liked Marcus and Ange in Little Brother. Marcus was a great POV-- very likable, normal teenager."

Kristin: "Daisy and Edmond in Meg Rosoff's How I Live Now… They are soul mates in a magical realist kind of way. They become separated and the reader suffers tumultuous emotions wondering if they will ever be reunited again. It is an achingly beautiful love. And . . . can I mention Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe?"

Amanda: "I'd have to say my favorite YA love story so far has been Aislinn and Seth in Wicked Lovely; the bad guy gone good, all to win the heart of the unsuspecting best friend. I liked how Marr kept the relationship realistic in the sequel Fragile Eternity by showing the struggle of what someone wants verus what they need."

And now, we want to know yours. What are your favorite YA love interests/stories?

YA Romance: The Art of Giddy

Lately, I’ve had an unusual number of people say things to me like, ‘It’s fantasy, so it doesn’t have to be believable.” Stuff like this makes giant rows of exclamation marks and question marks explode in my head. It always has to be believable. Always.

Now I don’t go about my daily life thinking there’s a possibility that I might get sucked into an alternate realm, or be bitten by a sexy vampire, or get caught in the middle of a wizard duel. But if I’m reading a book in which one of these things exists, I want to believe that, for the purpose of the story, it’s real. If I pick up an epic fantasy, and am happily reading along, cheering for your characters as they ride along on horses and hack each other up with swords, I will be very confused if suddenly, with no explanation, someone has a machine gun. Unless your sword-wielders have collided with a world where they have more advanced technology, I won’t understand, and I’ll stop believing in the world you’ve created. And I don’t think I have to explain why that’s not a good thing.

When writing fantasy, it’s so easy to get caught up in the idea that you can do whatever you want. It’s part of the fun of fantasy. There can be mutants and demons and dragons and fiery beasts. Anything your crazy mind can come up with. But it all needs to make sense in the context of your story. Is there a reason your main character suddenly has the ability to turn her arms into flaming swords, or is it only in there because it’s a convenient way to get her out of whatever mess she’s in?

Readers are obviously going into fantasy with the knowledge that they’re going to be transcending reality, but they’ll only go with you so far. Don't push them over the edge!

Make me believe you

I was chatting with some buddies on Facebook last night when the topic of apostrophe misuse came up. I had teasingly corrected a dear friend on the misuse of the oft-maligned punctuation and that escalated into a conversation about grammar and punctuation pet peeves. Believe it or not, I made new friends by the end of the conversation. There are a number of us Grammar Groupies out there and we're all dying a little inside at the state of modern grammar.

Facebook is, of course, a casual media medium and not really the place to get nit picky about punctuation. A writer’s work-in-progress (WIP), on the other hand, is just the sort of place to pull out those line-editing skills and put them to work. I have a number of beta projects in my e-mail inbox that need a little run-in with the Grammar Groupie. I understand that it’s tough, sometimes, to see where one’s work needs line-editing help, especially when one has gone over it again and again and again. So here are a couple of sentence related pointers to help clear up those problems I am seeing over and over again:

1) The complete sentence, at its most basic, is a subject and a verb which, together, form a complete thought. Another term for this is independent clause because it can stand on its own. John bites. Easy, no?

2) The fragmented sentence is missing either the subject or the verb, or may have a subject and verb but not express a complete thought. This is also known as a dependant clause because it depends on information that is missing from the sentence to form a complete thought. A doorknob. Not complete. And yes, that would be two sentence fragments.

3) The run-on sentence is just as it sounds; it keeps going and going and going so long that you know that if you were reading it out loud instead of in your head that you would run out of breath long before the period and would end up sprawled out on the floor with nothing left to do but let your adorable kitten Muffy lick your face until you regain sense and are able to sit up again and continue reading your novel in the hopes that not all of the sentences run as long as the Mississippi River which happens to start in Minnesota, as a matter of fact, and is even sung about in a great song by the Indigo Girls who came to your town to play an acoustic show two years ago but you weren't able to go, even though you'd bought tickets, because you came down with malaria. Whew!

4) The colon (:), the semi-colon (;) and the comma (,) are three indispensable tools that the writer absolutely must understand and know how to use. Check out Purdue’s online writing lab to learn all about them.

5) Okay, Grammar Groupie, I’ve read the OWL explanations. Now what?

Style vs. Ignorance: As Katherine Hepburn said, “If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.” Writers must remember that words and punctuation are tools for their craft. Learn how to use them properly and then learn how to apply them best to your work. I use fragmented sentences all the time. They are wonderful when I want to create tension or fast pacing in a scene, or if I want to vary the word counts of clauses so that my words read with a good rhythm. I use commas to express a jumbled set of emotions that are spiraling out of control, even at the risk of run-on sentences. The crux of improper usage is knowing that you are doing it and yet knowing that the improper use is exactly what the book needs. Hence, style. Sloppy or ignorant usage does nothing more than confuse the reader and scare away the agents/editors. Learn the difference.

Maybe next time Grammar Groupie will revisit that apostrophe issue. Cheers!

Tales From a Grammar Groupie: Sentence Basics & Style vs. Ignorance