How to bring out theme to give your story extra oomph

It's been a crazy month around here-- a lot crazier than I thought it was going to be, hence me being absent from the blogosphere even more than I thought I'd be. I'm sorry I haven't been around to your blogs much lately. I really do miss hearing thoughts and news from my internet writing buddies! Hopefully things will calm down soon, and I'll see you around a bit more.

In the meantime, let's talk a bit more about what I mentioned last week-- theme. I've often found that there are times when it feels like my story is missing something, like there's some important piece missing. It just falls flat. It might be bad, it might even be good, but it's never GREAT. When that happens, I've found that the main culprit is a theme that's either missing or not fully expressed.

Theme is a complicated but necessary part of every story. For me, I've found that theme is one of the things that tends to come more organically. Even when I plan things ahead of time for a theme, it changes (or becomes more specific) 90% of the time. So let's talk about how you can use theme to enhance your story, whether you plan it or let it come out on its own.

1. Know what theme is-- and what it isn't.

Theme isn't the "lesson" or message you're trying to teach your readers. You don't want to come across preachy, because people will get bored an ignore what you're trying to say. Theme is what your story is really about underneath the plot, and as such, it often comes out as a natural part of your concept or characters. For example, in my current story The Unhappening of Genesis Lee, the plot is about a girl whose memories are being stolen. A natural thematic extension of that revolves around identity-- how do you define who you are? By your past? By what people tell you? By what you feel, say or do?

2. Write out your theme, and try to phrase it as a question

It's often a good idea for your theme to be a question-- and you don't necessarily have to answer that question. You can explore the different facets of it, and leave your reader to make their own conclusions. That will have a much bigger impact on them than if you told them what the point of the story is. Let them find their own point.

3. Remember that there can be more than one theme-- but there is usually one main theme.

It's fine if you discover there is more than one underlying theme to your story. It's probably good, actually, because it's indicative of depth. But you don't want to be schizophrenic in your storytelling. If you're hopping from one theme to another, your reader isn't going to get a clear idea of what the story is "about"-- the theme. Let the little ones come out, but don't let them take over the story.

4. Bring out the theme through both the plot and the characters.

As different events unfold in your story, how they work out-- or don't-- can have a big part of what you're trying to say. The choices your characters make, which often affect these events, are another way you can emphasize the theme. Like in Brodi Ashton's Everneath, the theme often also comes out as part of the character's personal growth arc. This is an effective way to highlight the theme, and lets the character's actions touch on the theme. Character's relationships and their individual strengths and weaknesses can be good places for different sides of the theme to be explored.

So, my friends, how do you find your theme? How do you bring it out in your story so that it makes the story more powerful? What are some books you loved that had strong themes that touched you?

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Teen Tales: Teammates and the Importance of Small Victories

Teen Tales is a recurring feature connecting the YA experience to YA literature.

Over the last few months, I've gotten back into an old habit-- running. I'm now up to 2 miles a day in about 20 minutes without walking. I ran track in high school, and I've loved getting back into the running groove.

I actually started track in junior high as a lowly seventh-grader. I had no illusions about my greatness-- I was always a slow one. I ran on the distance team, putting in workouts of 2-5 miles a day. I don't remember anymore why exactly I wanted to do it, but I remember what kept me doing it for six years.

It was the team.

Every year, I had at least one "buddy" that ran about the same pace I did. We did our workouts together, encouraged each other, and huddled together under blankets eating saltine crackers at meets in freezing March weather. But it wasn't just my running buddy that kept me going. It was the whole team. Everybody encouraged each other, cheered each other on, and patted you on the back when you beat your "PR." (personal record) When my running buddy was gone one day, the fastest guy on the team held back his pace to mine for the entire 3 mile workout so I could have somebody to run with.

My goals in track were simple-- beat my PR every race, and never come in last. I managed that all through high school. There was one particular victory I'll never forget.

I raced the 1600 meter, or mile, every track meet. My last meet had given me a time of 7:32, but I'd been practicing new running techniques and got a pair of running spikes. When I got out on the track, I was nervous but excited. I ran like I've never run before. When they posted our times, I went to my coach and asked what I got.

He looked at his sheet and raised an eyebrow. "6:58," he said.

"What? No. That's not my time," I said, sure he'd read the wrong line.

"No, that's you." He grinned. "Nice job."

I had chopped over 30 SECONDS off my time in a matter of a few weeks. I was elated, and my team cheered with me. I didn't win-- I'd come in second-to-last, actually-- but I DID win by my own rules. And my team knew that. It was one of the most thrilling moments of my high school life.

That small victory-- every small victory, in fact-- helped push me on to keep practicing, keep racing. In literature, small victories are especially important. You obviously don't want your character to win right off. There's no story in that. But small victories along the way can help encourage both the characters and the reader to keep going.

Teammates are an important part of victories. Winning means so much more when there are people to cheer alongside you. When writing Devs, I had a fairly solid "team" of people around my protagonist. This didn't mean they were all buddy-buddy the whole time. In fact, the team dynamic was rather complicated, and they had to grow together in order to help each other. But they were there to boost each other and support each other through victories and failures alike. It strengthened the story to have a small contingent of people who were my main character's "team."

So, my friends, do you have small victories and team mates in your stories? How do you develop those character relationships? What about victories and teammates in life?

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Teen Tales: Pranks-- the funny and the not-so-funny

Teen Tales is a weekly feature connecting the YA experience with YA literature.

I'm going to go out on  limb here and guess that I'm not the only one who played pranks on people as a teen.

The best prank I ever played was actually in college, but I did some other silly ones in high school. Usually, these were in connection with school dances. See, where I come from, you can't just ask someone to a dance face to face. You have to be all cutsey about it.

One of my girl friends wanted to ask another friend of ours to Preference, and she came up with a diabolical plan. With his mother's permission, we sneaked into his bedroom while he was at football practice. We had four rolls of toilet paper. He had a small room. It was significantly more awesome than this picture.

Why we thought toilet-papering a guy's room was a hilarious way to ask him out, I'll never know. But it was, at the time. That's the fun about pranks-- while you're doing them, they're the funniest thing in the world.

Unless, of course, you're on the other end of the prank.

For example, my extended family once had a family reunion at a lake. My grandpa had a "water buoy," which was basically a motor on an inner-tube that pumped oxygen down a thin hose and into a scuba mask. It was so much better than snorkeling.

I was enjoying a dive, held under the surface by a weighted belt, when my oxygen suddenly cut off mid-inhale. I barely had any air in my lungs, and I was about fifteen feet under. In absolute panic, I forgot to pull the lever to drop my weighted belt as I struggled toward the surface. Finally, I broke the surface and ripped off my mask.

My cousin floated next to the water buoy, my air hose in her hand. Kinked.

Not. Funny.

Teasing and pranking can have a good place in YA lit. Not only is it something we can all connect to, but it can be a great way to portray characters and their psychology. What does the character find funny? Do the other characters get a kick out of it too, or do they get upset? Why does the character pull a prank on another-- is it just a joke, or is it meant to be cruel or embarrassing? How does a character react to a prank being played on them? Character relationships and psychology can be illustrated brilliantly through a simple prank.

So, my friends, have you ever played a prank on someone? Have you had a prank played on you? Have you ever used it in your writing? Does the word "prank" no longer sound like a word because I've used it so much in this post?


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What scares you more than anything-- and how can you use it to enhance your writing?

I'm now happily hacking away at a fourth draft of TUGL. Sometimes, though, when my mind wanders, there's another story in the background that wants to be played with. Two of them, actually. I have vague ideas for them, but no real plot or character arcs. It usually takes me a lot of musing to come up with the plot that works with the idea I want.

I play the "what if" game to help me, but I also do something else: I remind myself of all the things I'm afraid of in life. When I come up with a plot that addresses my own fears, it tends to be a stronger story. 

Even little fears can help me come up with something. For example, I'm terrified of ants (I know, lame-- but they attacked me as a kid, so it's a psychological thing). Writing a story about killer ants sounds like a SyFy channel special, though. 

So I dig deeper. Seeing a single ant on the sidewalk doesn't faze me. It's the swarm that gets me. The writhing mass of tiny bodies that move as a single organism, crawling up my legs, biting me everywhere...I'm literally cringing as I write this.

Basically, behind my simple fear of ants is a fear of thousands of malevolent creatures acting as one for their own nefarious purposes. How do you defeat a swarm like that??

And voila. That's a fear I can use in my writing.

So, my friends, what are you scared of? What's the real fear behind the simple object? Have you written a story that involves one of your fears?

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What if your book shares a title with another book?

So while I was on my little break last week, my friend Reece interviewed me! You can check out the interview here.

Also last week, I got an email from a crit partner, and it brought up something that was a recent frustration for me. The problem? Titles. Not coming up with titles. (That's a pain in the rear in its own right.) But what happens when you find a perfect title, and then it turns out another book has the same one, or a similar one?

With my current WIP, I found a quote that fits the book PERFECTLY. And from that quote, I got the perfect title: The Unhappening of Genesis Lee. I came up with it months ago, right at the beginning of my planning process, and got a little giddy about it. Then someone burst my bubble.

Literally two days after I picked it, I heard about a new book coming out (in fact, it came out yesterday!). You may have heard of it too. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer. Argh! The titles aren't the same, not exactly. And there are plenty of books that are "The ___ of ___." But the similarity of Unbecoming/Unhappening made me very pouty. (Not that I'm dissing Michelle Hodkin. The book sounds awesome, and I can't wait to read it.)

Her book is published. Mine is not. What's a girl to do?

Not worry about it, that's what.

I'm not saying to give your book a generic title that twelve other books share, and if your title is similar to too many others, maybe you should change it. But when you find the title that expresses your book, that hints at tension, that asks a question, that makes people want to read more-- keep it. If it ever gets published, it could likely change anyway, but you can still use a catchy title to get an agent's attention.

Some books have similar titles, there's no getting around it. In fact, Aprilynne Pike just announced the fourth book in her series that shares a title with another book-- also very popular-- that's coming out around the same time. The books are different enough, and Aprilynne says the title fits so perfectly, that it can work.

So, my friends, has this ever happened to you? Did you change the title, or keep it? How do you come up with your titles?

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Burnout

In June and early July, I wrote between 2,000 and 4,000 words a day and had a finished first draft in 7 weeks.

In July, August, and September, I have worked for 2 to 4 hours a day and completed three revisions of that first draft.

I'm a little tired.

So, my friends, there will be no writing--and no blogging--for me this week. I'm burned out, and ready to recharge my batteries.

I'm planning to try a few new recipes, clean my house thoroughly, take my son to the aquarium, and dig through ancient photographs and family trees to work on a family history project. I'm pretty excited about all of it-- even the cleaning.

I hope you all have a great week, and I'll see you next Monday!

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Have you ever lost your writing document?

I backup my writing ALL. THE. TIME. I'm completely paranoid that the evil hard drive demons are going to eat my story and I'll go to pull it up and it won't be there. So for backup, I have a thumb drive, an external hard drive, and I email myself copies frequently. I don't want to lose my story.

I think the paranoia stems back to an experience I had when I was eleven. Back then, I wrote my stories in notebooks with pictures of unicorns or kittens on the cover. I was in sixth grade, and sixth graders (being oh-so-responsible) got to work in the school store during lunch if they wanted. I thought it was awesome. I got to be all professional and sell pencils, erasers, and candy to other kids for 25 cents.

And I got to work on my story when nobody came in.

But I didn't work in the school store alone. There were always two of us, and one day the boy I was working with STOLE my story. Okay, so I'm still not entirely sure of this. But I ran an errand to a teacher, and when I came back, the boy was gone and so was my notebook. I was in a complete panic. I tore apart the store, and cried when I got home. How could he be so mean?

Two days later, when I was working with the same boy again, I showed up to find my story notebook sitting in plain sight. The boy didn't even look at me, but I gathered the story gratefully in my arms and didn't put it down the rest of the day.

I like to think he started reading the story while I was out of the room and loved it so much he had to take it home to finish it. Most likely it was just a prank. But after that, I started writing on the computer and backing up everything on floppy disks.

So, my friends, have you ever lost your story to hard drive demons or mean sixth-grade boys? Did you get it back? How do you backup your own writing?

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What is your favorite word?

I have a kind of love affair with words. Obviously. I'm a writer, aren't I? My husband teases me sometimes when I use a word he doesn't know, or just one that isn't commonly used in conversation. I love learning new words, and along with that, I love learning languages. Here are my favorite words in all the languages I know (or have attempted to learn):

ENGLISH

Spelunking: the exploration of caves

This word just feels cool on the tongue. Plus, I have gone spelunking several times, and there is something amazing, creepy, and just plain adventurous about being buried in a mountain/underground.

Spelunking with the hubs and some friends.

FRENCH

Lavabo: sink

I took French all through high school, and had nearly enough classes in college for a French minor. Sadly, my French skills have dwindled quite a bit in the four years since I last took a class, but I still love the way ANYTHING sounds gorgeous in French. This words is one of the earliest in my vocabulary, and is still a favorite.

Not in France. (San Francisco-- a tale I shall have to tell sometime)

FANTE

Ketseketse: small-small/very small

I took lessons in this Ghanaian language from an amazing teacher. Even though many people in Ghana speak English, it helped so much to know Fante, especially in teaching. The kids also loved it when I read Fante-- it's very simple to pronounce all the words, but most of the time I had no idea what I was saying. I love this word because it's just fun to say (kitsee-kitsee, said very fast), and people laughed when I used it to explain how much Fante I could speak.

3 ketseketse students who fell asleep on me mid-lesson. I promise, this wasn't staged.

JAPANESE

Utsukushii: beautiful

My husband first said this word to me when we were dating (he lived in Japan for 2 years and speaks Japanese fluently). I managed to tease the meaning out of him before I attempted learning Japanese myself. It makes me smile every time.

Me and the hubs. Love.

I took two semester of Swahili in college, but I'm going to bow out of that one. I don't remember a single word except for "Jambo," hello.

So, my friends, what about you? What is your favorite word in any (or many!) language(s)?

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How to write a book readers can't put down: Using scenes and sequels

I've been working on revisions of my current WIP, The Unhappening of Genesis Lee, for a month and a half now. Because I did so much plotting ahead of time, I haven't needed as many large-scale changes to this book plot-wise, which is awesome. Of course, that doesn't mean the plot is perfect. My individual scenes, especially, need to be tighter, more focused, and to lead naturally from one to the other. I tried out a new method to make this work, and it has been one of the most helpful revision tools ever.

Have you ever heard scenes referred to as action/reaction types, or scene/sequel types (same thing, different terms)? I had, but I never knew how it really worked. Basically, every scene in your book will be either an ACTION (scene) or REACTION (sequel), and the scenes should always alternate. (Action -->reaction-->action, etc.) There are some handy graphics here so you can get the big picture.

An ACTION scene has the following components: a goal, a conflict, and a disaster. The goal, obviously, is your character's need/want/objective for that specific scene. The conflict is what gets in your character's way. The disaster doesn't always have to be a disaster. Either your character doesn't get what they want (if they do, the book is over), or they DO get what they want, but something else happens-- they learn they need something else, or the thing they get isn't what they really wanted, etc.

After the disaster, of course, your character needs to react-- hence the REACTION scene. This is made up of the reaction, the dilemma, and the decision. The reaction is your character's immediate response to the disaster. It starts with the emotional response or feeling, then a reflexive action, followed by a rational thought/speech/action. These three elements don't ALL have to be there, but they should ALWAYS be in that order.

After the initial reaction in the reaction scene (I know, confusing), comes the dilemma-- the disaster in the last scene created a problem, so now what? Your character needs to make a decision, which leads to an action. Wait, an action? As in an action scene? Fancy that! We've come full circle.

My approach to this was to take out a notebook and go through my chapters one by one, making sure the cycle flowed, and writing out each part of the action/reaction sequence for each chapter. I found that each chapter isn't necessarily its own action or reaction scene. Sometimes, a single chapter was a full action/reaction sequence (or even 1.5 or 2 of them), with either the action or the reaction being quite short. Sometimes, a scene would stretch for more than one chapter. But ALWAYS, I made sure they cycled from one to the other.

If done right, the cycle of action/reaction should flow seamlessly throughout your book. And, if done right, it will make it almost impossible for readers to put your book down! After each disaster, they'll need to know how the character deals with it...and after each decision, they'll want to see what action the character will take next...and soon it's 3 a.m. and they've read your book all night.

So, my friends, have you ever used the action/reaction/scene/sequel process before? Do you have other tips that make it impossible to put your book down? What book have you read recently that you just couldn't stop reading?

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Teen Tales: Freedom and the failure it opens you up to

Teen Tales is a weekly feature connecting the YA experience with YA literature.

I was a young 'un in high school-- my birthday was in the summer, so sophomore year I had to sit and sigh while all my friends got their driver's licenses before I did. But come July 17th, I was in the DMV, baby! Keys! Freedom! A sporty little...er, gigantic tank of a suburban my parents wouldn't let me drive friends in.

They did, however, let me drive it to the local gym for a job interview two weeks after my birthday (Job! Money! Freedom!). As I pulled the tank/suburban into a parking space, there was a horrible, jolting crunch.

Yeah. I crashed into a parked car. One so new, it still had the little paper thingy instead of a license plate. #UltimateShalleeFail

I had no idea what to do when a guy climbed out of that car looking ready to pummel me. He took pity on me when he saw the abject fear on my face, and kindly called the cops and my parents on his cell phone. It was a good thing he knew what to do, because all I could do was grip the steering wheel and gasp "yes" and "no" through my tears.

Because here's the thing about freedom when you're a teenager. It's new and exciting and...new. And you don't always know what to do with it, so it's as scary as it is exciting-- especially when something goes wrong and you don't know how to handle it because it's new. And it leads to extreme frustration when your dad then refuses to let you drive the suburban and tries to teach you to drive his stick-shift and you get stuck at a stop sign and have to switch him places and a guy driving past is LAUGHING HIS $*&# HEAD OFF at you.

The simple fact of the matter is, freedom opens you up to failure, which is both frightening and frustrating. And it's one thing I love about YA fiction. The characters try things with their freedom. Sometimes they fail. But if it's done right, you have ultimate sympathy for that failure, even when it's their own darn fault, because you've been there. Maybe you're still there. You get it, and you still love them even when they do completely idiotic things because you know that failure just opens the door for another opportunity for success.

So, my friends, do your YA characters find fear, frustration, and failure along with their freedom? Did you, as a teenager?

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3 Keys to Promoting a Willing Suspension of Disbelief for your Readers

On Monday, I talked about how fiction helped me have some of my teenage dreams. So today, let's talk about how to keep somebody immersed enough in your fictional world that they can feel it's real.

I was an English major in college, which basically means I spent five years of my life reading until my eyes shriveled up, and writing until my fingers cramped. And yes, I loved (almost) every minute of it.

One thing we talked about very early on was what's called "a willing suspension of disbelief." It's a term in fiction used to explain a reader picking up a book and willingly suspending their disbelief that dragons/spaceships/a handsome English gentleman named Mr. Darcy don't actually exist. We know it's all outrageous, but we are willing to hang up that knowledge and pretend for a little while that it's all real.

But have you ever read a book where you WANTED to suspend your disbelief, you WANTED to imagine it was all real, and you just couldn't? For me, those are the most disappointing books. It might not even be an outrageous premise, but maybe I just didn't buy that the character was real, or that events would actually happen that way. I'd start to sink into the story, and BAM, something would happen that would jolt me out, thinking, "Not buying it."

That's the last thing anyone wants to make a reader think when they write a book. So how do you make sure that you construct a premise, setting, plot, and characters that somebody will willingly suspend their disbelief for? Here are a few things that come to mind.

1. Make sure your setup is relatable.

The key to making someone believe the unbelievable is to include "human interest and a semblance of truth" (as per Samuel Taylor Coleridge). Depending on what you're writing, the world you create might be some fantastical place or it might be in our contemporary world. It doesn't really matter. What DOES matter is that the places, history, culture, people, etc. relate to the human condition. It needs to seem like it could be true, even if it isn't. If people in your story are awarded commendations for committing heinous crimes, you have to explain to the reader how the society came to be that way-- and it has to be something that the reader, as a member of the human race, can understand.

I once read a book with a fascinating premise that I hated because I just couldn't buy the backstory. The history of how society had come to be the way it was went completely against human nature. The vast majority of a society had agreed to do something that I could NEVER see the vast majority doing. It ruined the whole book for me. So make sure that your world, characters, and story have a setup that is relatable.

2. Include specific and meaningful details.

Incorporating small but meaningful details into your story is what makes it real to readers. You can describe the most outrageous two-headed, toothless, six-armed, tailless furry bird that exists in the Amazon jungle, and nobody will buy it. But if you mention the bird sheds like a German Shepherd and your characters track it by following the fur clumps...well, that suddenly makes it a little more believable. (Or not, in this example. But you get my point.)

In re-reading Harry Potter, I've found the magical system is easy to believe because of small details we get about it. The way words are pronounced matters (WinGARdium LeviOsa), certain spells require specific wand movements, and there is theory behind it all (in book 4, Harry has to write a report on how transfiguration must be modified for trans-species changes). All of those small, specific, meaningful details make me believe this magic could be totally real.

3. Don't step outside your world.

Stepping outside the world you created is one of the quickest ways to prompt any reader to pick up their disbelief from where they hung it by the door. This can be done in any number of ways. Remember the whole "show, don't tell" rule? There's a reason for that. When you TELL the reader something, that's you as the author stepping in, just a little, to explain. When you SHOW the reader something, they're seeing it through the character's eyes, so it stays within the world.

Point of view slips (such as describing something your POV character wouldn't know/see/understand) are another way you might accidentally kick the reader out of the world. If you want to keep the reader in the book, make sure that every single word happens within that world so that you, as the author, are invisible.

So, my friends, have you ever read a book that really suspended your disbelief, and became real to you? Have you ever read a book where you absolutely COULDN'T suspend your disbelief? Do you have any tips of your own that help you keep readers believing in your story world?

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Let's Hear it for the Boy

Because I've been talking about romance this week, I've been thinking a lot about my husband. I am really almost as cheesy as my teenage self, and my husband still makes me feel like a giggly girl sometimes. Our relationship, of course, goes deeper than that. In fact, my husband is one of the biggest supporters of my writing dream.

For a few years before and after I got married, I wasn't writing much. I worked on revising my first novel sometimes, and I wrote a few short stories, but I wasn't really focused on my writing goals. But my husband knew I loved writing, and the first Christmas after we had our son, he gave me the best Christmas present ever. A book by my favorite fantasy author, Brandon Sanderson, that he had stood in line for an hour to get personally signed to me. Oh, and the information that Brandon was teaching a writing class starting in two weeks and that he welcomed anyone to come sit in. He encouraged me to go.

I was thrilled, and I went. For an entire semester, once a week, I got to play college student again. That class, as I've mentioned before, was the pivotal moment in my writing. I began to learn what I had to do if I wanted to get published, and I had the motivation to do it.

My husband not only encourages my writing, he listens to me gab about it for hours on end. He pats my head when I get emotional about rejections. He lets me bounce ideas off him and helps me brainstorm. He even gave me the inspiration for my current WIP.

In short, he's freakin' amazing. He, of course, does a lot more than support me with my writing, but I wanted to share that with my fellow writers today.

So, my friends, do you have someone who is your cheerleader in your writing? Let's hear about them!

P.S. Check out Ladies Who Critique, a new crit partner finding site that is awesome! I'm also happy to announce I'm part of a new Facebook page called The Write Advice, where you can get blog feeds of helpful craft advice. Check them out!

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Writing Romance for Young Adults

Since we talked about love and romance as a teen in Monday's Teen Tales post, I wanted to talk about writing romance. I've talked about writing non-cheesy romantic scenes, but today I want to focus on writing romance in YA.

Here's the thing about this subject-- it's subjective. Different people like different things from their romance, and depending on the character and the story, the romance will always be different. And I don't necessarily consider myself a romance-writing expert (check out Stephanie Perkins for some great examples of that). So I'm going to give some general things that I think make any romance better.

1. The romance must be as individual as your characters

Though many bad chick flicks may have led people to believe otherwise, romance is not, in fact, a cliche. Romance is individual. Every relationship I ever had in high school and college was different-- partially because I was a slightly different person each time, and partially because I was dating different people.

Romance is all about the character interactions, which means it's about human interaction. We interact differently with different people because of who we are and who they are. This is what bugs me so often about love triangles. It's boring when you see a girl who has the same relationship with two boys and can't choose between them. Why do I care? It's the same relationship either way. When I see two different relationships, with good and bad interactions on both sides, I'm torn. I care. Which is better, which is worse?

It's not just about having an original romantic plot. It's about having unique characters who interact with each other in unique ways. This is why Jane Austen's books are all engaging and different-- because of the different people.

2. The characters should both contradict each other and fulfill a need for each other

If the characters have contradicting traits, you've got some great possibilities for realistic conflict. But your characters should also need each other. Why are they together, or wanting to be together, or having a hard time staying away from each other? What is an internal need they have that the other person fulfills? Answering these questions for your character's relationships can help deepen that relationship. It becomes more about who they are, and not just about them being hormonal.

3. Let the characters be passionate

This is not me advocating sex in YA. It's not something I personally like to write or read, though I know others have different opinions. But as mentioned in my last post, teenagers (and heck, let's just admit the rest of us too) like our relationships with a little passion. Passion can mean a physical component, but it can be more than that too. Passion has to do with desire--often thwarted desire--that is intense. Not just physically, but emotionally. Let your characters feel that longing and desire, and create romantic tension by prolonging the manifestation of it.

So, my friends, what do you think? What thoughts do you have on writing a better romance? What are your favorite and least favorite romantic moments?

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Teen Tales: Connecting the YA experience with YA literature

As you read this, picture me enjoying myself admist the glories of red rock canyons and bright blue skies. I am currently on vacation, but thanks to my handy-dandy new schedule, I wrote my posts ahead of time. So I now speak to you from the past...woooooo....

Ahem. Anyway, today's post is actually all about the past. I've been thinking a lot about the YA genre lately (because, well, I write it), and it's occurred to me that there are a lot of us adults (and teens!) writing for teens. Which I think is great! But there are also a lot of us blogging about writing, and the YA part of us sort of gets lost on our blogs.

So I'm starting a new series today! Every Monday, I'll be doing Teen Tales, where you'll get to hear stories of my lovely teenage years (and hopefully other people's, too). Then, I'll connect that hilarious/moving/ridiculous/amazing/embarrassing story to YA literature today for those who write and read YA.

Today's story comes from my very early YA years. As I dug out my old diaries for inspiration, I found a letter tucked in one. DO NOT OPEN UNTIL MARRIED, it commanded. I barely remember writing such a note, but as I'm married now, I eagerly opened it to find out what teen me had to say to myself. Alas, it was not to myself. It is written to "My Dearest One."

That's right, ya'll. Sweet, naive, 14-year-old me wrote a love letter to my hubby on Sept. 18, 1998. Allow me to share portions of this letter (Hubby has graciously allowed it to be shared).

"Someday I'll meet you, and I'll probably still be naive, but you'll love me anyway. You'll love me if I'm fat or skinny, pretty or ugly...We will love each other forever...Sometimes it comforts me to think of someone who loves me for just being me. I don't know where, when, or how I'll meet you, but I will. Your love now and forever, Shallee."

I died when I read it.

First, I died of laughter because it was so darn innocent and sappy (trust me, I cut out some of the sappiest stuff). Then, I died of romantic swooning. Because come on. Who DOESN'T want that kind of love? Who NEVER wanted a boy who would love them for the person they were inside? Who doesn't want that NOW?

No hands raised? I thought not.

When I took Brandon Sanderson's writing class of ultimate awesome, he said that YA must have romance (MUST. He circled it thirty times on the chalkboard, emphasizing that it must be full of PASSION). And while some of us oh-so-mature adults roll our eyes a little bit at the PASSION in YA, who among us doesn't identify with it? Romance is an dazzling part of life that should naturally come out in our writing. Teenagers feel everything so much more keenly-- I'm sure we all remember that-- and romance is a big part of that. And it's one of the things I love about writing and reading YA.

When it's done right, of course.

So, my friends, what kind of romance did you have (or long for) as a teenager? What romances do you love or hate in the YA books you've read? What's your definition of "right" in romance when you write? And who would like to be a guest poster for Teen Tales in the future (be sure to leave an email addy in the comment)?

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Finding Balance in the Writing Life: 3 Tips for Making and Keeping a Schedule

Yup, it's another "finding balance" post. Because, like I've mentioned before, finding balance is a daily thing. And I'm trying something new that seems to be working well that I wanted to share.

Most of us have some kind of routine: wake up, feed the kids, eat breakfast, go to work, clean the house, make dinner, go to bed...any number of things come and go in our days, and we usually live in a kind of pattern that may or may not help us get those things done. And when all is said and done, it doesn't often leave a lot of time for extras. We try to squeeze in writing time and blogging and dishes and family activities, and after a while, it's exhausting juggling all those balls. When we do get a bit of extra time, we sometimes don't even know what to do with it, and waste that precious time.

I was feeling all that just last week, so I decided to try something I've tried before, but to change it up a bit. I was going to go beyond a jumbled routine, and make a schedule. And I was going to KEEP that schedule. Here are a few tips if you think this is something that might help you.

1. Base your schedule on your current routine.

If you really want to make that schedule a part of your life, you don't want to throw everything out of wack. Do you usually wake up at 6:30 am to exercise? Excellent. Pull up that Excel sheet and plop down exercise at 6:30. My schedule basically follows my current routine, but now, it has an order. Where I used to just do the dishes whenever I had a spare moment, I now actually have a scheduled time for housework. By consolidating and scheduling my "spare moments," I now actually have time to do the things I crammed into those moments.

2. Leave yourself reminders.

The hardest part of a new schedule is remembering what the schedule IS. For me, I took a screenshot of the Excel sheet where my schedule was, edited it as a picture, and set it as my desktop background. That way, I can refer to it whenever I need to. I also set alarms on my phone to remind me what I'm supposed to be doing. That way, if I'm cheating and wasting time on the internet, my phone will ding to remind me it's time to go play with my son or make dinner. Is it sort of pathetic that I get caught up in the internet that easily?

3. Be flexible.

Don't feel guilty when you don't keep the schedule perfectly! It shouldn't be a dictator of your life. Sometimes, things will come up, or it'll take longer to eat lunch, or my son wants to go to the park instead of watching a movie while I work. Sounds good! Be flexible with the schedule. When life does what life does and things get a little crazy for a day, that's okay. You can try again tomorrow.

It's really amazing how much such a simple thing has helped me find the time I need for everything. In just a few days, my house is cleaner, my son is having more fun, my work is getting done, I'm spending more time with my hubby, and I have more time for writing. My internet time is productive rather than a waste of time. Even with the expected schedule interruptions, I feel happier and more capable.

So, my friends, how do you schedule your time? What is your routine, and how do you find time to do the things you both need and want to do? What tips can you share that help you balance your life?

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Book Reviews for Writers: Maintaining Enthusiasm from True Spirit by Jessica Watson

On May 15, 2010, after 210 days at sea and more than 22,000 nautical miles, 16-year-old Jessica Watson sailed her 33-foot boat triumphantly back to land. She had done it. She was the youngest person to sail solo, unassisted, and nonstop around the world.

Jessica spent years preparing for this moment, years focused on achieving her dream. Yet only eight months before, she collided with a 63,000-ton freighter. It seemed to many that she’d failed before she’d even begun, but Jessica brushed herself off, held her head high, and kept going.

Told in Jessica’s own words, True Spirit is the story of her epic voyage. It tells how a young girl, once afraid of everything, decided to test herself on an extraordinary adventure that included gale-force winds, mountainous waves, hazardous icebergs, and extreme loneliness on a vast sea, with no land in sight and no help close at hand. True Spirit is an inspiring story of risk, guts, determination, and achievement that ultimately proves we all have the power to live our dreams—no matter how big or small.

I'm a dreamer, like most writers are, so I love when I hear about people who are living their own dreams. When I first heard about Jessica Watson, she had just left Australia to begin her sail around the world. I followed her blog (who knew you could blog from the middle of NOWHERE with a satellite connection??) every week throughout her journey, and when she came home, I cheered. I bought her book, True Spirit, as soon as it was out.

And folks, it's AWESOME.

Jessica wrote the book herself, using her blog entries for parts of it, and it rings with her enthusiastic teen voice. That's what I want to talk about today: enthusiasm. Jessica was only 16 when she sailed solo, non-stop, and unassisted around the world. I remember thinking, how the heck can a teenager be able to do that? It wasn't an easy journey, even before she set sail. She worked her tail off for years, improving her sailing skills and finding sponsors. She had numerous set-backs, some of them big enough to nearly derail the entire project. But she never gave up. Why?

You can hear it in her voice. It's her enthusiasm. She didn't just work hard, she loved working hard. She relished every moment and didn't let herself dwell on her defeats. Partly because she was determined, but partly because she was so excited and enthusiastic about her goal. After reading this book, I think it's her enthusiasm as much as her hard work that helped her achieve her dreams.

So, my friends, what are your dreams? Are you enthusiastic about them, or just going through the motions? How do you maintain enthusiasm in the face of your own set-backs?

Check out my reader's reaction here.

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What has reading taught you about writing?

So I've always been a huge reader. Like, ALWAYS. When I was about six, I was desperate for "chapter books," so my mom took me to the bookstore. She picked out an early-reader book for me, the kind with about twenty words per page. I picked out a YA book called Megan's Ghost. She didn't think I'd be able to handle it, but I was determined it was what I wanted. I devoured it in a few days. In fact, I read so much as a kid, my parents had to actually cut my reading time short and make me play outside.

My love of reading is what gave me a love of writing. My first stories were mostly copies of whatever I was reading at the time. You've got to start somewhere, right? Katrina Lantz recently did a post on the importance of reading for writers. And it is SO IMPORTANT. In reading so many books, I absorbed most of my early writing knowledge without ever cracking a book on craft. Reading so much gave me an instinct for some of the smaller things like grammar, and even some of the bigger things like plot structure. Sometimes, I'll re-read my favorite books on purpose with an eye toward improving things like my own character development.

That's not to say you don't want to study craft. But reading is not only good for learning story craft. It's also one of the best ways I've found to get creative. Reading opens your imagination to a new world, and while your imagination is open, it's more receptive to knew ideas. When I'm not entirely sure what the plot of my Shiny New Idea is going to be, or when I'm stuck on revisions, I read.

So, my friends, what is one of your recent favorite reads? (I loved Divergent by Veronica Roth.) What has reading taught you about writing?

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Book market trends and other things you have no control over

One of the most popular questions I heard people ask agents when I went to a conference back in May was about trends-- were the agents still looking for this trend or that trend, what trends were over, what trends were predicted to be next. Many writers want to write stories we love that will also fit into the marketplace, and knowing trends can help with that.

Unfortunately, the thing about trends is that they're not something we can control.

Trends are determined primarily by readers, and then by publishers trying to flood the market with what readers seem to want. It's possible to predict that because readers want dystopian, they may want science fiction next because they're related, but who knows. Maybe somebody will write an amazing book about a schizophrenic teenage elf, and readers will go nuts looking for more fantasy with mental health themes.

The advice professionals give out about trends and writing for them is usually the same: don't write for the trends, because by the time you hear about it, publisher's lists are most likely full of it. Just write the best book you can, one that you completely love, and if it's amazing, it'll find a home.

The thing about trends and hitting them or missing them is that it's almost purely based on luck. James Dashner mentioned at that same conference in May that when The Maze Runner was being published, it was around the time when The Hunger Games was getting popular. His publishers were excited to have another dystopian/post-apocalyptic story, because the market was primed for it. He was lucky, he said.

I've been thinking about trends a lot because I'm currently querying a dystopian novel. I wrote it before I knew much about the trend, but I'm not quite as lucky as James Dashner. While the trend is picking up in the reader's market, publishers have dystopians planned on their lists for the next few years. This doesn't mean I have no chance. I love this book, and I think it's pretty darn good-- otherwise I wouldn't have the courage to query it.

Here's the thing about trends though-- and about selling your writing in general. It's all about preference. It's about other people and what they like and what they're sick of and what tickles their fancy on a Wednesday at two p.m. when they read your query or pick up your book. And you really have no control over that.

What you do have control over is writing something that YOU love, which is why that's the standard advice from agents about trends. The other thing you have control over? Studying and applying writing craft and a hefty dollop of imagination to make your book amazing. Because everybody prefers amazing.

So, my friends, what are your thoughts on trends and writing?

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Who's your favorite character you've ever written?

So I lied. I said I was going to do a post analyzing a popular movie with the plot structure I talked about on Wednesday. My brain is not functioning well enough on a Friday to pull that off, so instead, I want to ask a question.

Who is your favorite character you've ever written? Or, if that's too hard of a choice, who is one of your favorites?

I love all of my characters a lot, so it's a tough choice for me. But one of my favorites is Quinn from Devolutionaries. He's a smart, tortured pain in the rear. He spent most of his childhood as a science experiment, which explains the tortured part. He's bossy, secretive, and works his tail off to defend a cause he thinks is right. Though he isn't the main character, he is extremely important in the story. I think I love him so much because even when he's being stubborn, he's managed to struggle above his circumstances to try to do something good.

So, my friends, I repeat the question: who's one of your favorite characters you've ever written?

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Story Structure Tips for Pantsing-- and Plotting-- Your Way to a Better Novel

I've been yammering a lot lately about the amazingness of plotting/outlining. Most of this yammering comes because, after hearing Larry Brooks speak at the LDStorymakers conference, I read his book Story Engineering and it changed my life. I kid you not. Best writing craft book I have EVER read. I highly recommend you go buy the book for yourself.

Today, let's talk about how learning the story structure mentioned in this book can change your life even if you're a pantser. I know, it seems at odds-- structure? Pantsing? Never these twain have met. Or have they? In essence, pantsing is a way to create a long, rambling outline for your book. I was a pantser for quite a while, and found this to be true. And whether you plot or pants your novel, in the end, we're all striving for the same thing: an engaging, fabulous story.

One of the best ways to do this is using the three-act structure. In order to achieve that story and structure, there are certain plot points you MUST hit. Go watch your favorite movie, and you'll find all of these points exactly where they're supposed to be. Being aware of them can help you either outline beforehand, or guide you as you pants, so your novel can be more satisfying to readers. I'll do a post on Friday outlining all of these points in a well-known book, but for today, let's look at the basics.

There are FOUR PARTS to a story separated by THREE POINTS, and they fit roughly into the typical three-act structure.

Part 1 (Act 1): The setup. This is where you explore what the character's life and world is like before the story starts. You set the stakes-- what does the character have to loose? Obviously, you don't want to ramble on about the random nothings of their life. You want a HOOK-- a compelling moment that hints at the inciting incident and the first plot point. You want an inciting incident-- a moment that can help launch the story. You want specially chosen moments and details that lead up to the point where they get a full-frontal view of how their life will change. And that point is called...

Plot Point 1. Plot Point 1 is where the goal, the journey, and the conflict all become clear-- the first full-frontal view of the conflict, stakes, and opposition. This can be, but doesn't have to be, the inciting incident. The inciting incident is more often earlier in Part 1. The key here to determining that is to look at what the character learns when the inciting incident takes place. If the inciting incident is an intriguing moment that sets the character on a new path that they and the reader don't quite understand, then it is NOT Plot Point 1.

Also keep in mind that PP1 come approximately 1/4 of the way through the story-- about page 100 in a 400 page novel. And yes, the timing is important. If it comes too early or too late, your reader, who has unconscious expectations of when certain moments will come, will either be confused or bored. Moving on, PP1 launches the beginning of

Part 2 (Act 2): The Response/Wanderer. It's important to remember that this is a reactive, not proactive stage. This is where the hero is running, or floundering in some way as he or she responds to what they learned at PP1. It generally covers about half of Act 2, and transitions to the next stage at the

Midpoint. The midpoint is, predictably, right in the middle of the story (about page 200 in a 400 page book). This is where the hero learns something new and empowering in the context of the story. This new thing gives them what they need to start fighting against the antagonist, therefore launching

Part 3 (Act 2): The Attack/Warrior. The character can now jump in, guns blazing, and start attacking, acting the warrior. Here's the thing, though-- they can't win yet. They don't have enough information to defeat the antagonist. They can try, but inevitably they fail simply because they are missing a vital piece of information. And that moment comes at

Plot Point 2. This is where the hero learns that vital piece of information that will allow them to triumph over the villain. It's the moment that launches the final conflict, which takes place in

Part 4 (Act 3): Climax and Resolution. At this point, no new information can enter the story-- it all must have been hinted or foreshadowed at previously. The hero can now take everything he/she has learned and meet the villain for the final showdown. Because of what he/she has learned and how he/she has changed, they are now able to triumph. After the triumph, they have a short resolution time to tie up loose ends, and then their story has come to a heroic end.

You'll also notice two smaller pinchpoints. These are moments right in the middle of Part 2 and Part 3 that remind the reader and the hero of the threat of the villain. They can be small or large, but they also are important to the flow of the story.

So, my friends, questions? Comments? Concerns? Did that help you understand story structure? Is there a structure you yourself like to use that's different than this one? Are you opposed to structure and want to explain why?

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