What's Up Wednesday and the YA Book Club

It’s time for What’s Up Wednesday again. If you’re unfamiliar with the idea, here’s the deal: What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk for like-minded writers to meet and encourage one another. Everything you ever wanted to know about it (now, 50 percent off the retail price!) is right here.

WHAT I’M READING

I’m so excited so many of you are interested in joining the YA Book Club this March. Let this serve as official proclamation that the book club is a go—and our book of the month is Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard. (See, I’m getting in the royal spirit and all.) On Monday, March 30, we’ll post our reviews. Be sure to link to your review here, then hop to everyone else’s blog to see what other book clubbers thought about the novel! (More about how the book club works here.)

WHAT I’M WRITING

I’m still drafting my Island MS, which seems to be going much, much slower than any other book I’ve written. Recently I’ve been having a hard time getting my inner editor to shut up. She’s incredibly rude and only interested in deleting words. I’m hoping this is only a temporary thing.

WHAT WORKS FOR ME

Just about the only way I can get any words on the page is if I tell myself that even ridiculously low word counts make a difference. So I aimed for 1,000 words in a writing session and got 200. That’s better than zero, right?

But really I’d love to hear what works for you when it comes to killing your inner editor.

What's Up Wednesday: The Book Club Revival

I wasn’t planning on doing What’s Up Wednesday today, mostly because I thought it was Tuesday and it wouldn’t have made much sense. Except then I started thinking, “Wouldn’t it be awesome if today was really Wednesday and Friday was that much closer?” Usually when this happens I find out it’s actually Sunday.

As you can imagine, I was pleasantly surprised and psyched to join, especially after skipping way too many weeks in a row. So here’s what’s been going on with me:

 

What I’m Reading: This has been the month of readalongs for me. I’m re-reading Kerstin Geir’s Ruby Red as part of our great Ruby Red Reread, which you can learn all about here. It’s just as good a second time. I also joined Jaime Morrow and Katy Upperman in reading Heather Demetrios’s I’ll Meet You There, a really wonderful and at times heartbreaking contemporary YA.

I’m thinking of continuing the readalong trend—but more on that below.

What I’m Writing: I spent most of February revising Aberration, my YA sci-fi thriller. Last Monday, I turned that in to my agent*, so the past week has been all about my magical realism MS, which I’m calling Island simply because “that treasure hunting one” is too long.

What Works for Me: Sometimes, if I want to avoid a mass rewrite, I need to take a break from drafting to do a bit of planning. It’s something I did recently when I ran into major roadblock with my treasure hunt. The clues and the map and the geography of the land weren’t working together, and I had a maddening stone structure that was both purposeful and pointless.

I’m not even kidding when I say I spent three days alternating between furiously scribbling a treasure map, staring off into space, and randomly mumbling things like, “The slashed triangle can’t have five points.”

To which The Man would patiently reply, “You okay over there?” and I’d say, “Obviously no because there are stones on the island that need to be there but CANNOT POSSIBLY BE THERE.” And he’d just nod and put on his noise-cancelling headphones.

But it all worked out in the end because I broke through the mental block and now have a better treasure map for my teen treasure hunters to follow.

What Else I’ve Been Up To: The short answer is nothing. Revisions for my book happened at the same time as, at the day job, we went to press on our busiest issue of the year. So basically I worked around the clock for weeks. After that Monday, I pretty much zoned out for a good four days, catching up on Jane the Virgin, which I’ve just learned is one of my favorite shows on TV.

But I’ve also been thinking bookish thoughts. Specifically, thoughts about a certain book club that has been in hibernation recently. A wonderful reader reached out about joining in (hi, and welcome!) and other writer friends expressed interest in starting it up again. I’ve had such fun reading alongside people this month, I’m fully ready to give into the peer pressure.

I was thinking we’d read Red Queen, but I’m not tied to that idea, so if there’s another book you want to suggest, we can put it to a vote. But let’s stick to first-in-series novels released by March 1.

Can I get a show of hands (or, you know, comments below) of who would be interested in joining a March book club?**

* I honestly still can’t believe I get to say that.
** Here’s everything you need to know about the YA BookClub.

What's Up Wednesday: Running From Trends

It’s time for What’s Up Wednesday again. If you’re unfamiliar with the idea, here’s the deal: What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk for like-minded writers to meet and encourage one another. Everything you ever wanted to know about it (now, 50 percent off the retail price!) is right here.

WHAT I’M READING

Last week, Karen Akins’s debut novel, Loop, released. I fell in love with this book when it was still a baby, and I’m so excited it’s now out in the world. Expect a humorous voice, time travel that actually makes sense, and an adorable time-crossed romance between the main character and a former dork. Akins does well in setting up the parameters of time travel, setting some pretty strict rules, then intricately shows readers she knows what she’s doing.

I’m also waiting for my copy of Blue Lily, Lily Blue to arrive (I ordered a signed copy from Fountain Bookstore, which ships out of state). When I get my hands on that puppy I plan to disappear into the story. How I’ve missed those Raven Boys…

WHAT I’M WRITING

I’ve talked some about the YA fantasy I spent eons world-building and brainstorming and then writing. As of now, though, that’s on hold. It’s not just that a new idea plowed me over and begged to be written. (Though that happened.)

It has more to do with the fact that fantasy seems to be on the cusp of being the next big trend in YA lit. And, I know, plenty of people would write the fantasy because of the trend. But I’m querying a YA sci-fi right now when agents are feeling sci-fi fatigue, so I really, really don’t want to write a fantasy novel and run into the same problem.

The good news: I love my new idea. It’s YA magical realism about a group of teens who search for a treasure. I’m thinking of it as a cross between Goonies and Stand by Me, and while there’s a treasure hunt, it’s really about friendship. Obviously there’s kissing, too.

WHAT’S WORKS FOR ME

Listening to songs that have the same tone as my story is incredibly helpful to my brainstorming process. And when I find a song that perfectly encapsulates the mood of my story, it’s a major light-bulb moment for me.

If I had to put my story into a single song, it’d be 10,000 Maniacs’ “These Are the Days.” There’s this sense of anything-can-happen and being on the cusp of something really great that I hope to create in my novel.

I don’t intend for the story to be as positive as this song throughout the entire book, but I think a lot of what I want to do is give the reader the same edge-of-amazing feeling that this song does.

Here, have a totally cheesy ’90s music video. You may want to shut your eyes, though. That horrid sight might take away from the song.

WHAT ELSE IS NEW

Remember that wrist pain I mentioned a few months ago? Well, I’ve been in and out of the doctor, getting X-rays and MRIs and exams to figure out why typing is suddenly torture. And he’s the frustrating thing: According to my workups, there’s nothing wrong.

So, yeah, it’s good to know I don’t need surgery and don’t have carpal tunnel syndrome or wrist cysts or anything else. But I’m also frustrated that I have no idea what’s causing the pain, why, or how to treat it. For now, it appears I need to give my wrists a rest when they start hurting and taking time away from the computer.

What’s up with you?

What's Up Wednesday: Hello, Strangers

Hello, and yes I do still live here. It’s been so long since I blogged and I miss you all dearly, like Katniss* missed her impoverished district while inside the arena. Only you’re a lot nicer and funnier than that dystopian landscape and also your hair looks very pretty today.

Okay, so I’m back and jumping into What’s Up Wednesday again. If you’re unfamiliar with the idea, here’s the deal: What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk for like-minded writers to meet and encourage one another. Everything you ever wanted to know about it (now, 50 percent off the retail price!) is right here.

WHAT I’M READING

Yesterday was a glorious day for books. I pretty much want to call in sick for the rest of the week and do nothing but read and read and read. Also, eat. But I’m a 21st-century woman. I can do both if I want to. I haven’t started all of these, but here’s what’s on my radar:

CLICK COVER FOR GOODREADS DESCRIPTION

But I hate leaving you without a good book recommendation, so here it goes. The reason I’m psyched to read Ashes to Ashes is because I gobbled up the first two books in Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian’s series, Burn for Burn and Fire With Fire. I held off reading these for a long time, but the first book is available for free on Pulse It (for the time being), and I’m so glad I gave it a try.

The books are compulsively readable and hard not to speed through. There’s a hint of the paranormal that threw me a bit in this otherwise contemporary setting, but it kind of works. What I read for, though, is the revenge. The three main characters—they take turns narrating—are determined and sometimes unlikable, but I have to admire how they stand up for themselves. I can’t wait to see where the third book takes the story, especially since the girl I only mildly disliked in books one and two is now someone I can’t stand.

WHAT I’M WRITING

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a writer drafting her first chapter must be in want of a knife. With which to end her misery.

Okay, I’m being dramatic, but for me writing chapter one is a lot like taking a sharp knife to my inessential organs (are there inessential organs? This I do not know) and reveling in the pain without ever passing out. It’s like yanking hairs from my head, one by one by one.

Basically, writing chapter one is torture for me, and I can’t make it stop. I can’t start anyone but chapter one—oh how I’ve tried to fool myself!—and I can’t get going until that first chapter is both written and pristine. I can more or less turn off my inner editor while writing the rest of my first draft, but not for that horrible, no-good, terrible chapter one. So I write and delete and repeat that process about seventy gazillion times.

That was me, the past two weeks. I have nine chapter ones saved in Scrivener. All suck but one. That one—on man, that one—I want to, I don’t know, buy it a beer or something. Because that chapter is the one. Will I change it during revisions? Yes. But it’s good enough that I can move on.

Here’s a quick, unedited excerpt that’s still not entirely right but at the moment right enough:

She spoke it aloud now, in the solitude of the cove. Her boots dug into the mossy ground and her head tilted to the sky and her teeth trapped the word at its end so she hissed like a snake. An unrestrained, unladylike laugh burst from deep in Asta’s belly. “Notorious,” she said again and again and it sounded a lot like “freedom.”

WHAT’S INSPIRING ME?

“Requiem for a Tower” from London Music Works puts me right into my fantasy story. It’s beautiful and epic and tense.

And while I can’t write to music with words, Phildel’s “The Wolf” has helped me get in the right mood before writing. 

WHAT ELSE I’VE BEEN UP TO:

I bought a house. Yes, that happened. It doesn’t seem real, but it’s true. I am officially an adult. It’s actually the same condo we’ve been renting for the past two years, but now the bills come to us.

I truly love this place, though. It has soaring ceilings and old wood beams. It has windows twice as tall as me and exposed brick that I absolutely love. During the Industrial Revolution it housed giant looms and dozens of girls working in the textile factory. There’s a museum two floors below, which The Man still hasn’t visited and which I haven’t been to since my fifth grade field trip to the mills.

It’s all very strange, knowing I own this place. But I love it and, if I’m being completely honest, I love that the process of buying a house is over. Also, not having to move all of our junk into a new place seriously rocks.

What have you been up to?

* Speaking of Katniss, did you all see the trailer for part one of the Mockingjay movie? It is as fantastic as I expected.

What's Up Wednesday: The Love List

What’s Up Wednesday is a weekly blog hop created by Jaime Morrow and Erin Funk for like-minded writers to meet and encourage one another. Everything you ever wanted to know about it (now, with 50 percent more!) is right here.

What I’m Reading: Against my better judgment,* I picked up Falling Kingdoms, which had been in my TBR pile for ages and for some reason pushed down. I knew this was a bad idea because the third book doesn’t come out until December and Goodreads tells me there will be a fourth book, which may as well release another million years from now. After reading the second book, Rebel Spring, I am impatient for the follow-up and will probably fall into old patterns some time around its release. Still, it’s a good series, one I recommend for YA fantasy fans.

What I’m Writing: I’m still brainstorming this fantasy idea, which is equal parts exciting and daunting. A long time ago I read a post by author Susan Dennard, who suggested keeping a list of the reasons you love the story—essentially a record of why you want to write this story specifically. (It will supposedly come in handy during that 20K mark when I will undoubtedly begin to wonder why I thought writing this was a good idea and whether I should just give up and take up a less demoralizing hobby, like collecting stamps.) Here’s mine so far:

A strong-willed princess

A knight who hates himself

A boy priest

Secret identities

People painted in shades of gray

Thievery

Icy lands and hot springs

Strong mother-daughter relationship

Broken hearts

Fierce warriors

Love

Bromance

Myth and magic

What’s Inspiring Me: Possibly the most helpful guide to world-building I’ve ever seen, this checklist by Patricia C. Wrede has been invaluable as I create my kingdoms. Seriously—it asks the questions I didn’t even think of. If you’re a planner and writing sci-fi or fantasy, it’s definitely worth a glance.

TATIANA MASLANY IN ORPHAN BLACK

What Else I’ve Been Up To: I’m preparing for a massive TV-watching session this weekend with my sister. We’ve both missed the past few episodes of Orphan Black, which we binge watched a few weeks ago. If you haven’t seen it, it’s about a women who discovers she’s a clone. Each clone is played by the same actress, Tatiana Maslany, who seriously amazes me with her ability to turn each of these characters into women who feel so different from one another. She’s absolutely brilliant.

And that’s about it for me.

What’s new with you?

* The lack of a second e in the word judgment is one of the greatest mysteries in my world. In all my many years, I have never successfully typed that word correctly the first time I’ve used it. I stand firm in my conviction that it should be spelled judgement.