100 Followers Giveaway

I surpassed 100 followers for this blog a little while back. (thank you all so much!) I figured it was about time to celebrate!

You don't have to be a follower to enter!!

I'm giving away ONE (1) of these three books.

The Looking Glass Wars by Frank Beddor

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon

The contest will run until Friday, September 14th. It's US-Only, as international shipping can get pricey and I'm a poor college student. The winner will be announced the 15th, and he/she will have 48 hours to email me to claim the prize.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!

The Lessons of Slush Pile Madness

For those of you who haven't heard (and if you haven't heard, where have you been?!), Brenda Drake is hosting a pitch contest called Pitch Madness.

The contest calls for a 35-word pitch and 150 words. Four judges will pick their top ten favorite pitches to post for the eyes of some fabulous agents. Two submission windows have already closed, but there's one more on Tuesday! (click here for all the deets)

I've had the opportunity to be one of the readers of the slush for this contest. A few other fabulous writers and I are work behind the scenes, reading all of the pitches that come in and sorting them into piles of "yes," "maybe," and "no." Then Brenda and the other three judges pick their top ten from the "yes" pile.

Let me tell you, it's hard. And scary.

I've been an entrant in contests like this before, so every time I read a pitch, I know what it feels like to be the writer. And I feel terrible when the pitch or first 150 words aren't quite strong enough or intriguing enough to earn a spot in the fated "yes" pile.

SO, I want to share some of what I've learned from the process--which is a lot. Some of these tips have already shown up on twitter. Hopefully, they'll help you guys. I don't feel terribly qualified for this. But I'll share my thoughts anyway, so even if your pitch isn't one of the finalists this time, you can fix it up so maybe it will be next time.

Here we go!

THE PITCH 

             THE INTRODUCTION - the first glimpse at what the novel is about

Your pitch should be riveting, like Robert Downey Jr.

(ladies, try not to let him distract you from finishing reading the post!)

Your pitch should show how your plot is unique.

Aim for specificity in the pitch -- 1 or 2 choice details are far better than stating something like "and then bad things happen."

The details you add enhance the voice of your pitch. A distinct voice is far more likely to stand out and capture a reader's attention.

Try to make the voice of your pitch match the voice of your novel. Remember, the pitch should show the reader what to expect. If the opening of the novel has a different feel to it, the reader may feel cheated.

Don't be too tell-y in the pitch and say things like "this is a suspenseful adventure story." Work on showing intriguing elements of the plot.

*The strongest pitches tend to not include question marks.*

Check spelling/know basic grammar. <-- It's really not that hard. Don't let something that's easy to fix weaken your pitch!

The best advice: Read through short movie descriptions or book blurbs and see what hooks you and what doesn't! Use what you learn to shape your pitch.

THE FIRST 150 WORDS

           THE NOVEL'S OPENING - the words that will make the reader want to
                                                                keep reading

The first 150 words should show some sense of genre.

They should include details of setting. Don't bog down the opening with too many details--just enough to place the character in the scene. Setting works especially well when intermingled with character action.

The action doesn't have to be radical--you don't need to open with a girl shooting her brother to capture the reader's attention. But something important should be happening to the character, or he/she should be doing something important, or you might be starting in the wrong place.

Try to write an opening that will make a reader ask a question. Then he/she is more likely to keep reading for the answer!

Don't spend all 150 words describing the character. Things like hair color, whiteness of teeth, occupation, or whether or not he/she is cool enough to wear a bowtie can wait.

The reader first needs a reason to care.

Give the reader a reason to care about the main character.

95% of the time, cutting the prologue makes the opening stronger.

If your pitch mentions two main characters, and then the first 150 introduce a different character who seems important, it can be very confusing.

If you're going to open with dialogue, make sure it's not bland. It should be eye-catching and intriguing, because the reader doesn't have any reason to care for the characters who are talking yet.

Again, check your spelling and know basic grammar!

If you ever read the first 150 words and say to yourself they're "good enough," you might want to try something different. It's easy to say words are "good enough," and it's also easy for a reader to close a book. Why not strive for the very best work you're capable of doing?

Trust your gut. Always. (Try not to ignore it.)

The best advice: Read the first page of your favorite novels, figure out why they work, and apply it to your own manuscript!

RANDOM EDITING TIPS

Look for phrases like "he saw" or "she noticed" in your manuscript and cut them. For example, "He saw Arya jump" can just be "Arya jumped." This deepens the POV.

To save words in a manuscript, remember you can replace "she sits down" with "she sits," or "we jump high up" with "we jump high."


............


That's all I've got, at least for now. I hope these tips help.

         NOW GO WRITE LIKE A BOSS.

The Army of Ten

Gretchen McNeil wants YOU to join

The Army

See, she has a book coming out soon:

It's about a group of ten teens who head to a house party on an island, which is supposed to be the coolest thing ever.

Until they start to die.

(You can go here for a more thorough blurb.)

So, what's this whole army thing about?

...

Barnes and Nobles, the last major bookstore chain, has decided not to stock this awesome book.

Which means Gretchen needs your help. We need the world to know about this book.

How can you help?

Join the Army of Ten

The Statue

Clearly I'm terrible at posting. So, I thought I'd leave you all with a (very) short piece of fiction I penned for a recent pinterest contest.

Side-note: you should follow my pins so I can meet more pinners.

---

(for copyright reasons, see the picture that inspired this here.)

I count the tick-tocks every time she comes to the cemetery. Every day, the apricot sun dips down, and the woman in gray comes wearing a plain wristwatch.

Tick-tock as she replaces the grave's dead flowers with fresh ones.

Tick-tock as she presses her lips to the ground.

Tick-tock as she whispers to the bones that can't hear her.

She doesn't look up at the girl made of stone. She doesn't see the tears on my cheeks, or the pleading look in my eyes.

I've counted six thousand and fifty-one ticks of her watch. My mother has never recognized me.

How To Be Dauntless In Real Life

So, I was about to do a google search and try to find some sort of article titled:

HOW TO BE DAUNTLESS IN REAL LIFE

(BE AS BRAVE AS TRIS PRIOR IN 4 SIMPLE STEPS) 

...when I decided to pause for a moment and consider whether I could figure it out for myself. And I realized I could. These are my thoughts on the subject. Maybe someone will find them useful.

TO BEGIN WITH: I'm no expert on bravery. I've wimped out in way too many situations to count, from being too scared to jump off a cliff into a swimming hole, to being too nervous to tell a boy he's an idiot and should be kinder to me, even though I wanted to.

Sometimes I regret the decisions I make in these moments when the fear cripples me. Sometimes I don't. But ever since I was little, bravery's been important to me. It stems a lot from the books I've read with kick-ass heroines. Hermione Granger was the first. She was smart like me and a bit unusual like me, and she was the bravest girl I'd met yet on my excursions to literary lands.

There've been other heroines since Hermione, such as Lyra Belacqua and Katniss Everdeen, who've also been role models for bravery. But the one I met most recently has stuck with me more than those two for some reason: Beatrice Prior, the heroine of Veronica Roth's Divergent.

Tris is the optimal combination of intelligence and bravery, Yes, there are times when she does things that maybe aren't so smart, but I think it's because she's so determined to fight her fears. That's what I admire the most about her.

If you haven't read Divergent, it takes place in a futuristic, dystopian society, where 16-year-olds must pick which of five factions to devote their lives to. Each faction cultivates a particular trait in its members. Abnegation believes in selflessness; Candor believes in honesty; Amity believes in peace; Erudite believes in intelligence; and Dauntless believes in bravery.

Tris picks Dauntless, if you couldn't already guess.

I'd totally pick Dauntless if I lived in Tris's world. (Pottermore has named me a Gryffindor, by the way.) Not because of the death-defying situations they like putting themselves in (jumping off moving trains, anyone?) or how awesome their living compound seems, but because I want to learn to master my fears. I don't want them to drain me of my confidence. I don't want them to get in the way of actions that are important.

So how can I become Dauntless--how can we all strengthen our bravery? Here are four (somewhat) simple steps. I have a feeling I'll be referring to them a lot when my manuscript goes on submission to editors. (crawls into a corner and hyperventilates)

1. Recognize Our Fears. There have been times when my heart was pounding, and I knew was nervous, but I didn't know why. It always helps to take a moment and try to figure out what I'm afraid of in these situations. Am I scared of the spider sitting quietly in the corner? Am I scared of rejection (agently or editorly or otherwise)? Or of looking foolish?

2. Figure Out Why They Make Us Afraid. Once we identify our fears, it's important to understand why they exist in the first place. Are we scared of that spider in the corner crawling on us while we sleep? Are we scared of rejection because it makes us feel worthless, like we're never going to be wanted (by agents or editors or anyone)?

3. Come Up With Reasons Why The Fear is Irrational. Logic doesn't always make the fear go away, but it can make it much easier to reach that step of bravery, where we're afraid but do something anyway. Many fears are irrational when we take the time to think.

For example, I used to be terrified of spiders because of a terrible, awful, no good, very bad spider bite I received in elementary school. For many years thereafter, I refused to go near them or touch them or let them live (I made my dad kill them). But in recent days, I've reasoned with myself that this fear is irrational, because most spiders won't bite me. Most won't even come near me. So just a few days ago, I allowed a spider to live in my room without destroying it, as long as it remained calmly in its corner.

Of course, not every fear is irrational. It makes sense to be afraid in situations where our lives are in danger, because that fear might keep us safe.

4. Embrace The Fear, And Then Ignore It. Being brave doesn't mean we have to stop being afraid; it means we reach a point where we decide the result of the action is worth more than our fear of the action itself. Sometimes it's because the action is important to others, too, like when we choose to stand up for someone who's different even though we're afraid people will laugh. Sometimes the action is important to ourselves, because we want to feel stronger. We want to feel like nothing can break us.

Bravery can save us. It can change our lives, and also the lives of others, if we choose to use our bravery to help them.

So be brave, my dear readers. <3 No matter what you're afraid of, know that you can overcome it.

I'll end with a quote from the Dauntless manifesto:

We believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage

that drives one person to stand up for another.

LOOK!

Happy Tuesday to you all! I've been tagged by the lovely Darci Cole for a game called "LOOK!"


RULES:

If you are tagged, do a search for the word "look" in your work in progress. Copy that paragraph, along with surrounding paragraphs, to your blog, to keep the game afloat. Don't forget to tag others.


Here's the part where the word "look" first appears in my YA sci-fi, Extraction:

---

“You ready to go?” Logan brushes a finger under his left eye, as if he's wiping a bit of dirt away. But it's not dirt; it's a fresh bruise from some punishment an overseer must've given him during the night.

He tenses from his mistake. He doesn't like me to notice these things.

I scowl and move closer to him. “Is that all they did, or is there more?”

“That's all, and I'm fine. We need to go.”

“Put some mud on it, at least.” I crouch and gather a clump of puddle dirt in my hands. Straightening, I press it gently onto the skin below Logan's eye, ignoring his hand pushing mine away. He grumbles, and I smile. “That's better.”

“What, because I look like you?” He snorts and gestures to my mud-covered legs. “Did you sleep in a puddle?”

“No. Maybe then I would've actually slept.”

“You look nice, though.” He tilts his head and gives the dress I'm wearing a crooked smile. It's the only dress I own, light blue, speckled with faded pink flowers. The hem frays at the bottom. I'm even wearing shoes, the ones Laila wore before the Developers stole her away.

---

Now for the tagging...

Michelle Hauk
Mia K Rose
Alisha Klapheke
Jemi Fraser
Kacey  Vanderkarr

And anyone else who wants to participate. ;)

I'm A Writer

There are all kinds of writers.


                    Genre writers


Nonfiction writers

                                                         Agented writers


                                                                             Self-published writers


          Just-starting-out writers

   
                                                       There are writers who hide their talent.
                               And writers who share it with the world.


Whatever kind of writer we are, we are all weavers of w o r d s and worlds.


                                   We are writers.
                               And we are one of many.