Look At What Came in the Mail Yesterday

Anyone want to guess what new release arrived 4 days early?

Queen "B"s

Last Friday evening, I attended an author event at the nearest Barnes and Noble bookstore. It featured three awesome women YA authors whose last names all happened to begin with the letter B:

I'm not sure what they're looking at but from left to right: Sarah Rees Brennan, Holly Black, and Libba Bray

Cassandra Clare was scheduled to appear on the panel but unfortunately she couldn't attend much to the disappointment of my teen posse. But then, her last name begins with "C" and I would have had to think of something more clever for a title to this post. So, I guess it evens out, right?

Anyway, back to the event. If you've ever been to a panel event or a single author signing (single as in "the only one" not their marital status) and you love books, and especially if you dream of the day when you might be the featured author, that moment when you see the author is thrilling. At least for me it is.

We were cramped into an area which was much too small for the number attending. I mean, seriously. Four YA authors were supposed to speak, there were about 4 rows of chairs (maybe 24 chairs total), along with about 6 comfy chairs against the window (I'm thinking those people must have camped out or bribed the staff to get those). If you didn't get a seat, you stood cramped together or sat on the floor at the bottom of the table - not much room. I stood behind the chairs, but got to lean against a bookshelf. It was on the warm side, I was tired, and they were late due to traffic. However, those feelings melted away when I spotted Libba, followed by Holly, and then Sarah walking down the aisle opposite me toward the gathering. There's something almost magical about seeing someone in person who has contributed something so creative to the world - whether it be a book, music, art...I don't know, call me crazy.

The night began with the trio humorously bantering back and forth, and chatting about each other's latest books: Sarah Rees Brennan's Unspoken, Holly Black is between books (Black Heart, the last book in her trilogy, was released a few months ago and  Doll Bones, an MG novel will be released in 2013), and Libba Bray's The Diviners. The highlight had to be Brennan's spontaneous "interpretive dance" version of The Diviners. 

Sarah brings Kami, Angela, and Jared to life during her reading from her novel, Unspoken.

Then each author read an excerpt from her own novel. When Bray read from her prologue from The Diviners not a sound could be heard from the audience. Brennan's read was highly entertaining and was complete with accents and a little disrobing...ahem. Holly could have promoted from her latest book, Black Heart or from Doll Bones. But did she? NO! (that's a surprised no not an angry no, people). Instead, she pulled out the stapled pages from a portion of her unfinished manuscript, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown. How awesome is that? Can I say how that spoke volumes to me? Trusting her audience with the beginnings of a new work. And the excerpt was wonderfully creepy!

Next was the question and answer session. My favorite question that was asked was, When did you know that you wanted to be a writer? Sarah knew at 7, Holly knew at around 9, Libba at 18. Although each shared a personal story related to that moment when she knew, Libba's story was very moving. Holly spoke about how finishing a first draft was the hardest part of writing for her, and about how difficult it was to take an idea that's inside her head and getting it down on paper the way she imagines it.

In the end I was glad that I went even though I didn't wait around for the signing portion. It had been the end to a long week and I wasn't feeling that great (the beginnings of a cold), there was a big crowd, and the girls were anxious to leave. These women were a class act.

Have you read any books from these authors?

Have You Heard?

1. One of my most favorite Harry Potter loving writing friends - otherwise known as Donna Weaver - recently signed a publication contract with *Rhemalda Publishing! I am over the moon! She is hardworking, talented, and one of the nicest people I know. And now she can add author to that list. You can read her announcement here and all the details here. Congratulations, Donna!

*Donna will appreciate this. Do you know what the first thing I thought of was when I read Rhemalda Publishing? I'll let you guess.

2. Sticking with the Potter thread that seems to be running through this post, have you heard that Emma Watson is playing the role of Sam in the Perks of Being A Wallflower, due to be released on September 21? I loved this book and can't wait to see her recreate a member of a completely different trio. I'm  especially excited because the author Stephen Chbosky wrote the screenplay.

3. I am back to my crazy work-school-taxi schedule which includes little free time, BUT the writing bug has bitten and I've been squeezing in a bit of writing time each day. Yay.

August Goodies

Hey!
How've you been?

Just popping in to say I miss you and I hope to blog for real soon. The second half of the summer has proved to be nothing short of chaotic. Thankfully, it's been all mostly good. The highlights include my parents unexpectedly visiting for a week. We had a blast spending time with each other every day, especially since my dad has had some serious medical issues and we hadn't seen my parents in 3 years. Also, the last few weeks have been focused on shopping, organizing, and packing for my oldest child who is leaving for college. I'm proud and excited (and sad and wish I were going off to college for the 1st time). This is huge and I'm not quite sure how I'm going to react when leave him 900 miles away [he's 18, Suz, not 8], but I did buy the biggest box of tissues I could find, just in case.

Suffice it to say there has been little time for reading, writing, blogging, or internet time. However, before I scoot out of here again, I'd like to mention a couple of good things happening in the writing world.

First, if you haven't heard already, my buddy, Donna Hosie has an agent! She's being represented by Beth Phelan of the Waxman Agency. Yay, Donna! She has worked so hard, and even through the ups and downs of her writing journey, she never lost faith in herself and her writing. She's truly an inspiration to me and many others.Why not click over her blog, Musings of a Penniless Writer, and congratulate her? And if you're not a follower, I'd encourage you to follow her blog. She's sooooo close to 300.

Camp NaNoWriMo is in full swing. If I wasn't driving a round trip of 1800 miles this month, this is what I'd be doing right now. Another dear Donna friend, Donna Weaver, from Weaving A Tale or Two is writing like a maniac this month trying to reach 50,000 words. Keep going, Donna! I believe in you!

Also, Write On Con is happening, like, now! What I love about this conference, besides the fact that it's FREE, is that even if you can't participate while it's happening, the threads and vlogs are up to view when it's convenient. I can still listen to the awesome advice from agents, editors and authors at my leisure.

Oh! Have you seen Josin McQuein's cover for Premeditated? I can't wait for this book!

So that's about it! I hope to visit your blogs as soon as things settle down in about a week or two.

What's been happening with you? I'd love to read about it or even a quick hello in the comments.

Friday Favorites 7/6/12

Favorite Song of the Week
"In February" by Delay Trees - Special thanks to Jason (and I suspect Tuuli too :) for recommending this Finnish band. This song is a great addition to my current WIP playlist. It perfectly captures a mood I'm trying to write for my main character.

Favorite Dream
David Grohl gave me a pixie haircut using a razor. Not quite the Stephenie Meyersesque dream that would inspire a novel and catapult my writing career. That's what I get for sharing my "worst haircut ever" story with my sis-in-law recently and watching Foo Fighters videos last Tuesday night.

How sweet is this little sleeping chickadee?

Favorite Summer Moment
My 8-year-old loves to go out in our backyard and explore after dinner. The heat of the day has subsided and it's quiet, except for the birds calling back and forth to each other. Often, I join her and read or write outside. Last week we watched two chickadees hop around a spruce tree on the other side of my fence in my neighbor's yard. After a while, the pair flew down to the fence, hopping from the pointed top pickets to the horizontal rails. Then one chickadee nestled itself in the corner between the post and the top rail. We watched it, amazed at how after a short time, the little bird appeared to be sleeping. And sure enough, the other chickadee did the same  in the corner of the next post. As twilight approached we left the sleeping birds and went inside. They've repeated this ritual every night since. Moments like this: Gold.

Tell me about your favorite anything this week.

One Word in Front of the Other: IWSG

If you saw this badge in your blogroll yesterday and today, you'll know that it's time for another installment of the Insecure Writer's Support Group. I think I need to add my name to the official Alex list because I missed a couple of months, but I'm posting today anyway.

I'm in the infatuation stage of my latest WiP. Head over heels with my first chapter!

Instead of jumping right into to my ms this time with only a couple of character names, I thought about it a lot. I listened to music, wrote a lot of notes and let the ideas simmer. I've had this idea inside me for such a long time that knowing where to start overwhelmed me. I did have a couple hundred words written down from when I first attempted this last fall, but soon realized that this was not where my story needed to start. But where?

To answer that question, I needed to know not only where I wanted to start but where and how I wanted this to end, and how to get there. Actually, I had a pretty good idea on how it was going to end, but there was a huge, wide gap in the middle.

Until last week. Again, the music. I can't explain it, but somehow the story poured out as I listened to "Simple Song" by The Shins and "The Pretender" by the Foo Fighters to name a couple. Before I knew it I had a long list of plot points that I could easily organize into an outline.

Three things have helped me in this starting over process:
1. brainstorming and solitary thinking time (something that I have now that the school/work year is over)
2. an outline identifying my starting point, my ups, downs, and turning points, conflicts and resolutions.
3. reading books on writing - I want to emphasize here that I wasn't looking for any answers or shortcuts, but rather wanted read the experience of others. I learn so much by reading about other author's journeys and feel inspired to find my own way.

I just finished the first chapter and want to jump for joy. I'll admit I was afraid of where those first words would come from and if the rest would follow. And they did. Because you know what? I'm a writer and I love to write.

If you're doubting yourself and feeling insecure, I'd like to recommend a book I'm reading now called Escaping into the Open: The Art of Writing True by Elizabeth Berg. It's encouraging and reminds us that we write because we find joy in the act of expressing ourselves with the written word. Sometimes there are times  in our lives that take us away from our writing. Sometimes it's a short time while we finish a project, study for exams, take care of sick children, etc. Other times it's a long stretch - 9 long months for me - and we wonder if that same joy will return, wonder if we'll remember how to write, and wonder if it's worth starting over.

Let me assure you, if you're meant to be a writer, it's worth it. That familiar pull to spend an hour on the computer or with my notebook, the satisfaction of writing a 500 word scene without blinking and then reading it back and thinking, "Damn. This is pretty good." There's nothing like it.

Creating Characters

*Favorite Things Friday will return next week. I intended to get this post up earlier in the week but life butted in instead. I thought it would be too long with the favorites.

I'm currently developing the main characters for my new WIP and having a blast. One element of this novel is to create a strong, trio of friends. I've been reading some great posts and chapters about how to develop memorable characters, and thinking about some of my favorite literary characters, particularly in children's literature.I thought I'd share a little about how I'm approaching these characters and how I'm shaping their personalities.

As I searched around the net for tips on this topic, I knew I didn't want to fill in a huge character trait sheet. Some authors love this method when they're starting out.. And I say, "If that's what inspires you, go for it!" Instead, I thought about what was important to me, what do I like to know about someone, and tried to come up with my own brief profile for my main characters and some secondary ones.

At first I just brainstormed and took notes, particularly after listening to music which I felt represented something about that character. The floodgates of personality and backstory open up when I listen to these songs. Then I try to organize my thoughts in each character's profile. I'm also asking myself questions about how I want to portray relationships between characters and taking notes on that. Below, are a couple of links to recent posts about developing characters which I've found helpful. And I've included the brief profile and some of the questions I've been using. I hope you find them helpful.

Excellent posts on character development:

Crafting Multi-Layered Characters @ Adventures in YA and Children's Publishing
Developing Characters with multiple posts on different topics relating to character @ Janice Hardy's blog, The Other Side of the Story.

Name:

Song:

Age:

Place in family:

Physical Description:

Personality Traits:

Quirks:

Comforts:

Favorites:

Pet Peeves/Frustrations:

What is s/he good at:

Not so good at:

Fears/Insecurities:

Hopes/Dreams:

Beliefs:

Backstory Information:

Questions:

How did they meet each other?

What has sealed their friendship with each other?

How do these friends relate to their parents/family? How does affect who they are and how they relate to each other?

Do you create your characters before you start writing or develop them as you go along? Do you use a profile or character sheet? What do you like to ask yourself (or your characters) as you create them?