Best Writing Advice

You guys are seriously smart. Last Wednesday, when I asked you for the best writing advice you learned the hard way, you seriously impressed me. (No, I’m not saying I had low expectations of you. Just, um, lower.)

Anyway, after the first couple comments made me start taking notes, I decided it’d be greedy of me to keep the tips all to myself. Also, I always have your best interest in mind. (So when I tell you that buying a $50 Barnes & Noble gift card and sending it to me is in your best interest, TRUST ME.)

Behold the genius of my readers:

I learned that during revisions if I’m feeling like I hate my story and it’ll never be any good, it’s because I’ve found the problem. And it may be overwhelming, but that means I can fix it. —Holly

I’ve learned that in order to be a successful writer you have to apply the feedback that makes your manuscript stronger. Don’t revise to please other people. —Amie

Tenacity is the most important thing you need if you want to get published. I’ve written four books, had two agents, and held my breath through way too many “close sales.” Writing a fifth book after all that takes more tenacity than I expected to need. —Jennifer Hoffine

The best thing to do after you finish your first book is... to write another book. Oy! So necessary though. —Sarah Enni

I’m learning slowly but surely to take every bit of criticism, feedback or comment and us it in any way I can - keeping in mind the source of course. —Lindsay

Good question. Probably that you’re not ready until you’re ready. There are no shortcuts in publishing, so it’s better to accept the slow pace/path and enjoy the time given to you to grow. —Rebecca

“The best thing to do after you finish your first book is... to write another book,” is fantastic advice, and some of the best I’ve ever gotten. Also, if a part of your manuscript is borning to write or revise, it will probably be boring for readers too. You're doing something wrong. Fix it, or cut it out. —Katy Upperman

We can all research and Twitter-stalk our hearts out, yes? But writing is the core, the heart; it’s what this industry is based on, non? For me, maybe: writing a book is great, but it’s only when the written product is fantastically stellar does the book matter. —Yahong Chi

I learned to never, never rush a story out! Early on I got that advice from a mentor and I ignored it, to bad results. Now, I revise a novel many times, and run it by a trusted reader before I even think about sending it out. —Catherine Stine

I learned it’s never good to compare your writing journey to someone else’s. Doing that will just aggravate. —Alicia Gregoire

The best thing I’ve learned...the only thing that gets in my way is me. —Becky Wallace

I guess ‘know your characters before you start writing’ has worked for me. I try to make sure I know my characters’ number one goal/motivation in life. This includes minor characters as well, since they sometimes become major players. This helps me cut down on revision time, because it helps me avoid writing flat characters. —Natasha Hanova

You should trust your gut in all instances but one. Whenever you hear yourself saying, “I suck at writing. I'm a failure. I should quit. I'll never, ever make it,” DON’T LISTEN. This is not true. If you love writing, keep writing. But by all means, when you hear, “this chapter sucks,” or “this character is lame,” or “this ending is a let-down”... follow those gut reactions. Thoughts like that usually mean you need to revise, refine and polish. So get to it! —Erin Bowman

No matter how excited I am about a particular manuscript, I need to resist the urge to send it out until I’ve given myself ample time away from it. Time opens my eyes to even the littlest of errors—and of course the big ones too! —Kelly Hashway

I agree with Alicia! Never compare. I love the quote, “The race is long, and in the end, it is only with your self.” —Abby

I think the best “hard learned lesson” I’ve had (so far!) is to back up *EVERYTHING* and keep really, really good notes. It’s a practical thing rather than creative, but I once deleted a huge chunk of a story and subsequently realised I needed it. I hadn’t backed it up, so it was gone and without notes I couldn't remember it well enough to rewrite what I’d lost. Lesson learned! —Miss Cole

I learned the hard way that pacing is crucial. I cut a lot of words to make that happen. And I probably could’ve cut more. I’m still not great with pacing. —Elana Johnson

I learned the hard way not to write a 175K YA novel. Athough I really enjoyed writing it! PS – it’s now 100K. —Alisonmiller20

I am STILL learning, painfully, to give the whole process time. Patience, virtues, all that. I get it. —Alexs Gunderson

That no rejection or critique or comment is the end of the world. —Kathleen Peacock

Adverbs are a menace. —Kat Owens

Manuscript Format—nuff said. — Howlynmartin

One that I learned, is that if you can’t take the critique, you can’t take the correction that will make your story better. If you can’t take correction, how on earth will you be able to take rejection? You know? — Katrina DeLallo

Listen to your gut. (And have a beta reader who calls you on it when you try to half-ass it.) —Kate

This was a hard one: even though you are prepared for it, and you know it's going to happen, rejection stings worse than your daddy’s belt on your backside. It will make you want to quit. But you have to soldier on. —Sarah Nicolas

Uh, I have lots of these tips. The first of which is the one you listed. But also, I’ve learned the hard way to start a story where it actually starts. As in, needing to cut a story in half because it just dragged on and on in the beginning. It’s painful to spend a month working on something only to end up cutting it in the end. So, you know, lesson learned. Eventually. But the main lesson? No more pantsing. That's just asking for pain. —Carolina Valdez Miller

For me so far is that my thinking has been very linear. You start writing the story at the beginning and then move through each chapter to the end.  I realized for me anyway that isn’t how it is going.  I write about a character and then I might right about the mural on the wall that is on the side of the building. Then about the family that owns the building.  It is coming together in pieces.  I will eventually have enough pieces where I will weave it together and create a story out of it.  I realize I am not entirely in charge of this process I need to go with the flow. —Charon

 

Missing anything?

Time Machine? I'll Pass

You guys had some great advice. If you haven’t commented with the best writing tip you learned—the hard way—you can do it here. I’m going to compile all of the tips into one crazy helpful post.

So with all this technology, sometimes I wish I could be a writer in another era. One where I won’t be distracted by Twitter or Facebook or checking my e-mail. One where the TV doesn’t distract me from getting in 1,000 words each day.

And I think this would be such a quiet and peaceful writerly life. Until I see these:

Just saying...  

And for the pedophiles…

Happy weekend, men and their women.

RTW: Learning It the Hard Way

Road Trip Wednesday is a blog carnival, where YA Highway’s contributors and readers post a weekly writing- or reading-related question and answer it on our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s take on the topic.

This week, Road Trip Wednesday goes all interactive. We’re each posting a question on our blogs—then traveling from one blog to the next to answer each others’ questions.

So, tell me...

What’s the best writing tip you learned—the hard way?

For me, it’s this: It doesn’t matter how much research you do on the industry, your story, ergonomic desk chairs, whatever. At some point, if you really want to be published, you have to just write the book.

This Is What Happens During Revisions

The poor Man. When I told him I wanted to write a novel, he was enthusiastic. (OK, enthusiastic and misguided. He thought it was a great idea because J.K. Rowling and that Twilight woman make boatloads. Sigh.)

Anyhow, I warned him that I’d be at the computer more.

I said that I might spend the hours after dinner with my story.

I might have left out the part where I randomly tune out of conversations while pursuing ides.

I think I forgot to explain what revisions are.

I absolutely didn’t tell him he’d be a widower.

My bad.

What do you give up to write?

Read On

Guys, you crack me up. Your book titles, created with the Impossibly Awesome Title-Creating Formula, had me cracking up. Note to self: Don’t read blog comments while drinking water.

Anyway, I was thinking...

A bit ago, I was reading a book I didn’t particularly like. There were scenes where I rolled my eyes. There were times when I didn’t want to finish.

But I did.

I can’t not finish a book. It’s a curse. (I should mention the curse is for fiction only. I can put down a bad or uninteresting nonfiction book just fine.)

So I started wondering … can you?

Getting the Title Right: An 8-Step Plan

Road Trip Wednesday is a blog carnival, where YA Highway’s contributors and readers post a weekly writing- or reading-related question and answer it on our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s take on the topic.

This Week’s Topic: How do you choose your titles?

I know some people say it’s instinct. The title just comes to them out of the blue and it’s the most perfect title ever. Others pick a great line from the novel and use that as a title. Some use the main character’s name or an important event, object, or theme from the book.

Not me.

No, I have a formula. A foolproof formula, by the way. I’m going to share it with you mainly because I like you and you come visit me here.

Since I don’t want to put to much about my current WIP on my blog, I’ll just make up a story on the spot to illustrate my Impossibly Awesome Title-Creating Formula. (That’s your cue to get a pen and paper.)

1. Take the last letter of the name of a supporting character who you wrote into the story for the sole purpose of having a former underwear model play the role should movie rights be optioned. In my fictional story, we’ll call him Emmett.

2. Add the third letter of the name of a love interest who’s irresistible on the page but would warrant a restraining order in real life. I’ll go with Edward.

3. Next, add a middle letter of a responsible parent’s name. I’m choosing the I in Carlisle.

4. After that, add the letter that appears most often in your main character’s name. In this totally fictional example, my main character is named Bella, so I’d go with L.

5. Repeat the letter used in #3 if, and only if, that parent does something irresponsible during the course of the book. Here, I’d repeat I.

6. Because setting’s important, too, add a random letter from the state (or, for fantasy and sci-fi, the kingdom or planet) your story takes place in. I’m going to set mine in … oh, let’s go with Washington. And I’ll choose the letter G.

7. Add the first letter of the last name of the character with the least amount of self-control. Let’s pretend my annoyingly uncontrolled side character’s name is Jasper Hale.

8. Finally, repeat the letter you use in #1 because it rounds the word out and makes it appear prettier on the cover.

Okay, so my totally fake, made-up-right-now-I-promise title is: Twilight. Not bad.

NOTE: Whatever you do, do not use a letter from a second love interest’s name if, by the end, that second love interest gets scummed by the main character. Doing so can result in a TERRRIBLE title, such as Tjwiblight. (And, honestly, would you ever buy that?)

How do you come up with your titles?

Let's Try This Again

Yesterday I posted a love note to my secret valentine. She loved it. I loved her for loving it.

And then I found out I had the wrong valentine. And BohemienneDC two. (Not that there’s anything wrong with having two valentines. I hear you get double the chocolate that way. Interestingly, a double valentine very rarely leads to double the Tiffany. In case you were wondering.)

Still, I think poor Rebecca Behrens got the shaft. I mean, she woke up on February 14 expecting a love note and … nothing. I bet she feels like the kid in kindergarten who eats paste and never gets any Valentine’s Day cards. So, Rebecca, enjoy some kissing animals for V-Day:

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Also, I would just like to point out that at one point in her life Rebecca wanted to be a fly girl on In Living Color. R.Beccs (can I call your fly girl younger self that?), Happy Valentine’s Day.

p.s. Check out Rebecca’s blog and follow her on Twitter.

How Do I Love Thee?

There are two reasons I’m thankful that today is Valentine’s Day.

1.     I hang onto the hope that Kay Jewelers will finally stop airing its stupid commercials with that stupid jingle* that never gets out of your head. I’m tired of seeing V-Day ads for the same multicolored charm bracelet that Santa approved of throughout all of November and December.

2.     I get to participate in the Blogger Lovefest dreamed up by Kate Hart, Tahereh Mafi, Kristin Miller, and Sarah Enni. I’m just glad they’re using their superpowers for good this time.

So about the Lovefest. Here’s how it worked: Bloggers were paired and instructed to blog about their secret Valentine today. (Yes, it reminds me of those awesome Valentine’s Day celebrations in elementary school, too.) When I received my secret Valentine I had a minor freak out. I’d never heard of my mysterious blogger. Two bars of chococlate later and I was fine.

Because Rebecca Behrens is cool. Really cool. I know this because, like any good secret admirer, I stalked her.**

Edited to add: And here’s where I find out that this is not Rebecca Behrens at all. It appears I was assigned the wrong blog address. However, BohemienneDC is still very cool. And the real Rebecca Behrens is also very cool for understanding. So tomorrow I’ll post my Lovefest ode to her. 

But I thought it might be creepy to slide a letter under her door, so here’s my Valentine’s Day note:

Dear, Rebecca BohemienneDC,

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways…

No. 1

You’re an enabler—in a good way. Seriously. Reading your Twitter stream inspires me. You’re constantly posting your word counts and, while I may be a tad jealous when you whip out 1,000 words, I’m also motivated to make a big dent in my WIP.

No. 2

Your tweets are hilarious, though they make me want to waste more time on twitter.

No. 3

You knit. Okay, okay, this may be a bit selfish, but I could totally use a new scarf.

No. 4

You live in D.C. (Near me! Hi!) and described the city as the kind of cold that burns your nose hairs and makes your toenails hurt. And that, dear friend, is the most perfect way to describe winter. That, and traffic-jammed.

No. 5

You said this: “Remember, writing is supposed to be fun. In between all the scary, self-doubting, frustrating, horrifying parts.” Thanks, I think we all needed that.

Admiringly,

Your Valentine

p.s. Because Rebecca BohemienneDC says she’s super shy, how about you head over to her blog and say hi? And follow her on Twitter.

*Sorry for infecting you.

** Um, Rebecca BohemienneDC? Please hold off on filing for a restraining order. I promise I don’t even know your address.

Loving YA

First order of business: I have a guest post up on Tahereh Mafi’s blog. When you’re done here, check it out. I think you’ll like it.  Also, I booby-trapped my guest post to send Skittles through the Internet for anyone who reads it.

Right. So, about YA...

I didn’t always read young adult books. If you consider the story of my life, it’s a pretty recent development, one that I probably would have written down in my diary when I was younger. (Actually, blogs are like public diaries so technically I am making a note in my diary.)

See, I never knew there was such a thing as YA books. In high school, we read the classics. And even though some should have been filed under YA during their time (A Separate Peace, Rome & Juliet, Lord of the Flies, and Catcher in the Rye come to mind) we didn’t consider them anything but Super Special Books We Should Like Because Important People Think They’re Great (or SSBWSLBIPTTG for short).

Incidentally, my love for SSBWSLBIPTTG and others that I read in high school or college led me to only read classics. Seriously. I figured there were plenty and I had to catch up.

It wasn’t until years after college that I started reading current authors—but still not YA. And then.

Then … I don’t remember which book did it. I was sucked in. I am sucked in.

I wish high school me could have supplemented all of those classics with YA. Because they’re fun and real and exciting and exactly how my teen years felt even if I never faced half of the problems these young protagonists face.

(To be clear, I was never pregnant, never met my smokin’ hot guardian angel, never got attacked by zombies or made out with a vampire. There was this one time when me and my classmates had to fight to the death on TV but that’s about as crazy as my high school years got.)

And all of that is why I’m writing YA.

Why do you write for teens? (Or kids. Hi MG writers! I love your novels, too!)

RTW: Fictional Characters In Love. Awww.

 Road Trip Wednesday is a blog carnival, where YA Highway’s contributors and readers post a weekly writing- or reading-related question and answer it on our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s take on the topic.

This Week’s Topic: What are your favorite literary couples. You know, the ones you like apart, but LOVE together!

This is a tough one. I pretty much love any couples in books. So I’m going to cheat and list a few. Kill me if you must.

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Romeo and Juliet

I mean, come on. Love at first sight. Forbidden love. Tragedy. It’s the best love story ever told—and that’s saying a lot since the protagonists die in the end. And, yes that’s a spoiler but if you don’t know that by now then you’ve been living in a cave. (So, does that cave get high-speed Internet? Because if you can read my blog you can most definitely read Romeo and Juliet.)

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Elizabeth Bennet and Darcy 

So there’s no poisoning or blood in the end of Pride and Prejudice but there’s unlikely love. And lots of heart thumping moments. And a happy ending this time. (Assume any other characters written by Jane Austen or those Bronte ladies belongs here, too.)

And now for YA…

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Katniss and Peeta

My husband read The Hunger Games series and barely paid attention to the Peeta or Gale debate. I, on the other hand, was firmly on Team Peeta and that’s the romance I love from this book. Also, it gives me a great reason to show you my pick for Peeta in the film. And any chance I have to slap up a photo of Alex Pettyfer, I take it. See...

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OK, revert your eyes back to me. Um, guys… Really, you can scroll back up and drool later. Because I have one more couple I loved.

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Katsa and Po

I loved how Graceling’s Katsa, a trained fighter, is able to find love. And that Po challenges her and respects her. Because love plus knives divided by a quest equals awesome squared.

And those are some of my favorite fictional couples. What are yours?

Writers Lie.

My characters have a mind of their own.

We hear this all the time. As writers, we think: Yeah, mine too. Pesky bastards. Non-writers think: These people deserve a straight jacket and padded room. So maybe I should explain when I say my characters kicked me in the shins and forced the story in another direction.

First, I’m not nuts. (OK, maybe I’m nuts but it’s not because I hear pretend people speak to me.)

Second, consider lying.

It starts out innocent enough. Someone asks you to watch their dog for the weekend—the same dog that peed on your rug last time, leaving a dark dribble mark you’ll never be able to walk barefoot over again—and you say, “I’d love to but I’m busy.”

Then things spiral out of control. Soon you’re explaining how you’re going out of town to help your mother clean her house because your father hurt his hip while cleaning out the gutters. Oh, and did you know that your mother’s house is extra messy because she’s been babysitting your sister’s illegitimate child for a month. And that child isn’t potty trained.

You get the idea. The lie takes on a life of its own, and before you know it you no longer have to watch your neighbor’s dog—though you do have to explain to your 15-year-old sister why she’ll be getting a gift box of diapers in the mail.

That’s how it works when you’re writing a story. Things happen you didn’t foresee. Characters do things you never intended for them to do. Your mind twists and turns until the story is alive.

Non-writers: That’s what writers are talking about.

In other words: We lie. A lot.

Do you guys find your characters push your plot in directions you've never imagined? And, truthfully, does it work like a lie for you or do they, um, really speak?

An E-Card Blog Post

And that extremely important thing is that I’ve been blogging for three months and it’s about time I thanked you for reading. So...

 and...

and...

 because, really...

 And:

 Also,

Have a good weekend, everyone!

RTW: Groundhog Day

Road Trip Wednesday is a blog carnival, where YA Highway’s contributors and readers post a weekly writing- or reading-related question and answer it on our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s take on the topic.

This Week’s Topic: It’s Groundhog Day! Pretend you’re Bill Murray in the 1993 movie—what book would you read over and over forever?

I may lose readers saying this (I know how passionate people are about Groundhog Day) but I never liked that film.

Wait! Don’t leave me! My distaste for a certain Bill Murray movie may make you want to pelt me with rocks but I promise I have other endearing qualities. I’ll share my dessert with you! (If I don’t like it.) I can quote almost any line from Zoolander! (So I’m a little rusty…) And I am crazy good at the board game Cranium! (Join my team or watch out.)

Right. So none of that answers the question. (Can I add “Grade-A Rambler” to my list above?) If I had to read one book over and over and over again until the pages crumpled into a fine powder beneath my fingers, I’d pick The Secret Garden.

I know, weird right. I kind of thought I’d pick one of my favorite YA books. I knew I wouldn’t pick Harry Potter because I’m guess that will be a common theme today and, well, I thought you’d like to see a different photo.

See:

Purty.

The reason I picked The Secret Garden is because…

A. It’s not too short. I’d love to re-read something like The Little Prince (Le Petit Prince) every day until I die. But if I’m reading this every day until I’m 80, I need something that’ll take me more than a half hour to finish.

B. I remember my mom reading this to me when I was younger and wanting to do that—write a book that touched people and made them want to stay up super late just to finish the chapter. (Oh, come on. You really think finishing the entire book in one night was an option at that age? Please, I barely got a bedtime extension for reading.)

So there you have it. The book I’d read over and over. What’s yours?

Dearest readers: I love comments! They're pretty much the highlight of my day. OK, that's a lie. You all know that would be dessert. But they're the second biggest highlight.

I've noticed people commenting without URLs back to their blogs. That's fine to do, but I thought I'd point out the little "Link to your website" option when you comment. It's beneath your e-mail in the form. If you want to make your name a hyperlink to your blog, just click that option. And then I can visit you and follow you and leave gushing comments.