Writer's Resource: Write or Die

A few weeks ago, I talked about programs like LeechBlock, Freedom, and Anti-Social and how they could increase your productivity by forcibly removing you from social media sites.

Here's a program that takes it a step further: Write or Die.

From their website's About section: "Write or Die is a web application that encourages writing by punishing the tendency to avoid writing. Start typing in the box. As long as you keep typing, you’re fine, but once you stop typing, you have a grace period of a certain number of seconds and then there are consequences."

The consequences can be toggled from Gentle--a box pops up when you haven't written for a little while, reminding you to keep writing--all the way to Kamikaze, where the program will start unwriting the words you've written if you don't keep typing!

Their tagline ("Putting the 'Prod' in Productivity") says it all. The website touts WOD as the best cure for writer's block around, and I have friends who swear by it. To be honest, I don't suffer from writer's block much--writer's extreme wordiness and need of editing is more my problem--so I haven't tried it.

But if you're someone who often sits in front of a blank screen, wishing you had some motivation to make the words come out, WOD might be just the thing for you.

The program costs $10 and is available in both desktop and iPad versions. If you've tried it before, or you decide to give it a shot, come back and let me know how it went!

Curious Lives of Teenagers: Inspiring

Disclaimer: Normally I attempt to adopt a more neutral mock-scientific tone for this column, but I can't be neutral on this one. 
In June when most of the graduating seniors at the high school where I teach were out celebrating the close of their secondary education, a couple of my lovely former students headed down to Sinaloa Mexico to do medical humanitarian work.

Their plane crashed.

 In a river. The pilot was killed. The two girls--best friends-- and another young man from a different school were heavily injured and left to fend for themselves. One of the girls became unconscious. Her best friend managed to get her to some kind souls, fishermen who were on the river. The fishermen saved them from there.

This is not a teen novel I'm reviewing. Not a Lifetime made-for-TV-movie. These are my former students, and they were always well-behaved, lovely, and gracious no matter what Crime or Punishment I threw at them. So, naturally, it was really hard to hear about this story, and to think about the pain they must be in. It hurt everyone who knew them to think about these lovely girls in pain. But, of course, the worst thing we can do is underestimate anyone, especially the perpetually underestimated teenager. These girls have been blogging about their experiences with recovery, and wow. I'm so honored to know them. Check it out, and if you get a chance, you may want to help them send their rescuers to get an education (yep. of course they use their pain to help others.)

And next time you're writing about teens, remember that some of them are as strong, and noble, and kind as this.


http://miracleonriofuerte.blogspot.com/

What to Read Fall 2012: Part 2

ALA ARCs are oh so much fun. Too bad I have to slow down my reading of them as I head back to school, but then again, I get to go back to teaching. Yay! So here's more of how I spent my summer:

Here's the scoop:

Reading over tacos at my favorite
 local taco stand.

1. Blessed by Tonya Hurley

""Agnes!' My mother wailed, clutching the pale arm of her only daughter. 'Is he really worth it? Worth this?'" Begins the chic new trilogy by the author of the Ghostgirl series (also former personal publicist to the George Michael, Prince, Morrissey, The Cure, and the Olson twins among others. Wow. BTW Her coolness level is definitely reflected in this book.) And from there, it's a fast-paced, edgy, and twisted dark adventure into the lives of three girls who are given matching bracelets by a mysterious hot guy while checked into a Catholic hospital. After that the girls are pulled deeper and deeper into the lore of ancient Catholic Saints, and into a modern world where they are the Saints. Really original idea. I loved the concept, and the thrill of the book, and recommend it for those who are comfortable in an edgy, dark YA world (I tend to be a bit of a wuss), enjoy exploring religion in a fresh way, and like a fast-paced adventure. Watch for it 9/25/12. Simon & Schuster.

2. Before You Go by James Prellier

Heading out on my sweet
beach cruiser to find a nice
spot to read.

"Jude squeezed his eyes shut, blinking away the sun's glare, and waited for the eight-fifteen-in-the-freaking-morning bus." Eight-fifteen as freaking early? I wish. Such a teenager. And he is. Jude is moody, complex, and has a right to be. He's been quietly dealing with the guilt of having been on duty when his little sis drowned years ago. Unfortunately, we know that she won't be his only tragedy. The book begins with a preface that alerts the readers that there will be another traumatic event at the end, and we spend the rest of the book building up to said tragedy. Throughout the work Jude becomes a richly complex character who falls in love with a complex real human girl, and makes good friends as he spends a summer working a crap job on the beach. But we all know something's coming, and it does. And it's sad. I recommend this one for anyone in the mood for rich complex characters facing problems for which they should be far too young. It's out now (Came out July).  Feiwel and Friends (Macmillan).

3. Colin Fischer by Ashley Edward Miller and Zack Stentz 

At my desk 

"Colin clutched his precious, dog-eared Notebook to his chest." Is not the sort of first line I expected from the screenwriting duo behind X-Men: First Class and Thor!, and neither is this delightfully quirky mystery whose crime-solver has Aspergers and needs a collection of facial-expression notecards to tell him what people are feeling. I know that the autism narration thing has been done, and done well before (I absolutely love Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time), but this one doesn't feel derivative. The characters are well-drawn as Colin navigates freshman year without the help of his aide, and ultimately sets out to solve the mystery of who brought a gun to school. I recommend this book for anyone who wants to re-experience high school from a naively logical perspective, loved Encyclopedia Brown, or just wants a sweet and engaging mystery. Look for it November 2012. Razorbill. (Penguin).

Happy Fall (into) Reading Everyone!!!

Writer's Resource: Voice Lessons (not the singing kind) From LA SCBWI

So I almost forgot that I had a post scheduled for today, because I've been spending every single free second stalking the WriteOn forums.  There are so many great writers out there!  Hop on over and take a look if you haven't already.

Also, quick announcement about an upcoming query workshop - Brenda Drake and three other fabulous writers will critique 40 query letters on August 20-24.  Check out her blog to learn more.  Winners will be chosen on Friday, 8/17.

Now on to my regularly scheduled (but almost missed because of WriteOn) post.

Voice Lessons (not the singing kind) 

Developing a character's voice is a tricky thing, and while at SCBWI's LA conference I had the good fortune of attending several workshops that addressed the topic of voice.

Voice is more than the words your character says or the actions/reactions your character has to their situation.  Voice is in how your character sees the world around them - every detail about your character should act as a filter for what your character comments on, be it through dialogue or internal monologue.

Picture three different characters walking down the same street - a cement layer, a florist and a bird watcher.  The cement layer would probably notice cracks in the concrete, or uneven places in the pavement.  The florist would probably not comment on the street at all, because he is too busy admiring the foliage that lines the road.  The bird watcher wouldn't notice anything below her neck, because she's too busy looking up at the sky.

Think about who your character is and how those details might affect the way he or she sees the world, then bring that world view into your writing.  If you are writing in first person or third person close, you should never deviate from that world view, because it is a reflection of who your character is.

A few exercises that may help develop your character's world view and voice:

1.  Write a series of journal entries from your MC's POV. What kinds of things are important to him/her? How do they spend their day?  What language do they use? How do they feel?  Start thinking of your character as more than a person from your story - think of them as an actual person, and start to put yourself into their shoes.

2. Write down a series of adjectives that describes your character.  Now start replacing each word with an antonym. How would these words change your character's actions? Their dialogue? The word choice?  Understanding what your character shouldn't do can often help you make smarter choices about what they should be doing.

3. Go back and read the first few pages of your favorite books.  What did the author do to set up the story? The character? How quickly did you get a sense of who this new person might be?  How does one character feel versus another character from an entirely different story? Why do they feel different to you?

4. Read the award winners, both in your genre and out of your genre.  Pulitzer prize winners are often a great place to start, because they almost always have rich, complex characters that hop off the pages right from the opening paragraph.

The key takeaway for me was that developing voice takes practice and patience - it can't be forced. Practice, read, and practice some more.

Now back to the WriteOn forums...

Happy writing!

YA Book Pick: BITTERBLUE

On the second Monday of every month, we choose an outstanding YA book to review. We want to spotlight books of interest to aspiring writers, as well as highlight some of our favorite books and authors!


This month's book is the long awaited BITTERBLUE, the follow up to GRACELING, by Kristen Cashore.

Synopsis (from Goodreads): Eight years after Graceling, Bitterblue is now queen of Monsea. But the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisors, who have run things since Leck died, believe in a forward-thinking plan: Pardon all who committed terrible acts under Leck's reign, and forget anything bad ever happened. But when Bitterblue begins sneaking outside the castle--disguised and alone--to walk the streets of her own city, she starts realizing that the kingdom has been under the thirty-five-year spell of a madman, and the only way to move forward is to revisit the past.

Two thieves, who only steal what has already been stolen, change her life forever. They hold a key to the truth of Leck's reign. And one of them, with an extreme skill called a Grace that he hasn't yet identified, holds a key to her heart.

First Line: "When he grabs mama's wrist and yanks her toward the wall-hanging like that, it must hurt."

I love this opening for several reasons.  It's been a while since I read Graceling, and with a single line Cashore threw me right back into the action and the terror that Bitterblue and her mother experienced while King Leck was in power. 

It also does a nice job of setting up the confusion that Leck creates with his Grace - why is this little girl so nonchalant about this? It's a perfect set up to the mystery that unfolds in the rest of the book.

I've read many times how agents frown on the use of a prologues, but I think Bitterblue provides the perfect example of how they can be extremely effective.  In this case, it re-grounds the reader in Leck's reign of terror, and sets up the journey that Bitterblue must take as queen.  

Highlights:  

Queen Bitterblue is a rich and well thought out character. Chashore does a brilliant job of developing her flaws and showcasing her as a real person, versus someone regal and queenly from the get-go. Readers get to discover her faults and strengths alongside Bitterblue, and it makes for a rich and layered character study as we watch Bitterblue grow throughout the story.

I was pleasantly surprised by the mystery angle that the novel took. In many ways it reminded me of a Sherlock Holmes story, or similar mystery where complex secrets are unraveled by the main character.  The twists and turns made for an exciting and engaging read, and I found myself staying up later than intended so that I could read one more page.

Prior to reading Bitterblue, I read Fire, the second book in the Graceling series meant to be a standalone. While the book does indeed stand on its own, it provides clues and insight  into the mystery that Queen Bitterblue works to unravel. I would highly recommend reading Fire before Bitterblue.

Notes for Writers:  

Cashore builds a rich and complex world without spending pages and pages explaining the details to readers. The Monsean world comes alive through action and character development. It's a must read for any writer of fantasy struggling with world building.  

For anyone working on a mystery, Bitterblue provides an excellent example of a well-paced, well thought out, multi-layered mystery. 

A good read for: 

Fans of the Graceling Series and fantasy fans/writers. I'd also recommend it for anyone attempting to write a mystery, or anyone who enjoys complex, layered mysteries in the vein of Sherlock Holmes.  

But before you read Bitterblue, make you sure you check out Graceling and Fire.  The entire series is beautifully written and hard to put down, whether you're a writer or just a fan of great stories.

Happy reading!