Laurel's Leaves

Fridge face: get to a character's heart through his stomach

2012-02-01T08:51:00.002-05:00

Jane opens Brenna’s fridge and sees neat rows of French mineral water, bins stuffed with fresh veggies, and hiding behind a row of organic condiments, a half-eaten shoo-fly pie.

Who is Brenna?
A) A Southern grandma who runs Jane's quilting circle.
B) An upwardly-mobile, urban gym-addict who's ashamed of her rural roots.
C) A disorganized, free-spirited artist who rarely remembers to eat.

If you guessed B, then you know that what’s in a character’s fridge tells you a lot about her. Specifically, it can tell you about the following:

relationship to food
Does she love to cook and have lots of interesting ingredients on hand? Does she eat only out of necessity and give little thought to food?

level of tidiness and ability to plan
Is her fridge dirty or sparkling? Is it bare or full enough to feed an army at a moment's notice? Are foods in logical places? Do oddball items find their way inside?

health-consciousness
Is she a raw-foods vegan? A junk-food junkie? All organic? Cares only if the food is quick and tasty?

level of sophistication
Does she eat only plain, all-American foods or does she try cuisines from all over the world?

socioeconomic status (or strivings)
Is her food pricey foreign imports, middle-America name brands or cheap generics?

willingness to indulge herself
Does she allow herself a tiny pint of Ben & Jerry’s or a freezer full of it? Does she have a freezer-burned 5-gallon vat of generic vanilla ice cream because it’s a “good value”?

spending priorities
Does she skimp on one food category to spend more on another? Is eating organic more important than, say, having cable TV? Does she stick to only WIC-covered items?

ethnic or socioeconomic background
Does she keep specialized ingredients on hand from a particular culture? What are her childhood comfort foods she hides?

place on the traditional to trendy spectrum
Does she have Tupperware containers of leftover tuna-noodle casserole or cartons of takeout from the hip Vietnamese place? Ranch dip or hummus? String beans or edamame?

What's in your character's fridge? How can you use this exercise to know your character better, even if a fridge peek would never fit your story?

*repost from Sept. 2010

New adult: the chicken or the egg?

2012-01-27T13:09:00.004-05:00

There's a lively discussion going on over at Elle Strauss's blog about genre niches that aren't being filled. Many readers commented on the lack of books geared specifically toward college-aged kids.

The prevailing wisdom among legacy publishers--at least as far as I can see--is that college kids don't read for fun. They're too busy studying.

The truth is, if they're "too busy," it's playing XBox, going to frat parties and watching Jersey Shore. The college years are some of the most free and breezy of your entire life. The number of classroom hours is a fraction of that of high school kids. And the amount of "homework"? Well, my professor husband says it has steadily dropped as the cost of tuition has gone up. (One of the many things very broken about higher ed these days is just how little actual work students do. Make them work hard, you get bad evaluations and lose your job.)

This market niche is ripe for the picking, not only because of the sheer amount of free time college kids have. They also grew up reading, thanks to the phenomenon that is Harry Potter. The reason they stop reading isn't busy-ness. It's the lack of reading material that appeals to them. They want books more mature than YA--dealing with the transition to adulthood, without being fully adult. And since none exist, they stop reading. So maybe the "lack of market" is a self-perpetuating problem.

Let's be honest here--isn't advertising done in part to create demand for a product? Make enticing products and advertise like crazy and the co-eds will come.

What do you think? Is this a niche that indies/small presses should band together to fulfill?

Blog slog

2012-01-20T13:47:00.004-05:00

Call it Seasonal Affective Disorder, or "my anemia isn't gone despite the horsepills," or post-holiday slump, or immobilized-by-major-decisions-to-be-made.

It's been a struggle to blog.

There. I've said it. And I know I'm not alone. Today Adam Heine at Author's Echo talks about what he calls "Blog Fatigue." Go take a look. It's good.

I've tried many of his suggestions. Taken hiatuses. Done the reposting thing. Posted pictures and videos that caught my attention. Arranged guest posts.

But I feel guilty about this. I like the teaching aspect of this blog and feel like a truant when I can't consistently show up with something good and helpful. And when I put in a halfhearted effort, I think it shows. No one comments and then I feel even less motivated to keep up the blog. It turns into this downward spiral of acedia.

Have you dealt with this? How?

Compelling compulsions

2012-01-17T19:50:00.000-05:00

Compulsion is a deep-seated need to do something, a belief that a particular action will make one's anxiety evaporate. More serious compulsions we label "OCD"--obsessive compulsive disorder. OCD sufferers need to wash their hands frequently to dispel their anxiety about germs, or flick light switches a certain number of times to keep the universe in harmony.

Most of us have less dramatic compulsions that surface in times of stress. "I'll be okay if I can just go for a run," says the exercise-compulsive. One of my good friends cooks and freezes huge portions of food when she's anxious. I tend to clean, organize and rearrange the furniture. Having a neat environment makes me feel like life is under control.

Over the weekend I watched a wonderful indie film, "Sunshine Cleaning," starring Amy Adams and Emily Blunt as sisters Rose and Nora. These women are both struggling financially and learn that they could be making good money starting up their own business--cleaning up crime scenes.

Now you have to ask what sort of person would be drawn to this work? It's grisly and just really, really gross. But as you learn Rose and Nora's back story, it becomes clear that this is therapeutic work for them. They lost a loved one in a grisly manner when they were both quite young and have had difficulty moving on. Clearing away the evidence of painful loss for their clients cleans their own damaged souls.

If a different set of characters had been set in this scenario, I don't know that it would have worked as well. A socialite scrubbing gore off the walls would have been funnier--but less believable. What kept me gripped by the film was a desire to understand the underlying compulsion--the psychological need being met in this particular set of circumstances.

At one point, Rose is at a baby shower and has to explain her new business to a group of well-off young women who were high school friends. You couldn't ask for a more ironic juxtaposition, so I was bracing myself for things to go horribly, hilariously wrong. But the writer took a light touch, and in that moment we expect to writhe for Rose, she gives a wonderfully layered response to her friends' questions that's simultaneously sappy and deep.

"We're helping people," Rose says, "at a time when they are going through something profound. And we make things better."

When you can link an old wound with a new challenge, well, friends, you have the makings of deep, compelling drama. The trick is to match your protagonist and plot well.

Does your story's plot force your character to grapple with an old wound? If not, how might you better match protagonist and plot?

Pottering

2012-01-13T11:55:00.003-05:00

My daughter sadly has a summer birthday. Sadly because it's in the WORST part of summer--August, when everyone is on vacation. We've had a few very unsuccessful attempts at birthday parties in her short 9 years (where 2-3 of the dozen kids invited actually come), so this year we're going to throw her a half-birthday party in February.

Her theme? Harry Potter, of course. We have loads of ideas for invitations and decorations and food. We're a bit shorter on ideas for games and activities.

Can you help a mom out here? What Hogwarts-themed crafts and games can you think of, appropriate for ages 8-10?

The yet-unhung shingle

2012-01-10T12:15:00.004-05:00

I'm contemplating some shifts in the coming year. A big one is whether I will begin to take on some freelance editing projects.

I've been hesitant to do this for one reason. Taxes. I live in a city that deals with self-employment income differently than other kinds of wages. It's a biggish step to do more than an occasional freelance job. There's an upfront cost to register any business venture in Philadelphia--a somewhat steep one.

Happily, I found an inexpensive two-hour workshop on small business taxes in the city. So I hope that once I have a handle on what's involved, I can make an educated decision.

Meanwhile, I continue to receive Editor-on-Call questions. Here's the latest:

Dear Editor-on-Call,

I said to my mother, "Because I am me." She corrected me and felt I should have said, "Because I am I." Who's right here?

Sincerely,
I gotta be me
(aka Jessica Dimuzio, author of Bark, Bark, Bark for my Park)

Dear Gotta Be,

I'd say it depends on context. The rule is that the verb "to be" acts like an equal sign and the second pronoun should be subjective (I, she, he, they), not objective (me, her, him, them).

BUT it sounds like a pretentious over-correction to say "I am I." The grammar sites I checked all had ongoing arguments. "I am me" is using the word "me" to refer to one's ego. Or at least that's how grammarians today think of the phrase. (Whether one should think of one's ego as some kind of discrete entity is a larger philosophical issue that's more my husband's area of expertise as a philosophy professor, but I digress....)

The fact is, we don't have a singular entity making pronouncements on the purity of English like the Académie Française in France. English's strength is its flexibility and skill at keeping up with the times. This is one of those cases where the rules are in flux and what was once considered correct is passing out of ordinary use.

She is right to the letter of the law; you are right to the current standard of speech patterns.

Any of you self-employed? How big a headache are tax issues? Which of the sentences Jessica mentioned sounds best to you? Do we need a guardian of pure English?

A vingette

2012-01-06T08:43:00.003-05:00

Happy Epiphany! Today's the day of celebrating the Magi's visit to the Christ child and the official end of the Christmas season. In parts of the world, today is when gift-giving happens.

I certainly got a nice gift today--publication of a vignette, "New Hues," in the inaugural issue of Vine Leaves Literary Journal. This new venture aims to fill a gaping hole in the lit mag field--vignette pieces, or "snapshot" or "element focused" writing. It's not about plot, but about focusing on other aspects of writing, such as description, setting or character.

The first issue is jam-packed with pieces--several from my blogging friends and my poetry group. Hope you swing by to check it out!

And if you like to write short, focused studies that you know aren't quite stories, but are beauty you want to share, consider submitting to future issues. And yes, they take novel excerpts! Guidelines are available HERE.

If you were to write a focused exercise, what element would you most like to explore? Description, setting, character? Perhaps a symbolic dream or poetic musing?

Side note: I've changed my schedule for 2012 to Tue, Fri posting.

Kindling a love of classics

2012-01-03T15:18:00.001-05:00

I hope you all are having a delightful Christmas. What? You're not still celebrating? Come on, the party doesn't wrap till Jan. 6, peeps. We're still in the heart of the Twelve Days, so whoop it up!

I was delighted (truthfully, shocked and awed) to receive a Kindle this season. In addition to some gift books, I've been loading up some free classics as well.

So far, what I have is the most ridiculous hodgepodge of eras and styles. I was an English major undergrad and also for a year of grad school, so I'd like to think I've ready pretty widely. But here are a few of the gaps I'm filling in.

Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser
Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

I also hope to bone up on Jean Rhys, Djuna Barnes and some of the other 20th century women novelists. My modernist course covered mostly men; some, like Nathanael West, aren't particularly core figures either. Ah, sexist professors, how you warp us.

Anyway, I'm just loving how easy it is to have multiple books going at once. I can switch to the particular mood I'm in and not have to haul extra weight or lose my page. I think this will be particularly helpful in tackling the likes of Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, known for their hefty tomes. I think the backache factor has scared me off the Russians for years, but now I feel equipped to dive in. Yeah, I'm looking at you, War and Peace.

What new horizons could or has an e-reader opened for you?

It's a gift to be published

2011-12-23T08:44:00.003-05:00

My latest accepted poem, "Storm Shelter," was published today at the e-zine Daily Love. You can read this fiction-in-verse piece HERE.

Sometimes when I'm drafting, I find it helpful to try out a scene in verse format as a way of getting to the emotional core of the action. This is one such experiment with a scene from my second novel.

Happy Holidays, all! I'll be back in the new year.

Do you even rearrange or play with material you've already written, just to try it out?

The limits of Google research**

2011-12-20T11:00:00.004-05:00

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of Google searches in the research process. They can be an efficient way to fact-check aspects of your story. I've at times used Googlemaps street view to walk around neighborhoods I hadn't forayed into deeply enough on a prior research trip. Heck, I've even used street view to roam cemeteries in France in search of a geographically appropriate surname.

The truth is, I'd never have bothered with the graveyard walks if it weren't for an expert. A French ex-pat I work with once offhandedly identified one of our magazine contributor's home region based on her surname alone. If any native would know regional ties to particular names, I couldn't pick a surname for my characters willy-nilly. An inaccuracy would make my reader lose confidence. Were I more fluent in French, I could have searched regional phone directories, surely. But the graveyard walks yielded what I needed easily enough.

My point here is to not limit yourself to Internet research alone. More often than not an actual human being will have insider knowledge that will keep you from making embarrassing mistakes. And a ten minute phone conversation might just save you from hours of trawling through page after page of useless information.

Just as importantly, you need the right kind of expert who can speak to your story's particular situation. Your family doctor might know the standard procedure for treating a broken leg, but his knowledge is likely limited to treatment best practices under ideal conditions. You know, in a clean, shiny hospital. But what about injuries in non-ideal conditions, when X-rays and surgery are not readily available? Your family doctor isn't going to be much help--partly because he will fear opening himself to legal liability by dispensing advice that isn't clinically defensible. Your better bet would be to find a military field medic, or a mountain climber trained in first aid--someone who has experience with non-ideal conditions.

One golden truth I learned in journalism school is that people LOVE to be considered experts (well, eight out of ten; take into account a certain percentage of natural jerkiness in the general population). Start by approaching people you already know, and be as specific as possible with the kind of information you're seeking. Your personal contacts can lead you to other experts as well. But don't be afraid to take a leap and call or e-mail a stranger. The worst they can say is "Sorry, I can't help you."

Approach your sources as if you were a reporter doing fact-checking--in other words, there will be no pressure that your source's name will splashed across a front page. For more tips on contacting and interviewing experts, see THIS helpful site, created for student journalists.

Have you made use of experts in researching aspects of your fiction? How might expert insights help make your story stronger? If you could shadow someone for a day to get insights for your story, who would it be?

**Repost from February.

Deja vu: Gene pool--fun with secondary characters

2011-12-16T07:08:00.001-05:00

Today is D.L. Hammons's Deja Vu blogfest, when we were invited to repost something we wish had gotten a little more attention. Swing by DL's blog Cruising Altitude to check out the other participants. (And if you want to know why the possessive of D.L.'s name looks like this, check out THIS POST to get up to speed about creating singular possessives correctly.)

My repost, "Gene pool: fun with secondary characters" went up in August 2010, arguably a bad time of year for garnering comments, when everyone is on vacation.

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Creating a fully realized cast of characters is for me one of the most fun aspects of writing. Part of what makes fictional characters seem real is their webs of relationships--including relatives.

Unless your main character is adopted, she will share certain characteristics with other members of the family. And this is where some of the fun comes in. As Bill Cosby joked in a comedy sketch, having children is like conducting a chemistry experiment--you mix a little of each parent and see what you get. Some kids are strongly like one parent, while others are an amalgam.

Now imagine working backwards. You have a main character. What do his parents look like? Is he a younger version of his dad? A male version of his mother? Or have the sets of genes combined in an interesting way? The genetic combo is, of course, the most fun to extrapolate ancestors for.

One thing to keep in mind when dreaming up your character's genetic heritage: you need a grasp of heredity basics (remember high school bio?). Certain traits are dominant and will most frequently reappear in offspring. Others are recessive and won't appear at all unless someone in the line has the trait. Tone deafness, for example, is a dominant trait. Your piano prodigy character must have ancestors who can carry a tune (a recessive trait).

Here's a good refresher on the basic science of heredity.
And here's a list of traits (and also here) known to be dominant and recessive.

How might heredity shape your character building? Have any characters you might alter to make your protagonist more plausible?

Festing, holiday essentials and gaffes

2011-12-15T10:04:00.009-05:00

Tomorrow is DL Hammons's Deja Vu Blogfest, a chance to recycle a post you love, or one you wish would've gotten more attention the first time around. I hesitated signing up because tomorrow is my daughter's school program, and I'll be away from the computer all morning listening to cute kiddos singing. Hopefully I can manage to catch up in the afternoon!

To me, the holidays are incomplete without music. Participating in choirs (and also band in high school) meant months of practicing, practicing, practicing words and tunes that always shifted something inside me. I can live without the lights, the sweets, the gifts and cards. What I can't live without is that resonance of joy and mystery, the mighty made weak and rich made poor for our sake.

And speaking of things I can live without--one of my biggest holiday pet peeves is the misuse and misunderstanding of the Twelve Days of Christmas. People, these are NOT days PRIOR to Christmas day, they are AFTER Christmas day! The twelve days are the period between Christmas and Epiphany (Jan 6; also called Three Kings Day, in remembrance of the Magi's arrival and gift-giving). During this period, the liturgical colors switch from advent purple to white. You can read more about them HERE (includes an interesting explanation of the song, too).

It's the third week of advent right now, not the "second day of Christmas." OK? Thank you. I needed to get that off my chest.

What do you consider a holiday essential? Do you have a holiday pet peeve?

Why I love (and hate) Little Women

2011-12-13T12:22:00.006-05:00

While laid low with a cold over the weekend, I rewatched the old Winona Rider version of Little Women, an odd mix of wonderful and terrible acting, and a sentimental journey for anyone who writes.

For some reason, this watching I was most struck by Prof. Bhaer's opinions about Jo's first novel. He assented that yes, sensational, exciting stories sell. But Gothic romance seemed to not admit any of Jo's best qualities: "There is nothing in here of the woman I am privileged to know." I'm not entirely sure if Alcott intended this as a smear on pulp fiction; perhaps so, perhaps not.

But whether you write literary realism or more fantastical work, I think there's something to his assertion that the very best books, the one that are loved for generations, are works of extreme courage. "There's more to you than this," the professor says, "If you have the courage to write it."

In Jo's case, she doubts that her life experiences are worthy subjects of fiction. The most courageous thing for her is to expose her "quiet" upbringing for all its humor, beauty and drama. But another writer might have been raised in an environment that shunned imagination and was always thoroughly Philistine. In his case, it would take great courage to write light, humorous fantasy. In so doing, he'd have to own up to suppressed desires and embrace what he fears others might not value as much as he does. Honesty is the supreme act of courage.

Do you have a story you lack the courage to write? I do. It's been niggling at me for years, and Prof. Bhaer's wise words have again it pinned front and center on my imagination's notice board. Even the holiday busyness hasn't been able to push it into a closet it this time. For once I have a sense of just how the story wants to be told. So here's to courage!

What does courageous writing look like to you?

Fresh eyes and formatting

2011-12-06T11:26:00.004-05:00

I am currently buried under an enormous pile of proofreading at my paying job, but I thought I'd pop over here with a recent insight from the experience.

Changing page layout will make a text read differently. I am always, always finding new errors when I proofread digest-sized pages of material that I'd already proofread on letter-sized pages. This is partly because the eye tracks differently on shorter lines. I've also noticed that some spatially-related issues like paragraphing (specifically, overly long blocks of text) are much more apparent on smaller pages.

I highly recommend that you do your final manuscript proofreading in a size other than letter size to give yourself fresh eyes. It's pretty simple to do this. Go to the "page layout" menu in Word, select "paper size" and choose "A5"--which is roughly digest size. When you're ready to print, open the print menu, go to the "pages per sheet" drop down menu in the bottom right, and select "2 pages."

You'll be surprised how different your manuscript looks--and how many errors slipped past you when you always saw pages in the same size draft after draft.

What other tricks do you have to give yourself a fresh perspective?

Well, I Never...

2011-12-01T08:56:00.005-05:00

Today is Vicki Rocho's "Well, I Never" blogfest. She invited us to share something we'd never done, never thought we'd do (but did) or something that simply puzzles us. Go swing by Rambles and Randomness to see the other participants. Rather than a list, I'll share one quick story...

I never went to the prom. It wasn't because I wasn't asked. No, it was largely because I didn't want to go with the guy who asked me. We had a history, one I didn't care to repeat.

I briefly considered asking a friend who went to another school, but as fun and cool as he was, the fact he was a freshman and I was a senior gave me pause. Too much potential to get really awkward. I was also kind-of-sort-of seeing someone at the time, a junior from my own school. Our daily walking-home-from-school flirtation would really go nowhere if I asked someone else to the prom--someone even younger than he. I had a real knack for relationship muddles like this at 17. Is it any wonder I write YA?

From what I could tell, the prom would be just like the school cafeteria but with formalwear--every clique keeping to themselves, everyone carefully guarding his or her established image. Honestly, why bother? So I decided to throw an anti-prom party instead. I had a fantastic night watching movies and hanging out with my favorite underclassman and a senior or two, who, like me, decided the prom was one of the "high school necessities" we could happily live without.

Funnily enough, my friends who did go to the prom ditched early and came to my house instead. Apparently, annoying classmates become even more so under the influence of cheap beer and Jack Daniels. More genuine fun was to be had with us sober, soda-sipping geeks.

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In other news, there's a wonderful new e-zine now accepting submissions: Vine Leaves Literary Journal. This publication features vignette writing--short pieces that deeply explore character, setting or description rather than being a traditionally plotted story. You can read more about the editors' vision and submission guidelines HERE.

Vine Leaves Literary Journal is the brainchild of Jessica Bell (author of String Bridge) and her critique partner Dawn Ius, a Canadian writer and marketing/communications pro. They felt this subgenre of literary writing deserved a venue of its own.

I'm thrilled to have a piece accepted to the premiere issue (January 2012). I'll post a link when the issue goes live.

Did you go to the prom? Tell me your story!

Compare with flair

2011-11-29T10:36:00.005-05:00

Dear Editor-on-call,

Recently I wrote, "He must have been thirteen at the time, as he was about a year older than I was" on the first page I presented at a SCBWI critique session. I was told it should read: "He must have been thirteen at the time, as he was a year older than me."

I think the editor is wrong. What do you say?

Sincerely,
Woe am I
(aka Carmen Ferreiro Esteban)

Dear Woesome,

This is a two-pronged issue. First, we have to consider the grammar rules for comparisons. Second, we should discuss the issue of audience and diction.

Comparisons using "than"

For the record, your instincts are right. Using the objective case--me, her or him--in "than" comparisons is grammatically incorrect.

The rule to remember is that the two things being compared must have parallel grammatical form, tense, voice, case.

Examples:
Incorrect - She is taller than him. (Noun cases don't match: one's subjective, the other objective.)

Correct - She is taller than he is. (Note the verb is repeated for clarity. )

Incorrect - I like Mona more than him. (Both unparallel and ambiguous.)

Correct - I like Mona more than I like him. ("Mona" and "him" are both direct objects.)

Alternate - I like Mona more than he does. (This is a shorthand for saying "I like Mona more than he likes Mona.")

Incorrect- It will be faster to go this way than going that way. (Verb forms don't match: one's an infinitive, the other, a participle.)

Correct: It will be faster to go this way than to go that way.

Voice and diction

When is it preferable to break grammar rules to keep character voices authentic and unstuffy? That depends on a number of things including genre, audience and character voice.

If you write for emerging readers (the under-9 set), consider how teachers will perceive your work. From their perspective, it's more important that proper grammar be continually reinforced so that their students internalize it. They will curse your rule breaking.

As readers age, their grasp of language becomes more sophisticated and fluid. They can better discern a fictional character's voice from, say, a textbook narrator voice. They become aware of dialect and can point to how Huck Finn sounds different from Harry Potter.

In my opinion, the most compelling reason to make a character speak ungrammatically is to convey their lower social class and lack of education or sophistication, or to create contrasts.

A kid raised in the slum is more likely to botch grammar than who attends a posh boarding school. But either kid might assume the speech of the other as an affectation, a mask, to fit in or stand out in a particular environment. Rule breaking for this purpose can be an effective characterization tool.

There certainly are some forms of grammatical correctness that have almost entirely disappeared from speech. Taking the high road means your character's voice will be perceived as uptight and stuffy. You're unlikely to hear a teen use "whom" much anymore. And following the bogus rule that you can't end a sentence with a preposition (which is a Latin grammar rule, not a genuinely English one) will similarly nerdify character voice.

I'd rather spend 300 pages with someone who asks me, "Who should I send this letter to?" than one who asks, "To whom should I send this letter?"

Your example sentence ("He must have been thirteen at the time, as he was about a year older than I was") reads naturally enough. It doesn't seem to me to fall into the "uptight grammatical prig" category. Keep it as you wrote it.

So, readers, what do you think?

Forty days?

2011-11-22T13:37:00.004-05:00

I just realized--with a sinking feeling--that there are only 40 days left in 2011. That means I need to really get cracking to meet my year-end goals.

At the beginning of the year, I'd planned to work hard at building up publishing credits. I've had a few small victories: "Tribute" (flash fiction) in Motley Press; "The Lost Coin" (verse fiction) in Drown in My Own Fears; "A Writer's Parable" (poem) in Rubber Lemon: short Christian writing; "New Friend" (poem) in Joyful! (forthcoming). Two of these are UK e-zines, which means I've published internationally. :-)

I have two MG stories out on submission, and have about a dozen poems I need to fine tune and submit. I'd love to have two more acceptances before year's end. Impossible? Time will tell.

What year-end goals are you trying to reach? How are you doing?

Feeling festive?

2011-11-17T09:43:00.003-05:00

It's been a very long time since I participated in a blog fest. I think the fatigue from my severe anemia had a lot to do with it. But now that I'm power-loading iron and feeling more perky, I'd love to get folks together for another fest.

The question is, what theme? With the holidays fast approaching, it can't be something requiring participants to invest gobs of time. And I've seen a growing reticence to share bits of one's works-in-progress, for all sorts of reasons.

Here are a few possible topics I've brainstormed:

A: Making a list
Write a wish list for yourself or for one of your characters. Think especially of experiences (restaurants, vacations, concerts) and gifts of service (babysitting, book trailer creation) pined for. Be as practical or as fantastic as you like.

B: Writers in Toyland
Describe the coolest toy from your childhood, or a creation you wish existed. Or post a favorite fictional quote about toys (e.g., 1-year-old Harry Potter's toy broomstick).

C: Holiday help
Imagine you had a house-elf's services for a day. What would you ask Dobby or Winky to do for you?

Which one of these ideas appeals most to you?

Don a cap if you're proper

2011-11-15T07:02:00.002-05:00

Dear editor-on-call,

I always forget when certain words should be capitalized, like sir (Sir?). Can you help?

Sincerely,

Case sensitive

aka Janet Sumner Johnson at Musings of a Children's Writer

Dear Case,

My quirky post title is a good mnemonic device: Don a cap[ital] if you're proper. In other words, capitalize proper nouns, but leave common nouns lowercase.

A proper noun is a NAME. For the most part, this is pretty simple to understand. Anne Shirley loves Gilbert Blythe, not gilbert blythe. (She might IM with gil_blythe, but I digress).

Trademarks are names (Barbie, Kleenex, Lycra), weekdays and months are names (Monday, September), artistic work titles are names (The Shining, Evita, Mona Lisa), specific places have names (Yosemite, London, Lake Country, Serengeti Plain), specific events have names (Lycoming County Fair, Little Bears Fun Run, Easter, Rosh Hashanah).

The tricky thing is when common nouns behave like proper nouns, or transform as part of a compound proper noun.

Let's look at your example, "sir." It's one of those courteous words waiters use when talking to men, hoping for a big tip: "And what will you have tonight, sir? May I recommend a wine to pair with that, sir?" That's the most usual use in our culture.

But once upon a time (and once upon today in certain social circles), there existed men of noble rank whose name was always preceded by a "sir," and the title was considered part of the name. Therefore, the common noun shifts to proper noun when it becomes part of a name. (You picking up a theme here?)

So, for example, your historical (or fantasy or upmarket) fiction might have sentences like this:

Sir Wallace stomped into the house, furious. "Where is my son?!" he bellowed. "Where is Sir Reginald?"

His servant bowed low. "I know not, m'lord, sir. If you please, sir, I have not seen Sir Reginald since breakfast."

Generally, sir will be lowercase unless paired with the nobleman's name. The only exception would be if a character refers to someone using a title in place of a name. In Alice Walker's The Color Purple, Celie refers to her abusive husband as "Mister."

Let's tackle some far more common examples of problems making the common/proper distinction--family members.

The common nouns dad, father, mom and mother become proper when substituting for or acting like a name. My daughter doesn't call me Laurel; she calls me Mommy, Mama or Mom.

Hobbit Girl might say, "Mommy, I think you are the coolest mom ever."

In the first instance, she is addressing me "by name," that is, her name for me. In the second instance, she is talking about the role of mother, a common noun.

Here are some other examples:

"Dad!" Betsy called. "Where are you, Daddy?"

She turned to Hazel with a knowing smile. "My daddy can fix anything, just you wait."

"Aw, hogwash," Hazel said. "All your daddy can fix are martinis."

"I'm gonna tell Dad what you said. He'll whup you good, Hazel Dawkins."

Extended family such as aunts and uncles often have these titles appended to names in a fashion similar to sir.

For example:

Aunt Jo was the nicest sort of aunt. A cushiony couch of a woman, Auntie kept her hearth fire burning and all her candy jars full. Liesl wished she could live with her aunt forever and ever. She'd stop calling her Aunt Jo and start calling her Mama.

Hope that helps clarify things for you!

What capitalization conundrums trip you up most?

Buy a book, get a free soundtrack!

2011-11-11T07:02:00.001-05:00

Today is THE day to help Jessica Bell's debut, STRING BRIDGE, hit the bestseller list on Amazon, and receive the all-original soundtrack, Melody Hill: On the Other Side, written and performed by the author herself, for free!

All you have to do is purchase the book today (paperback or eBook), November 11th, and then email the receipt to:
jessica.carmen.bell(at)gmail(dot)com

She will then email you a link to download the album at no extra cost!

You can purchase String Bridge here: Amazon.com, or here: Amazon UK

Get that? Buy a book and get a free soundtrack album. How cool is that?

Gin fizz and gimlets with grammar

2011-11-10T13:20:00.001-05:00

I am a sucker for grammar humor, so I just had to repost this hilarious list of jokes from McSweeney's.

Seven bar jokes involving grammar and punctuation
by Eric K. Auld

1. A comma splice walks into a bar, it has a drink and then leaves.

2. A dangling modifier walks into a bar. After finishing a drink, the bartender asks it to leave.

3. A question mark walks into a bar?

4. Two quotation marks “walk into” a bar.

5. A gerund and an infinitive walk into a bar, drinking to drink.

6. The bar was walked into by the passive voice.

7. Three intransitive verbs walk into a bar. They sit. They drink. They leave.

And if you're not sure when "also" is a better word choice than "too," check out this cautionary tale. (Helps if you know some rudimentary chemistry.)

Source: Hermant Parkhe

What has tickled your funny bone recently?

Cure for run-ons

2011-11-09T12:10:00.005-05:00

Dear Editor-on-call,

I'm weak when it comes to run-on sentences. Can you help?

Sincerely,
The On-Runner
(aka Bish Denham at Random Thoughts)

Dear Runner,

You are in good company. Run-ons are one of the three most common errors I see in academic writing. PhD programs in English seem to encourage jamming as many ideas as possible between full stops. I once broke an 11-line sentence into FOUR parts. Clearly this was a case of reader distrust--an anxiety that the reader wouldn't comprehend the way ideas were linked unless crammed together. Keep in mind that a paragraph is the best unit for clearly and readably holding together a series of linked ideas.

The biggest danger of run-on sentences is incoherence. The reader will lose the thread of what you're saying if information isn't parsed into manageable pieces.

The most common form of run-on is the comma splice. This term refers to two complete sentences joined with a comma when they should either be divided or have a conjunction inserted (i.e., and, but, for, nor, or, so, yet).

Example:
It will be clear and hot today, you should put on sunscreen.

Possible fixes:
It will be clear and hot today. You should put on sunscreen.
It will be clear and hot today, so you should put on sunscreen.

Another cause of run-ons is misuse of conjunctive adverbs like however, moreover, nonetheless.

Example:
Rocco has sent his three children to ivy-league universities, however, he has sacrificed his health working long shifts at the foundry.

Possible fixes:
Rocco has sent his three children to ivy-league universities. However, he has sacrificed his health working long shifts at the foundry.
Rocco has sent his three children to ivy-league universities; however, he has sacrificed his health working long shifts at the foundry.

I am no fan of the semi-colon and would recommend against using the latter method. These two ideas--"children in ivy-league" and "working long shifts"--are not so tightly bonded they need to be in one sentence. The semi-colon version also contains so much information in such a large chunk it can lose a reader.

And speaking of overload, the worst kind of run-on is the clause-a-thon--too many clauses strung together.

Example:
She read the letter from the insurance company that said that the claim we had filed as a result of our accident in center city on May 3 had been sent on to a review committee which would consider the matter and render a decision within a month.

Possible fixes:
She read the letter from the insurance company. It said the claim we'd filed for our May 3 accident had been sent to a review committee. The committee would review the matter and render a decision in a month.

Note that some unnecessary details are dropped and phrases condensed. The claim is for an accident (less wordy than "as a result of"). Where the accident occurred is unimportant. What matters most is whether the insurance company will pay.

The sentence could be further condensed to hit only the most important information:
The insurance company's letter said our car accident claim had been sent to a review committee. We'd have to wait another month for an answer.

The clause-a-thon is the most likely form to occur in fiction. When you run across sentences that are trying to do to much, look for ways to trim details and parse the information into smaller, more manageable chunks.

Example:
My best friend Nancy, who lived down the hall from me and who I first met at a departmental wine-and-cheese event, wore her onyx hair in a braid, smoked clove cigarettes and went through boyfriends like Kleenex.

Possible fixes:
My best friend Nancy lived down the hall from me. We first met at a departmental wine-and-cheese event. She wore her onyx hair in a braid, smoked clove cigarettes and went through boyfriends like Kleenex.

Leaner:
I first met my best friend Nancy at a departmental wine-and-cheese event. Smoke from her clove cigarette had curled around her onyx braid and wafted toward her boyfriend-du-jour.

In some cases, your best fixes will come from deeper level rewrites like this. Instead of using a list to describe Nancy, I turned the descriptions into an active flashback.

Which of these areas trip you up most?

Help for grammarphobes

2011-11-03T08:47:00.006-04:00

It has been quite awhile since I last did a post in my editor-on-call series. I got the idea a few years ago after one of my CPs called me late one Friday night with a punctuation emergency:

"Help me with quotes within quotes, STAT!"

I suspected there were others out there with questions about some sticking point of grammar or usage that tripped them up. And as someone who's been editing professionally for *gulp* 20 years this month, I'd like to think I have a decent handle on both the basics and the more esoteric aspects of grammar. Oh yeah, I also took top honors in my master's program in journalism (magazine editorial concentration). Enough "edit cred" to give you good answers, and my sassy side usually keeps the advice entertaining.

Here's a sampling of topics I've covered:

Apostrophe usage
Capitalization
"And then..." -- conjunction usage
"If I were you" -- subjunctive mood
No lie: why we misuse lay (lie/lay usage)
Misplaced modifiers
Maintaining verb tense
Using numbers in fiction
Overwriting repair: Diction, Babbling, Tangents

A few ideas I have for future posts are comma usage (2-5 posts), run-ons and punctuating dialogue. Which of these would help you most?

What are your biggest grammar and usage woes and pitfalls? What "rules" confuse you? I'm open to covering topics that will make your manuscripts cleaner today. Ask away!

#keepingOPENMINDS—The Importance of Theme

2011-11-01T07:05:00.004-04:00

by Susan Kaye Quinn, author of Open Minds (Book One of the Mindjack Trilogy)

image source

The very first image—the first brain spark—that inspired Open Minds (Book One of the Mindjack Trilogy) was filled with the effects of intolerance. The idea of a world where everyone read minds, except one girl, sprung into my mind as a setting: the girl, sitting in a high school classroom, surrounded by her mindreading classmates, but as isolated as one human being could be from another. She didn’t speak their mind-language, but it was more than simply being a deaf-person in a hearing world. She was mistrusted, shunned, because they couldn’t understand her. They feared her, because she was the definitive other in their world.

The idea of other has always fascinated me. As a girl, I grew up on aliens in Star Trek and sentient robots in I, Robot by Isaac Asimov. Embedded in those stories was the idea that a being who looks, acts, and thinks nothing like you could still be a person—this is an enduring tradition of science fiction and one that I wholeheartedly embraced. I liked this exploration of what it meant to be human, and I think the best SF has always been about the human in the technology.

In Open Minds, someone who can’t read minds or be read by others is called a zero, a not-so-subtle pejorative that reminds them of their value in the society. Zeros are mistrusted in a world where every thought can be known, except theirs. In this mindreading world of the future, trust is built on complete openness—every thought you have is known by everyone in the room. There are no secrets, no white lies, no social niceties. It’s a rather coarse world in many ways, but also a credulous one. Of course you tell the truth; how can you not? So someone who is capable of keeping a secret is feared as someone completely outside the normal social structure. How could you ever believe a thing that person said? How could you trust them to run the cash register, much less do anything of importance?

Kira, raised in this society where trust and truth are intimately connected, discovers she has a giant sized secret—one that might finally allow her to fit in. All she has to do is lie and mindjack everyone she loves.

Although the theme of intolerance in Open Minds was there from the very beginning, it definitely evolved as I wrote the book. I began to discover all the ways that the intolerance of Kira’s world affected not just her, but the other characters in the story, and eventually the society as a whole. Kira handles her secret and the choices that go with it in one way, but the other characters handle it much worse (or some better). In spite of being mindreaders and mindjackers in a future world, the characters were all still human, subject to all the weaknesses and inner strengths that come with being human.

I’m working on Closed Hearts now, and as the title suggests, the theme of intolerance gains ground in the second book. It fascinates me to create characters that can play out all the possible ways that people can react to an evolving world. Sometimes it feels like our world of 2011 is moving ahead at warp speed, but when the world truly shifts, you can tell the character of a person by how they shift with it. I hope, throughout the Mindjack Trilogy, to honor the fine tradition of science fiction in exploring all the ways we are human.

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See more guest posts about Open Minds at the Virtual Launch Party!

When everyone reads minds, a secret is a dangerous thing to keep.

Sixteen-year-old Kira Moore is a zero, someone who can’t read thoughts or be read by others. Zeros are outcasts who can’t be trusted, leaving her no chance with Raf, a regular mindreader and the best friend she secretly loves. When she accidentally controls Raf’s mind and nearly kills him, Kira tries to hide her frightening new ability from her family and an increasingly suspicious Raf. But lies tangle around her, and she’s dragged deep into a hidden world of mindjackers, where having to mind control everyone she loves is just the beginning of the deadly choices before her.

Open Minds (Book One of the Mindjack Trilogy) by Susan Kaye Quinn is available for $2.99 in e-book (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords) and $9.99 in print (Amazon, Createspace).

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PRIZES!

Susan Kaye Quinn is giving away an Open Books/Open Minds t-shirt, mug, and some fun wristbands to celebrate the Virtual Launch Party of Open Minds (Book One of the Mindjack Trilogy)! Check out the prizes here.

Making of a book launch with Jessica Bell, author of String Bridge

2011-10-27T07:04:00.009-04:00

Today my special guest is Jessica Bell, whose much anticipated fiction debut, String Bridge, releases officially on November 1. Jessica generously agreed to share a bit about her experiences preparing to launch her first novel.

About String Bridge

Greek cuisine, smog and domestic drudgery was not the life Australian musician, Melody, was expecting when she married a Greek music promoter and settled in Athens, Greece. Keen to play in her new shoes, though, Melody trades her guitar for a “proper” career and her music for motherhood. That is, until she can bear it no longer and plots a return to the stage—and the person she used to be. However, the obstacles she faces along the way are nothing compared to the tragedy that awaits, and she realizes she’s been seeking fulfillment in the wrong place.

E-book available at Amazon.com, Amazon UK

Paperback available at Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble

Soundtrack "Melody Hill: On the Other Side" available at iTunes, Amazon.com, Amazon UK

The Interview

What marketing activities did you decide to pursue to launch String Bridge?

I think nowadays the best thing to focus on is web presence. Not only is it cost-effective, but it’s fast. So, of course, I’ve organized a blog tour and Amazon Chart Rush. I’ve also released an all-original soundtrack to accompany the book, which can also be purchased as a separate item from over 150 different digital outlets. I’m hoping this album with create a little more interest in the book, than the book itself is capable of, as I can actually market the music to an audience that probably wouldn’t look twice at the book without the album existing.

How did you prioritize them?

I actually didn’t. Each thing seemed as important as the other. It was just a matter of reaching deadlines.

What did your schedule look like?

Hectic. I made sure I did everything I needed to as it came in. I never put anything to the side that could be accomplished within a 24-hour period. Not sure that was such a good idea as it tampered with my sanity. I had to fit these things in around my day job, but thankfully I work from home so I suppose creating my own schedule wasn’t so hard now that I look back. But I think I was too "fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants." I got stressed. Really stressed. I think my jaw was perpetually clenched. Even now I have to remind myself to loosen it up.

Which activities have taken more time or been trickier than you anticipated?

The hardest thing was organizing the blog tour. Over 90 blogs have signed up to participate, some posting reviews and some interviews, or both, and some signed up to plug the Amazon Chart Rush only. Keeping track of everyone’s preferences and emails and blog addresses, and post dates has been a challenge. I have Excel to thank for that! But nothing has really been "tricky," only time-consuming. I’ve enjoyed every minute of it though. I guess that’s the key to getting through so many tasks without having a nervous breakdown! Implementing the final edits to the novel and writing the album took a lot of time. But that was a creative part. And time shouldn’t even exist then, right?

What are some lessons learned from this launch? Things that worked well? Things you’d like to do differently with the next book?

One: Never underestimate the importance of making friends online! Their help and support has been invaluable to this exciting and important time in my career. I can’t thank them enough!

Two: Don’t burn yourself out. Find time to spend AWAY from your desk to maintain sanity.

There were a few weeks there where I thought I was literally going to fry my brain. I took a couple of days off after weeks of constant rigorous juggling of tasks, but it was too late. I spent the whole time staring at the wall just trying to find some inner-quiet. I could hardly lift a finger. Seriously. Pace yourself. The slower you move, the faster you’ll get things done. Trust me.

About Jessica

Jessica Bell is a literary women’s fiction author, poet and singer/songwriter who grew up in Melbourne, Australia, to two gothic rock musicians who had successful independent careers during the '80s and early '90s.

She spent much of her childhood travelling to and from Australia to Europe, experiencing two entirely different worlds, yet feeling equally at home in both environments. She currently lives in Athens, Greece and works as a freelance writer/editor for English Language Teaching publishers worldwide, such as HarperCollins, Pearson Education and Macmillan Education.

In addition to String Bridge, Jessica has published a book of poetry called Twisted Velvet Chains. A full list of poems and short stories published in various anthologies and literary magazines can be found under Published Works & Awards, on her website.

Help spread the word about the String Bridge Amazon Chart Rush, November 11th!

Help Jessica Bell's debut novel STRING BRIDGE hit the bestseller list on Amazon and receive the all-original soundtrack, written and performed by the author herself, for free! All you have to do is purchase the ebook or paperback on November 11th, and then email the receipt to jessica(dot)carmen(dot)bell(at)gmail(dot)com. She will then email you a link to download the album entitled, "Melody Hill: On the Other Side," at no extra cost! Visit www.jessicacbell.com to hear samples from the album.

What take-home tips did you pick up from Jessica?

The power of a name

2011-10-25T09:20:00.004-04:00

Giving a name

Since I last posted, I've had some pretty weird stuff happen. One I suppose is mostly positive--I at last know WHY I've been so run down for the past seven months. I've been diagnosed with anemia. Really severe anemia. Severe enough that I had cravings to suck on rocks and got winded just going up stairs. So my doctor has put me on a crazy-high dose of iron that's like swallowing barbells (okay, maybe not quite, but it is 50 times more milligrams thanmy trusty One-a-Day contained).

I have to say, it's a huge relief to give my general bleh feeling a name. And even though I still get winded and cold too easily, I have hope again. Because naming the illness put parameters around it. It stopped being some amorphous malaise that could eat my life. It's just a mineral deficiency.

Taking a name

The bad weird thing was having my wallet stolen out of my office. I work on a college campus on a floor with both classrooms and offices, so it's not hard for a pickpocket to slip through the crowds unnoticed, pop into an unlocked room, grab and go. (Believe me, I now lock up even when I use the water fountain.)

In hours between when the thief took my wallet and I noticed it was gone, he or she had run off to do a little shopping spree in my name. With my accounts, my credit. One bank flagged the fraud attempts immediately, the other let one charge go through, which I now must dispute.

Among the many calls I had to make to stop the fraud was a call to the credit agency Equifax. They now have flagged my name, so that would-be thieves can't use my name to apply for credit and ride my good reputation as someone who pays bills on time.

The $10 they took from my wallet could never hurt so much as their potential power to destroy my name. (I think there might be a good shapeshifter plot in this story somewhere, for one of you paranormal fantasy writers.)

Both for good and for ill, names are powerful. Names contain and define.

It's something to keep in mind when we write. Nothing is quite so chilling as a widespread plague that no one can name; a good name lost is far harder to restore than a lost fortune.

How have you seen the giving, withholding or taking of a name used powerfully?

Validated by...fear?

2011-10-20T13:59:00.003-04:00

Busy day today, folks, so this is going to be a quickie.

In The War of Art, Steven Pressfield says:
"The more scared we are of a work or a calling, the more sure we can be that we have to do it.... the more fear we feel about a specific enterprise, the more certain we can be that that enterprise is important to us and the growth of our soul."

What do you think? Discuss.

How many eyes?

2011-10-18T10:10:00.004-04:00

My critique group meets tonight and it was really tough for me to not send bits of my rough draft in progress off to the gang for feedback. But I had to ask myself whether feeback at this stage would be a help or a hinderance. I tend to have only the loosest sense of the trajectory of the story when drafting, leaving lots of room for discoveries, but also for wrong turns and deadends. Those wrong turns sometimes don't reveal themselves as such for chapters and chapters. Getting feedback too soon might tempt me to keep in a well written scene that takes the story the wrong direction, or alternately, to abandon an idea that needs more development but could flower into something amazing.

With my previous book, I had two people who served as "alpha readers": folks who read chapters as I finished them, cheered me on and with whom I could discuss problems that perplexed me. Their purpose was not so much to critique as to be an accountability mechanism and sounding board.

Only after I had a complete draft did I ask for critiques, starting with broad-strokes issues like characterization, plot and pacing. Those folks were "beta readers." In the revision process, I leaned on my critique groups to help me do the next sets of revisions (I jokingly called them "gamma" and "delta" readers).

I now wonder if that could have been a more efficient process. I fear I became a bit too much of a feedback junkie, and got addicted to having "enough" praise before I felt good about a section. What I lost was a sense of my own vision and confidence in my instincts.

How about you? How many people see your work and at what stages?

image from www.morguefile.com

Thanks and joy

2011-10-14T10:16:00.001-04:00

I've been reading this book about gratitude called One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp. It talks a lot about thankfulness as a key to living more fully with joy in the difficult now.

I also lost a colleage this week. She'd been ill for a year and I know near the end got to hear at last all the gratitude people had for her. And it struck me, why wait until someone's dying to express how you're thankful for them?

So, yesterday I wrote a brief note on Facebook to an old high school buddy, just a quick thanks for one of the many positive influences she had on me. And you know what? That small bit of thanks opened up something. Not only a mutual warmness between my friend and me, but also a whole well of good stuff that I haven't been able to access in a long time. The kooky, fun geek girl I once was started to resurface. Now I realize where that joyful version of me had gone. She'd become imprisoned by ingratitude. The key to unlocking her was merely to say "thanks."

So I challenge you, reader, to tell someone in your life thanks. Be specific: their kind words at the right moment, a book they recommended, some life event you shared that shaped you. Gratitude is light in the darkness, friends. It is a powerful weapon against despair, a powerful creator of joy.

And speaking of joyful things, if you're in the Philly area, you don't want to miss the Harry Potter Festival in Chestnut Hill. Germantown Ave. will become a mini Hogsmeade. A muggle quidditch tournament will be held. Gotta love this awesome promo video!

Who are you thankful for today? Did you tell them? What joy did it unlock for you?

Living forward

2011-10-11T11:17:00.002-04:00

As I write this, a work colleague is losing her year-long battle with lung cancer. Her son had written last night to say she was unresponsive and likely to pass on in the next day or so.

What has impressed me most about her final months has been her determination to keep on editing, even when she needed to nap frequently and struggled to type e-mails. It's been kind of a kick in the head, especially when I think how badly I've responded to setbacks by doubting, getting derailed, moping. Especially lately, even while this amazing, dying woman was giving such a clear picture of how to be alive--by moving forward.

I honestly had gone into blogger a few minutes ago thinking I'd recycle an older post, and then I realized that was the stuckness talking. I can't go on borrowing from yesterday's energy, or last year's or some golden age in the past. There's a degree to which the stuff of creativity--joy, life energy, what have you--is like manna in the wilderness. It is a gift that must be gathered fresh daily. God gives it, but we have to gather it. We can't hoard it. There's enough for today. Just enough. We take in the mystery with thankfulness, and tomorrow there's more.

If you were dying, how would you live differently now? How might the idea of manna help you in your creative work?

Building a publication history: where to start

2011-10-06T12:01:00.003-04:00

Whether your ultimate goal is to secure agent representation or to simply get paid for writing (even a pittance), establishing a publication history will help you.

The best way to get started is with short-form work--articles, short stories and poems. If you think you don't have time to generate material while pounding out novels, think again. Some of my most recent publications were pieces I rescued from the cutting room floor.

"Tribute," published in Motley Press vol. 1, issue 3, is a flash fiction piece revised from a scene I'd cut from a novel.
"The Lost Coin," published in Drown in My Own Fears, issue 16, is a fiction-in-verse adaptation of another cut scene, one that I'd unsuccessfully attempted to sell as flash fiction.

For more on giving new life to unused material, see my post Giving Life to Peripheral Stories.

I'd also argue that taking a break from your long projects to write new work in multiple forms and genres will keep you creatively fresh and flexible. It's also a great way to try out germs of ideas that could become novels.

Once you have some material to submit (critiqued and revised first, of course), how do you go about submitting?

As Angela mentioned yesterday, there are Writer's Digest market books to help you: The Poet's Market and The Novel & Short Story Writer's Market. These are both decent, comprehensive guides to publications seeking submissions. They have the disadvantage of being paper rather than databases. For a more searchable list of markets, you want the website Duotrope's Digest.

There are several schools of thought about how to break in to magazines. One school says always aim high first--that is, submit first to publications offering professional payment and high prestige. Personally, I don't think that's the best idea if you have no history at all. Aim a little lower first--markets offering semi-pro payment. If you don't have luck there, aim lower--to token payment and then to nonpaying markets. (Yet another school says start with "low-hanging fruit"--the non-paying, take-almost-anything pubs--just to have something to put in your bio. )

Another factor in a publication's "prestige" is its acceptance statistics. Duotrope provides that information for most markets. A magazine that accepts 1% of submissions is tougher to crack than one that accepts 40%. Whether payment or presitge matters most depends on your ultimate goal--do you want to be considered a "serious" poet or story-writer, or do you want to build audience and look mass-marketable?

Fit is one of the most critical considerations when deciding where to submit. Above all else, you need to see a publication's content to know what styles and themes the editors like. Most publications have at least one back issue online for perusal. A local university library would be another place to peek at issues.

If you find a high-prestige market that might be a fit, but you're intimidated about approaching, Duotrope can help you find parallel markets. Let's take, for example, Ancient Paths, a pro-paying religious market. They accept about 5% of submissions, making them fairly discerning. Duotrope provides this data on Ancient Paths's page:

Work submitted here was also submitted to...
[Fiction] The New Yorker; Harpur Palate; Ninth Letter; Cream City Review; ShatterColors Literary Review; GUD: Greatest Uncommon Denominator; Relief; The Midnight Diner; Fifth Wednesday Journal; Birkensnake; Ashé Journal; Mobius: The Journal of Social Change
[Poetry] The Toucan; The Electronic Monsoon Magazine; Time Of Singing; Palettes & Quills; Rock & Sling; Boulevard Magazine; Raleigh Review; Three Line Poetry; The Pedestal Magazine; Dappled Things; A Public Space; Poetry Magazine

Users accepted here also had work accepted by...
[Fiction] Insufficient data.
[Poetry] The Pedestal Magazine; Foundling Review; The Ante Review; Rufous City Review; Barnwood Poetry Magazine; Boston Literary Magazine; Pirene's Fountain

Wow, look at that! A host of other markets that have parallel tastes. Take a gander through these other listings, and you should have a plan of where to submit.

The thing with publication history is that it tends to snowball. So don't be too quick to turn your nose up at nonpaying publications. If you rack up a half dozen, the more prestigious magazines are apt to sit up and take notice--and give your work more than a passing glance.

Remember, too, that e-zine publication can increase your blog readership. Self-published writers find that getting their name out there helps drive book sales as well.

Have you started building a publication history? How might you approach doing so?

Chat with Angela Felsted, author of Cleave

2011-10-04T07:01:00.005-04:00

Today my special guest is Angela Felsted, a fellow crossover writer of fiction and poetry who blogs at My Poetry and Prose Place. Her poetry chapbook Cleave is forthcoming from Finishing Line Press in 2012. It is now available for preorder from the publisher, HERE.

Here is Angela's beautiful book trailer, which features music by Saint-Seans:

Today Angela is opening a window for us into the world of poetry publishing, and I'll be chiming in periodically. Take it away, Angela...

Ten things you ought to know about publishing poetry

1. Unless your name is Billy Collins, there’s little money in poetry. Most journals do not pay. Granted, there are some paying markets, but we’re talking about small sums.

LAUREL: Very true. And the markets that pay best are NOT poetry journals, but large-circulation magazines and trade journals. Prepare to wax poetic about tractors, the rosary, diaper rash or your last colonoscopy.

2. Competition in the poetry world is fierce. So fierce there’s an online journal called Redheaded Stepchild that publishes poems which have been rejected at least once. Think these poems suck? Think again. Go check out the great stuff that gets rejected every day at their site.

3. Most agents won’t rep poetry.

LAUREL: You generally don't need one for poetry. Academic and small presses still lead this publishing niche, and they handle queries directly from authors.

4. Poets who want their work published need to do their research. I always read what a journal publishes before submitting my stuff. Even then I often get it wrong.

LAUREL: If you're just starting out, Duotrope's Digest is a good place to find e-zines in which to break in.

5. Beware of vanity publishers. You know the kind, don’t you? The ones who offer free poetry contests, and then publish every poem regardless of quality, in a book they sell for big bucks, largely to the contributors.

LAUREL: Ouch. I fell in this trap once, when I was in high school. And yes, my parents bought the book for a princely $30, back when most paperbacks cost $4.95.

6. Purchase a copy of Poets Market. I sleep with mine under my pillow at night. It is my most intimate friend. :P

LAUREL: Keep in mind things can change in lag time between when Writer's Digest compiled the information and when the book was printed. It's always a good idea to check every market's website before submitting. Some journals publish by theme, and some open and close reading periods throughout the year. And small publications fold all the time.

7. It helps to join a poetry group. For one thing it makes you feel less alone, and for another it’s an invaluable tool for honing and improving your skills. Laurel would know, because she and I are in a group together, and there’s no way I can adequately express how much her feedback has helped me.

LAUREL: Aw, shucks, I'm blushing. Like fiction has genres, poetry has "schools"--ways of approaching content, form, tone. It can take time to find like-minded writers.

8. A chapbook is a book of poems 18-28 pages in length. There are several routes a person can take in order to get a chapbook published. The four most common ones are these: (1) enter a contest and win, (2) get in good with the editor of a journal that also publishes chapbooks, (3) self-publish, or (4) submit to a small press and cross your fingers.

That last one is what I did, with lots and lots of finger crossing. Okay, so maybe there was some prayer in there too, a few superstitious chants, a dance I performed with all my blinds closed. *sigh* I digress. I still had to pay a ten dollar reading fee. That’s the thing about entering contests and submitting to presses, it’s normal to pay some kind of reading fee. Sticking to a budget is key.

9. A poetry collection is a book of poems 48 pages or longer. And these are published in much the same way a chapbook is, except most people who publish collections have already published their work in journals and chapbooks and usually have some kind of following.

LAUREL: That's a helpful distinction. You can attempt a chapbook with only a few publications under your belt. Collections are for more established poets.

10. Poetry readings, open mic nights, and other such venues can be great for poets as well. I confess to being a rookie where this is concerned. But I’ll be dipping my toe into poetry reading on my youtube channel starting this Friday. So . . . anyone willing to watch my sad attempt at dramatic reading is welcome. Just, please, promise me one thing—that you won’t laugh.

LAUREL: It's been more than ten years since I've delved into my local poetry scene. I do know you have to search a bit to see where you fit. Some groups are very academic, some more avant-garde, some steeped in urban music traditions like rap.

Thank you, Laurel, for having me on your blog.

LAUREL: My pleasure. I'm excited to get a copy of Cleave in my hot little hands!

Willing to give poetry a second look? How about trying your hand at writing it?

Putting the con back in confidence? Or the fide?

2011-09-29T12:59:00.001-04:00

Periodically I fall into these ditches of apathy, where I have no desire to write or even blog. Every idea strikes me as stupid and I'm absolutely certain I have nothing of value to add to the already burgeoning blogosphere. I read thirty blog posts and comment on three. I feel afraid to be honest about it, because I worry it might be catching. Who wants to be the person turning others' inner worlds into one big "whatever"?

I can stupidly assume others don't get tied up in these neurotic knots. But who's to say they don't? Nothing like apathy to keep you from breaking the silence.

Instead, they (and I) can pretend. "Fake it till you make it," right? Confidence is really just a big con, after all. Pretending you have what it takes. That you're invincible. That death isn't lurking closer than anyone wants to admit.

I don't know about you, but this approach to confidence never works for me. My own soul screams at the fakery. I can remember Samuel picking a king for Israel and having God tell him, "man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

The word "confidence" literally means "with faith," believing something is true. But believing what? There's the rub.

One can be quite confident that life is futile. Or that suffering is an illusion. Or any host of things. This kind of "negative confidence" leads, as one might expect, to negative outcomes.

Your confidence is what you believe. Not a mask you put on, but a set of truths you live into. Becoming more confident doesn't involve developing a better facade, but discarding lies and genuinely discovering and hanging onto better truths.

Here are a few I'm hanging onto today:

~No one is alone; If I'm in this world, I have a part to play.

~Evil prevails when good people do nothing.

What ideas have given you "negative confidence"? What better truths do you desire to hang onto?

Chat with Elle Strauss, author of Clockwise

2011-09-27T07:03:00.002-04:00

Today my special guest is Elle Strauss, one of my first blogging buddies when I started Laurel's Leaves back in 2009. I'm delighted to have Elle here to tell us about the release of her new book CLOCKWISE: “A teen time traveler accidentally takes her secret crush back in time. Awkward.”

Elle Strauss writes time travel and merfolk chic-lit, light SF and historical YA fiction. When she’s not writing, she’s reading, hanging out with friends and family, and sometimes traveling. To ward off writer's butt she does a bit of hiking, biking and yoga.

You can visit Elle's blog at Elle Strauss Books.

Tell us a little about your main character, Casey.

Casey just wants to be normal like her friend Lucinda and the other kids at her school. She could deal with minor inconveniences like being over-tall and crazy hair, but she’s just focused on this other problem, and how to keep a low profile because of it.

Casey treats her ability to time travel like an embarrassing malady on par with acne or bad hair. Why is it such a curse for her?

Well, uncontrolled trips back to the 19th century would be an issue for most people, and when you’re fifteen going on sixteen, it can be so embarrassing.

If you could play casting director, who would you want to play Casey in a film of Clockwise?

I really had to think about this, but I think I would choose Demi Lovato.

Casey ends up bringing along her secret crush, Nate, on her travels to the past. Tell us a little about Nate.

Nate’s an easy going guy, a good student and excellent athlete. He’s a fairly new student to Cambridge High, and as such a very exciting addition as far as the girls are concerned. He’s used to being part of the popular crowd so found it easy to slide into this group once again. Unfortunately, he let himself get caught by a pretty girl who lacks heart.

Who would you cast for the role of Nate?

Alex Pettyfer would make a good Nate (though he may be getting kind of old for this role).

What were some of your favorite discoveries while researching the historical aspects of Clockwise?

Researching the Civil War and the events that led up to it was fascinating. I wasn’t raised in America so I missed out on detailed teaching of this historical event in school.

Where can readers get a copy of Clockwise?

So glad you asked! CLOCKWISE is launching electronically this week and it’s only 2.99 on Amazon! Click HERE for more information and to purchase.

Thanks so much, so much for having me, Laurel!

===

To celebrate the release of CLOCKWISE, Elle is giving away five debut books by authors that you can meet on her blog tour, going on now.

LOSING FAITH by Denise Jaden

THE CLEARING by Anne Riley

THE SECRET OF SPRUCE KNOLL by Heather McCorkle

PERILOUS by Tamara Hart Heiner

THE HATING GAME by Talli Roland

How to win? Sign up for Elle’s newsletter to enter. For extra entries, just comment on any blog in the tour. The more blogs you visit and comment on, the more chances you have to win.

Five books, five days, five winners!

Any other questions for Elle?

Exciting new book release!

2011-09-22T07:03:00.006-04:00

By Melissa Sarno, Hufflepuff

Honeywater Press announces the release of WHO AM I by award-winning author Gilderoy Lockhart.

The 1,045 page book hits shelves on September 23rd and features the psychological musings of the man who accidentally erased his own memory. One of the few permanent residents of St. Mungo’s Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, Lockhart uses the book to reflect on who he is, who he was, and, even, who he might become.

“We took a risk,” says Ebenezer Coolidge, a representative from Honeywater. “We want readers to open this book and find a new Lockhart. A little less refined. A little more undone.”

But early reviews of the book have not been kind.

Popular book blogger Winnifried Littlewock calls it “a nonsensical, babbling mess,” and goes on to say, “I’m not even sure [Lockhart] knows what the question is. Never mind the answer.”

According to a small group of existentialists at the Magical Who Institute, however, that kind of ambiguity is what makes the work so appealing. “We are all walking around asking the same question of ourselves. The fact that Lockhart never quite gets to an answer is refreshing.”

And many others are rallying for Lockhart, pleased that Honeywater Press took the author under its wing when none of the other big houses were willing. “I’m not going to read it or anything,” says one fan. “But I like that it’s out there.”

“We’re not expecting a huge crowd tomorrow,” says the owner of Flourish and Blotts Bookseller, where, years earlier, people were lined up around the block to get to a Lockhart signing. “But, hey, we’ll serve some Nettle Wine. Maybe that will lead to some sales.”

Melissa Sarno is Thestral Gazette’s celebrity reporter and co-president of the Herbology Club. When she’s not up to her ankles in mooncalf dung, you can find her accompanying the Frog Choir on harpsichord or writing Witch Lit in the Hogwarts Library. She blogs at http://melissasarno.com/.

Thestral Gazette is an unofficial publication for students of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Founded by Luna Lovegood and Colin Creevy, the tabloid continues its fine tradition of yellow journalism under the editorship of Laurel Garver and a large staff of student reporters. To join the reporting staff, contact us at thestralgazette (at) gmail (dot) com.

See all the back issues at our archive site:
THESTRAL GAZETTE

Can this doomed book launch be saved? What creative ways would you market if you were on Lockhart's promotions team?

Navigating through the fog

2011-09-20T12:24:00.003-04:00

As little as I've been able to be online these days, I keep coming across stories that have clouded my sense of what publishing path would fit me best.

Like this one: He Beats Me, But He's My Publisher

And this: Author Polly Courtney Quits Big 6

And then there's the whole productivity issue, as explained here: How Fast Do You Have to Write to Build a Successful Career?

Suddenly I'm feeling my inner brakes squealing, my inner turn-signal clicking and my hand about to pull hard to the left.

After all, the Indie side has its proponents: Revenge of the Rejected

And proponents with many caveats: When NOT to Go Indie
And Why Self-Publishing is Better Than You Think
And somewhere in the middle: When you don't care - more Indie thoughts

Of course, there's always "the middle way"--small press publishing

Michelle's small publisher series at The Innocent Flower covers lots of the pros and cons.

When it comes down to it, there are a number of questions to ask yourself when trying to navigate through all this information.

1. What does success look like TO ME?
Quitting the day job to write full time might be your goal. Or having a loyal following. It might mean having a certain level of control. Producing work that you feel proud of. Reaching a particular target audience with something helpful and life-giving.

2. What are my no-go areas?
What sacrifices am I not willing to make in my career? This might involve decisions about genres and approaches, financial risk, public exposure, associations. Where are you unwilling to compromise?

3. What kind of writing lifestyle can I maintain?
This question is perhaps the toughest to answer. It has to do with your stamina, your level of self-motivation, your ability to deal with outside pressure and to some degree the strength of your ego.

What do you think? Have you chosen a particular path? Why? What went into that decision?
Image credit: morguefile.com

Trailer lessons

2011-09-15T07:08:00.001-04:00

I've been trying to learn all I can about book trailers and came across this nifty site, which collects a bunch of MG and YA trailers, called Book Trailers for All. Created for librarians and teachers, it has plenty of samples to watch and learn from--things you might want to emulate or avoid. I think the coolest one, which has custom animation, is below, for Tell Me a Secret by Holly Culpa:

When I consider how I'd invest in marketing a book, I think shelling out for a really superb trailer looks like it ought to give a lot of bang for one's buck. Videos can be released widely, even go viral, without any additional cost beyond the initial outlay for art and music. Printed matter has a role to play in marketing, too, I suppose, though with book signings becoming less common, paper swag might not be the best place to put most of your promo dollars.

What are some things you like to see in book trailers? Dislike?

Why setting matters

2011-09-13T07:23:00.001-04:00

After all anybody is as their

land and air is. Anybody

is as the sky is low or high,

the air heavy or clean

and anybody is as there

is wind or no wind there.

It is that which makes them

and the arts they make

and the work they do

and the way they eat

and the way they drink

and the way they learn

and everything.

--Gertrude Stein,

“An American and France”

(1936), n.p.

I came across this quote while copy editing at work and felt Stein had hit on something important about the intersection of setting and character.

Where you are makes you who you are.

At a picnic last weekend, my friend Shareen spoke of loving to visit the American West and feeling most at home in wide-open spaces under an endless sky. She grew up in Africa's vast grasslands. And she made it sound so very compelling. But alas, I'd feel exposed and terrified in Shareen's grasslands. I grew up in a river valley surrounded by mid-size eastern mountains and lush forests. She'd likely feel claustrophobic and oppressed where I feel safe and free.

What feels safe or good or beautiful or desirable is something shaped in profound ways by setting, by milieu (that is, the larger context of social relationships within a setting). Whether your character wears her nails natural or paints them black, fire-engine red or pale mauve is shaped by where she comes from. Whether he drinks Coors or Courvoisier is likewise due in part to his milieu.

Granted, we live in a very mobile society. People often leave their home settings in young adulthood, never to return. But Stein draws us back to the truth that "you can take the boy out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the boy." In the best characterizations, the person's roots will show, often in subtle ways--a silent head-bow before a meal, the secret stash of CDs, an odd rock used as a paperweight.

As you develop characters, remember to think about where they come from and how the current setting fits or doesn't fit with that early experience. Let that homeland be the filter through which they imagine and make mental associations and draw colorful metaphors and similes. Let it shape their choice of housing and hobbies and confidantes.

What are some of your favorite characters shaped by their setting? How might you try to show setting shaping your characters?

Advice for Wizards and Witches

2011-09-08T07:00:00.003-04:00

by Abby Gabby, Ravenclaw

Dear Abby Gabby,
I’ve accidentally scheduled two dates with two boys for the same night! What do I do?
~Split in two from Slytherin

Dear Split,
Well, it’s no surprise to me a sneaky Slytherin would do something like that. Get yourself a time-turner so you can be in two places at once! There may be one available in the school, but you’ll have to find the bearer, which shouldn’t be too hard. Just check all the advanced classes and if you see the same student twice— that’ll be your girl.

***

Dear Abby Gabby,
Is there a way to guarantee I won’t eat a bogey flavored Bertie Bott’s bean?
~Snot-shy from Ravenclaw

Dear Snots,
Yes. Just offer Ron Weasley a few— he’s notorious for getting bogey flavored beans every time. Then you should be fine to eat the rest without getting a bogey one. Just watch out for the vomit flavored bean—usually orange-speckled pink. That one’s a doozie.

***

Dear Abby Gabby,
I really want the guy I like to win a spot on the Quidditch team, but my Gryffindor conscience is not letting me do anything sneaky. What do I do?
~Honorable from Gryffindor

Dear Goody Goody,
Unwad your panties and perform a Confundus charm on the competition. Live a little—you never know how fun it is until you try. Besides, you can use it as an excuse to practice your charms. You never know when you might need this spell in a real battle.

***

Dear Abby Gabby,
There is this girl I really like in my Potions class. But I’m too shy to approach her! What do I do?
~Nervous from Hufflepuff

Dear Nerves,
Brew yourself some Felix Felicis potion to give you the confidence to ask her out! It will need to stew for six months, however, so during that time practice your smile!

Word of warning: it may make you overconfident, so I’d get advice from some who has had experience with it like Harry Potter or Ron Weasley. (There is a rumor going around that Ron was tricked and did not actually consume the potion the day of his best-ever Quidditch match, so take his advice with a grain of salt.)

Thestral Gazette advice columnist Abby Gabby, a member of the Ravenclaw house, prefers to keep her true identity a secret (for the sake of her trusted advisees, of course). She loves divination, lending a shoulder to cry on, and quite possibly has the slightest crush on Professor Firenze. She blogs as her alter ego, Abby Minard at Above Water.

Thestral Gazette is an unofficial publication for students of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Founded by Luna Lovegood and Colin Creevy, the tabloid continues its fine tradition of yellow journalism under the editorship of Laurel Garver and a large staff of student reporters. To join the reporting staff, contact us at thestralgazette (at) gmail (dot) com.

See all the back issues at our archive site:
THESTRAL GAZETTE

How would you advise these Hogwarts students? Any new questions for Abby?

Chaos theory

2011-09-07T10:45:00.002-04:00

Taking a five-week hiatus from blogging didn't turn out quite like I'd expected, but it was just what I needed.

August turned weirdly chaotic, full of those mini-disasters that felt like I was living farcical chick lit or something. Seriously, an earthquake and a hurricane in the same week? In Pennsylvania? What was up with that? Even more fun, the day I dropped off my spouse to live on campus for a week to teach an intensive college-prep class, my daughter got violent stomach flu and was awake until 1:30 AM, unable to keep even water down. She nailed my oriental rug and five rental places had no available carpet shampooers--this two days before a house guest was due to arrive (and she was six hours late!). Spot cleaning and vanilla candles barely held the stench at bay until we could shampoo the rug--a week later. When my hubby came home from his program, he caught a different GI virus that lasted five days, including his birthday. The printer at work went kaput. I can't find my cell phone anywhere. All our pets got fleas, and the dog, a UTI. It won't stop raining and my daughter's schoolbus was 25 minutes late this morning and how come every other recycling can on the block was emptied but ours?

In the midst of this, small windows of writing time were a nice escape. In the back of my mind, I know I need to make some decisions about which writing project will take priority and how or if I'll proceed with the others. But today isn't the day.

Today I need some chocolate. And my cell phone. And something nice to happen for a change.

Have you ever had disasters cluster like this? Tell me your craziest stories!

Image source: Florida Center for Instructional Technology

Mid-month report

2011-08-16T11:43:00.004-04:00

Hello, friends. I hope you are all having a lovely August. As promised, I'm dropping in briefly to give an update on my hiatus happenings.

My lovely alpha reader, who has cheered me on endlessly through book one, sent me a good, old-fashioned letter, asking to see pages from book two. How could I say no to that? I spent a week cleaning up the first six chapters (can't say how many times I changed chapter breaks), printed them and mailed them to her at the camp where she's a counselor.

I gave myself the goal of repairing and finishing chapters 7 and 8 by mid-month. I finished that up last night. I'll put those in my alpha's hands when she returns from Maine.

Some things I learned while on the road last week:

~Weak coffee is the bane of my existence.

~I do my best drafting in longhand.

~Preparation is everything. Before leaving home, I had organized a notebook with printed pages of the draft, my novel "bible," plot notes and drafting spiral-bounds. At quiet moments, I could review and add brainstorming notes.

~Asking for blocks of time away from the family to just write does wonders for my morale. A quiet museum cafeteria was my most productive venue.

~Staring out car windows at nice scenery is good for the subconscious mind to do its mysterious work.

~Understanding character motivations and desires is so foundational. Spend time freewriting about each character's psychology and scene ideas will come to you fast and furious.

Have you ever taken your writing on the road? What did you get out of it?

Parting is such sweet sorrow

2011-08-01T10:25:00.004-04:00

The last lazy, hazy days of summer are here and what better time for the muse to arrive with a shiny new idea requiring tons of research AND an insight that has unstuck a shelved project? While the ideas are flowing well, it seems a good time to take a break from blogging. I plan to check in a few times in August--a mid-month (8/15) and month-end (8/31) report.

This hiatus means that I won't be editing new editions of the fan fiction Hogwarts underground newspaper Thestral Gazette until September. If you're hankering for Harry Potter fun, do check out the newspaper's archive site: THESTRAL GAZETTE. We have three months' worth of hilarious weekly posts available for your reading pleasure.

I'll be checking in regularly on Facebook, so if you haven't yet friended me, please do. I believe that clicking my Facebook badge on the right will facilitate the connection.

Happy August!

Special Summer Edition: Attention DA Members and Friends of Harry Potter—Four days and counting

2011-07-28T07:00:00.001-04:00

by Michael Di Gesu, Ravenclaw

LONDON - All week, O.W.L. results have been delivered over Great Britain to soon-to-be sixth years who waited with nerves bordering on a breakdown. Parents twitched anxious fingers over wands ready to hex their kids if they pestered them about any special owl deliveries ... my mum included.

Even with Umbridge and her tyrannical ways overpowered, most fifth years didn’t receive proper Defense Against the Dark Arts training and therefore many failed. Only a few of us (you know who you are) passed this course with an Exceeds Expectation or the coveted Outstanding. We had help from a very special person indeed.

Speaking of this special person, a new name for THE BOY WHO LIVED is on the lips of wizards young and old. Could Harry Potter really be THE CHOSEN ONE? This investigative reporter will dig deep to uncover every clue to see if the rumors are true. (Plus it doesn’t hurt to be in his inner circle.)

Last night, a snowy owl pecked at my window. It was none other than Hedwig, Harry Potter’s personal owl. What could THE CHOSEN ONE want from me? Could these be the answers to the questions I ran by him before term ended? Fat chance, he threatened to never speak to me again if I printed anything about him. But surely, he wouldn’t. Or would he? His mood swings lately would try anyone’s patience. But now that Umbridge is back in the Ministry and out of our hair, he should be more himself.

To my shock, the message wasn’t anything worth printing...just an invitation to the Burrow from Ron Weasley.

But wait! There was something in that scribble--the date, July 31. Four days from now, Harry Potter turns sixteen!

Let’s make this his most unforgettable birthday! Let’s give THE BOY WHO LIVED the best surprise party ever. Let’s honor him for all that he has done for us. After the tumultuous year we’ve all had, let’s get wild and show Harry how much we love him.

Write those letters, get those owls ready, and send Harry a cheery birthday message.

All you DA members, please get in touch with Fred and George Weasley before crashing this event. If anyone two people know how to crash anything, they do. Harry won’t expect a thing. Imagine his face as all of us DA members grin at him while hundreds of owls carry in warm wishes.

So don’t forget, blast those calendars with memory dust for Mon., July 31!

Four days and counting!

Michael Di Gesu is the Thestral Gazette’s investigative reporter. If you have anything to hide, he will sniff it out. When he’s not digging up secrets and sordid affairs, you’ll find him on the Quidditch pitch with friends Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. Terrified of flying himself, he’s yet to take flight with his buddies. Harry’s still working on it. “Someday I’ll get him on a broom!” Michael blogs at: http://writing-art-and-design.blogspot.com/.

Thestral Gazette is an unofficial publication for students of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Founded by Luna Lovegood and Colin Creevy, the tabloid continues its fine tradition of yellow journalism under the editorship of Laurel Garver and a large staff of student reporters. To join the reporting staff, contact us at thestralgazette (at) gmail (dot) com.

See all the back issues at our archive site:
THESTRAL GAZETTE

How will you help make Harry's special day even more wonderful?

Query hate/query love

2011-07-26T11:14:00.004-04:00

How is your summer going, friends? I am having a great time researching a shiny new idea while simultaneously having a not-so-great time revising marketing materials for a finished book.

After a long chat with a CP who encouraged me to start my query from scratch, I realized something. I've been channeling my frustrations with query letter writing into how I conceive of my character. This is a very bad thing. One's query should always convey a sense of excitement about the project. Yet the more drafts I wrote, the more judgmental of my MC they sound.

I had a long talk with my girl this morning. I apologized to her for losing the love, for not listening with a truly sympathetic ear. Answers to common query questions--What does she want? What must she do to get it? What's in the way? What happens if she can't get it?--must come from within her and her story. She is what makes the story have heart, not my (stumbling) attempts to cleverly describe it.

Writing from a place of love isn't just for the book itself--it's for everything surrounding it, queries and synopses included. If you find yourself genuinely perplexed about the marketing end, it's time to get back to the basics and love your characters and their world.

Have you dealt with query/synopsis struggles? What helped?

Special Report from Hogwarts Florida Campus

2011-07-21T07:07:00.001-04:00

by Lisa Galek, Ravenclaw

ORLANDO--Ever wish tank tops were part of the Hogwarts dress code? Do you long for ocean-side Potion lessons? Been dying to use that sunblock spell you learned last year? Then consider taking a summer class at Hogwarts esteemed American campus located in sunny Orlando, Florida! This reporter was lucky enough to be part of a wizarding convention there last week and has the full scoop for you on all the classes, shopping, and extracurriculars.

The first thing you’ll see when you arrive is a replica of our beloved Hogsmeade. You’ll be amazed at how close these American wizards have come to our own village. You’ll feel right as home as you take a stroll past the shops, buy a butterbeer in the street (I recommend the frozen variety), or enjoy a song performed by the frog choir. They have a branch of Zonko’s selling all kinds of magical mischief. There’s Honeydukes, too (watch out for the chocolate frogs – they not only hop fast, they melt fast). You can pop into Ollivanders to watch one lucky witch or wizard choose their very own wand. Or you can buy some quality Quidditch supplies at Dervish and Banges. If you want to write home to all your friends, stop at the owl post. There your letters will be postmarked from Hogsmeade, so everyone will know how you’ve been spending your summer.

Make sure you leave room for lunch, too! You can stop into the Three Broomsticks where house-elves are cooking up delicious British cuisine. It will run you a few Galleons, but it’s definitely worth it. Be sure to check out the Hog’s Head next door, as well. The barmen are very friendly, but the hog behind the bar has been known to grunt at patrons from time to time.

On the way up to the castle, you can stop for a quick ride with Buckbeak on Flight of the Hippogriff (approach with caution though… my hippogriff went soaring all over the place once I boarded!). For the especially brave, you can even race a Hungarian Horntail or Chinese Fireball on the Dragon Challenge. I chose the Horntail and I’m very pleased to say that I won… and survived.

Hogwarts castle is truly spectacular. As you walk through, you can chat with the portraits, get a peek into the Headmaster’s office, and even see some famous Gryffindor alumni in the common room. In the heart of the castle is Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. It’s a remarkable adventure… if you’re feeling up to chasing a dragon through the grounds. Watch out for the dementors (I had stowed my wand before getting on board, so I couldn’t even cast my patronus!) and spiders (I clamped my eyes shut the entire time we were in Aragog’s lair. One run in with a giant spider is quite enough for me). Oh, and one more warning – the ride feels a bit like disapparating for the first time. I had to sit down for a short while after I left the castle… but I soon recovered and, luckily, didn’t end up looking like the victim of a bad Puking Pastille.

The only real problem I had with the Florida campus is that they let Muggles in! Of course, the little dears can’t register for classes, but you’ll catch them aimlessly waving wands in the streets and gawking in the shop windows everywhere you look (it’s like they’ve never seen a mandrake before!). And the place is constantly jam-packed. Some would say this is excellent for promotion of cooperation between magical and non-magical peoples, but I doubt those people have ever had the hem of their brand new robes trampled on by a group of wide-eyed Muggle tourists.

All in all, a visit to Hogwarts’ Florida campus makes a fantastic summer holiday. My only question is: Do they accept transfer students?

Lisa Galek is the Thestral Gazette’s adventurous travel reporter. She spends her days up in Ravenclaw tower plotting trips with the help of Charles, her enchanted talking atlas. When she’s not busy seeing the world via broomstick, she blogs at Read. Write. Repeat.

Thestral Gazette is an unofficial publication for students of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Founded by Luna Lovegood and Colin Creevy, the tabloid continues its fine tradition of yellow journalism under the editorship of Laurel Garver and a large staff of student reporters. To join the reporting staff, contact us at thestralgazette (at) gmail (dot) com.

See all the back issues at our archive site:
THESTRAL GAZETTE

Which part of Florida campus appeals to you most?

Bored with/by/of gaffes

2011-07-19T07:36:00.000-04:00

Dear Editor-on-Call,

Is "bored of" a proper phrase? I thought it was "bored with."

Regards,
Interested in bored
(aka Valerie Keiser Norris)

Dear Interested,
You're correct. The standard American idiomatic use is "bored with." Oxford says "bored by" is also correct. I couldn't find any evidence that "bored of" is the idiom in other anglophone counties. (There are a number of phrases in which the idioms do differ, such as "different." Americans say "this is different FROM that" while the Europeans say "this is different TO that".)

The nonstandard use "bored of" appears to have been picked up from parody/punning titles. For example, the title "Bored of Education," as a pun on "Board of Education" has appeared in numerous places, from an Our Gang short in the 1930s (see photo) to an album title by the hip-hop band Brooklyn Academy in 2008 (reference: Maeve Maddox, Daily Writing Tips). A 1969 parody of Tolkien's fantasy series was titled Bored of the Rings.

The lesson in all this? Take care to use a reputable source when you check your grammar. A google search is likely to turn up just as many misuses of grammar as correct uses.

Are there any phrases like bored of/with that confuse you?

The slow-growing hero

2011-07-15T10:11:00.003-04:00

As Harry Potter week draws to a close, I'd like to talk about one of the characters I've most enjoyed watching change and grow over the series: Neville Longbottom.

In Rowling's world of evocative names like Pomona Sprout and Severus Snape, Neville's is one of the most interesting. "Neville," from the French, means "new village" and Longbottom, more obviously, one who remains lowly, at the bottom, for a long time. Put them together, and I see prophecy: the boy who stays long at the bottom will be the foundation of a new civilization.

Like Harry, Neville lost his parents traumatically during Voldemort's first uprising. Unlike Harry, Neville knows everything about it. He knows what happened to them (cruciatus curse), who did it and exactly where she is (Bellatrix Lestrange, prisoner in Azkaban). You get the sense that his extended family draws a certain pride from rehearsing the story of how Frank and Alice refused to give up information under torture and went into catatonic shock because of it. Like Harry, Neville is haunted by his parents, but his ghosts are corporeal and he gets dragged to St. Mungo's to be regularly re-haunted by them.

If anyone has reason to become dark and twisted, it's Neville. And yet, he initially reacts to it not with anger but by shutting down. He's notoriously forgetful, as if this is his regular mental pattern. He wants to just forget, to be numb. The magical world scares him--he's seen how powerfully evil it can be. He works against himself subconsciously, not really wanting to be a wizard. His great uncle Algy finally manages to trigger some magic in the poor boy by shoving him out an upper-story window, and Neville's magical instincts kick in to save him from injury. This will remain Neville's pattern for many of the books--magic only under duress--until he can get a handle on his fear and begin to grasp his own inner strength.

Greatness has been thrust upon Neville by his Gran, who fully expects him to live up to his auror parents' example. Her expectations seem to hurt more than help, and yet, having someone see something worthwhile in him does provide a foundation from which he can change.

Harry has empathy for Neville from the beginning--he sees a kid likely to be bullied the way Dudley bullied him and his protective instincts kick in. While others get fed up with Neville's bumbling, Harry continues to defend him in his weakness. In book one, Harry tells Neville, "You're worth ten of Malfoy." For Neville to hear that from a peer, one who has had as tough a beginning as himself, sets more foundation stones for Neville's storehouse of courage.

In Prisoner of Azkaban, we see a parallel of Neville in James's generation--Peter Pettigrew. Pettigrew eventually becomes a betrayer because James, unlike his son, never took any pains to encourage his hanger-on and treat him like a true friend. In Harry's friendship with Neville, we see hopeful signs that Harry will succeed where his father and the older generation failed.

It is not until Order of the Phoenix that Neville begins to come into his own, for two reasons. First, Neville's peers work hard to bolster his confidence. Second, Neville at last opens up to others about what happened to his parents. I wish the St. Mungo's scene had been included in the film, because it is so pivotal to Neville's development in the book. His parents being alive but catatonic has long been a sore point for Neville. How can heroes look so, well, embarrassing? Again, Harry's reaction to Neville's shame is affirming, and this clearly enables Neville to stop his pattern of self-sabotage. By book seven, he is able to fill Harry's shoes as the head of the D.A., and endures torture from the Carrows with the same bravery as Frank and Alice Longbottom.

I have to admit, one of my very favorite parts of book seven is when Neville proves himself a true heir of Gryffindor, grasps Godric's sword and destroys the final horcrux. (And I can't WAIT to see it on the big screen tomorrow--I have Saturday a.m. tickets.) Neville has come a long, long way from crawling, teary-eyed, on the floor of Hogwart's Express searching for his toad.

Be sure to check out posts from the rest of the Harry Potter Week blog ring:
Jen Daiker
Michael Di Gesu
Lisa Galek
Renae Mercado
Abby Minard
Colene Murphy
Melissa Sarno

What are your thoughts on Neville's transformation from the butt of jokes to the heir of Gryffindor?

What makes a villain? Part 3: Hero in villain's clothing

2011-07-14T09:57:00.001-04:00

Harry Potter week continues here at Laurel's Leaves. I'm interrupting my usual weekly Harry Potter-themed issue of "Thestral Gazette" (our fan-fic Hogwarts student underground newspaper) in order to talk about...um, Harry Potter. Oh, the irony. LOL.

If you'd like a lighter take on the series, please do go check out the archive site "THESTRAL GAZETTE, Hidden Hogwarts Revealed by Those in the Know" where I cross-post every issue, written by me or one of this week's blog ring participants. Be sure to return here next week, when Lisa Galek will be guest posting about her visit to Hogwart's satellite campus in Florida.

In the run-up to the release of the Deathly Hallows part 2 film, I've been looking at Rowling's complex characterizations over the series, focusing especially on the villainous characters. In PART 1, I examined the Dursely and Malfoy families. In PART 2, I delved into the faces of evil we see in Umbridge and Voldemort. Today, I want to look at the complex, misunderstood character Severus Snape.

Snape: the hero in villain's clothing

Harry and Snape first encounter one another during the opening banquet and sorting ceremony. Snape seems to be studying him carefully, and Harry initially reads it as sinister intent. Snape looks dangerous--he's all in black, lean and hungry-looking, dark eyes glittering with what Harry reads as pure malice. Harry's accustomed to being judged by his fearful, approval-hungry relatives. But this look? Not fearful. Something else. Something Harry can't name or understand, and it unnerves him.

But from what we learn of Snape over the course of the series, Snape's initial reaction is likely exceedingly complex. Here is the "boy who lived" while his beloved died to save this child. He resembles Snape's childhood rival, James Potter. The whole school is abuzz with this child's celebrity. And yet...the kid is completely clueless. The celebrity is totally lost on him. And while Snape fully expects Harry to be James's arrogant, bullying clone, he finds a confused, scared little boy who had an upbringing a whole lot like, well, his own! Harry, too, bears the marks of adult neglect, stuck wearing ill-fitting hand-me-downs and having bad hair. While seeing himself in Harry ought to stir Snape's sympathy, it does the opposite. It stirs up his own self-loathing. These ugly characteristics, after all, are what he believes kept him from winning Lily.

I find it highly ironic that the student Snape favors is the real heir of James Potter: Draco Malfoy. Does that shock you? Seriously, Draco is far, far more like James that Harry is. He's from a rich, pureblood family and lords it over others. He's arrogant and a bully. In place of Crabbe and Goyle, James had Remus and Sirius, who helped him torment the throwaway kid of his generation, Snape. Draco and James even play the same Quidditch position--Seeker. In currying Draco's goodwill, Snape is unwittingly still trying to be accepted by James Potter.

Beyond seeing his hated rival and the hated the throwaway-child part of himself in Harry, Snape also sees his beloved. Lily died so this child could live. Snape wants to honor her memory and prove himself her truest of loves. He will protect Lily's child and avenge her death, even if it tears him up inside to do it, even if he has to grit his teeth all the while.

Now there's some complex characterization for you!

Surely Snape's inner conflicts appear on the surface as villainy. He singles Harry out for ridicule and uses his position of power to put Harry down. And yet...Snape guards Harry's life in book after book with no concern for his own personal safety. The only times we ever see Snape being remotely fearful is when he thinks Lily's son might be in mortal danger. Snape knows that Harry is pivotal in bringing down Lily's killer. He does all he can to aid Harry's success, acting as a spy among the Death Eaters in order to track their movements and plans, biding his time until he can avenge Lily.

It isn't until the final moments of Snape's life that Harry begins to put together all the pieces. But when he does, it's like the scales fall off his hate-blinded eyes. He realizes that true heroes act on behalf of those they love with no thought for themselves. Snape cared only about Lily and Lily's legacy. He didn't care if people misunderstood and hated him for it. His own reputation mattered not at all. He is the anti-Dursleys in this way. He wants only to empower Harry, not grasp power for himself. He is the anti-Voldemort.

In the end, Harry realizes the extent to which his life has been entwined with Snape's. How Snape has been a true father to him. As Harry faces Voldemort in their final face-off, it is Snape's example he follows. Motivated by love for Lily (and James) as well as Ginny, Harry sacrifices himself and finds final redemption.

Be sure to check out posts from the rest of the Harry Potter Week blog ring:
Jen Daiker
Michael Di Gesu
Lisa Galek
Renae Mercado
Abby Minard
Colene Murphy
Melissa Sarno

What do you think of this complex interplay of the past and present in Snape's characterization?

What makes a villain? Part 2

2011-07-13T12:47:00.000-04:00

Harry Potter week continues here at Laurel's Leaves. Today I continue analyzing some of Rowling's villains and what makes them tick. Check out yesterday's post for my thoughts on the Dursley and Malfoy families.

Dolores Umbridge
I find Dolores Umbridge by far the most chilling of all Rowling's villains, in part because she's the type one is most likely to encounter in real life--the evil bureaucrat.

She's power-mad and sees official positions as her gateway to great things. However, I get the sense that his power hunger came upon her gradually. Umbridge is a great example of what Hannah Arendt calls "the banality of evil." This sort of evilness grows within a person who sees him/herself as embodying society's values and assumes the right to protect those values. Little by little, that assumption turns into a compulsion and leads the person down very dark paths.

Underneath it all is a fear that something good will be lost--some essential value. In Umbridge's case, it is a desire to stamp out anything that disturbs the Fudge regime's "peace at any price" way of thinking. At a deeper level, we also see Umbridge is deeply afraid of hybridity, impurity, the Other. She's Aunt Petunia with a wand.

It's usually the most unassuming people who get sucked into this mentality, which makes it all the more chilling. At some level, most can see ourselves in this ordinary person led astray by good desires run amok. This is the path that, for instance, we see Percy Weasley heading toward.

Tom Marvolo Riddle
Rowling's portrayal of Tom Riddle/Lord Voldemort is perhaps one of the most deeply psychological looks at the making of a sociopath you'll find in fiction, let alone children's fiction.

Some of the factors that clearly play into Riddle's make up are his conception tainted by deceit (rather than love), his abandonment and his mistreatment and neglect in early childhood. These things warp him so that he never develops empathy and cannot attach to anyone.

The rest of his life becomes a quest to never again be powerless or worthless or at another's mercy. These drives seem to culminate most of all in a fear of death. If he can master death, then he won't have to fear anything or anyone ever, ever again.

I think Rowling points out something here we as a society need to take very seriously. Early intervention in cases of abuse and neglect are ESSENTIAL. Tom arrives at Hogwarts at age 11, already too far gone to be redeemed. All society suffers because of it.

Tomorrow I'll be back with my promised look at Snape. His characterization is a bit too complex to squeeze in here! (And I'm late posting because we had last-minute overnight guests.)

Be sure to check out posts from the rest of the Harry Potter Week blog ring:
Jen Daiker
Michael Di Gesu
Lisa Galek
Renae Mercado
Abby Minard
Colene Murphy
Melissa Sarno

What strikes you about the many faces of villainy in the Harry Potter series?

HP Week: What makes a villain? Part 1

2011-07-12T09:28:00.006-04:00

As the release of the final Harry Potter film approaches, I find myself looking back over the series as a whole and see some interesting patterns emerging. Today I'd like to look at Rowling's villains and what seems to make them tick.

The Dursleys

The Dursleys' bullying and abuse of Harry seem over the top to the point of parody in the vein of Roald Dahl. But unlike Dahl's villains, their primary motivation isn't selfishness. It's fear. They fear being judged by neighbors so much that they'll ruthlessly cover up and squelch anything that might mark them as "not normal" in the community. Once Harry's magical nature is revealed, they're far less concerned about his ability to hex them. No, they continue to tremble at the thought the neighbors might find out one of their blood kin is "a freak."

Ironically, we never, ever see the Dursleys enjoying the fruits of their supposed good reputation. They aren't having backyard barbecues with the neighbors, nor do they seem to entertain much. Their fear blocks them from having genuine friendships.

The Malfoys

The Malfoy family seems to have everything going for them--they're rich, well bred and attractive. They seem to genuinely love one another as well, which isn't something you can say for most of Lord Voldemort's lackeys.

So why are they attracted to the dark side? Fear. Unlike Voldemort, who comes from nothing and scrambles for power and privilege, they come from privilege and fear losing it. They have a lot to lose, and want to stay on the winning team.

But there are limits to the Malfoys' willingness to risk, partly because of the strength of their love for one another. In moments when this primary love is tested, it always trumps whatever harm Voldemort threatens--they go along only to keep one another safe. Even in this haughty family, Rowling shows the biblical idea that "perfect love casts out fear."

Come back tomorrow, when I'll talk about Rowling's other villains: Umbridge and Voldemort, as well as the antihero, Snape.

Be sure to check out posts from the rest of the Harry Potter Week blog ring:
Jen Daiker
Michael Di Gesu
Lisa Galek
Renae Mercado
Abby Minard
Colene Murphy
Melissa Sarno

What do you think about villainy motivated by fear? Do you see other parallels between the Dursleys and the Malfoys?

HP Week: The benefits of books first

2011-07-11T07:06:00.005-04:00

It's finally here--Harry Potter Week! I've teamed up with seven other fabulous bloggers to bring you a week of all HP posts in anticipation of the release of Deathly Hallows part 2.

Be sure to check out my blog ring buddies:
Jen Daiker
Michael Di Gesu
Lisa Galek
Renae Mercado
Abby Minard
Colene Murphy
Melissa Sarno

Today I have a guest post from my husband Joel, an assistant professor of philosophy at La Salle University who teaches a course, Har ry Potter and Philosophy. He also contributed a chapter to a collection of "philosophy for beginners" essays that engage Rowling's world--The Ultimate Harry Potter and Philosophy: Hogwarts for Muggles.

Because of this, his university PR department often send reporters his way that are covering Harry Potter topics. Joel kindly let me post his response to a reporter at the Hartford Courant (not sure when/if his comments will appear in the planned article).

She had asked,
"How does the experience of readers today differ from the generation of readers who were growing up as the books first came out?"

Take it away, Joel...

I've taught Harry Potter to college students who grew up with them and I have an elementary school-age daughter who is now reading through the books, so I've seen both generations of readers and movie-watchers.

It seems to me that Rowling always intended the books to be taken slowly, over an extended time -- and that is how we are guiding our daughter in her reading. The books are intended to grow up with the children who read them, as they in fact did by necessity with the first generation of readers.

After all, with each successive book the volumes get longer, the plots become increasingly more complex, the main characters grow up, the wizarding world becomes darker and scarier, the stakes become higher, and the themes of the books -- love, death, relationships, sacrifice -- become more mature. There are matters to be puzzled out, problems to be pondered, and realizations to be fought for.

So, these are not books meant to be read by a precocious youngster all in a single summer. Rather, the volumes reward delayed gratification and re-reading. A rapid read will miss too much and fail to absorb all that is going on.

This seems to me part of the genius of Rowling's work -- taking young readers, carrying them along through the character's experiences, and growing them up and helping them mature right along with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. The magic of that sort of literary and personal transformation requires time and patient reading.

Another difference today is that many readers of the books will have begun with the films rather than the books. For those of us who read the books first and then viewed the films afterwards, there was always a certain disappointment with the films. Given the limits and strictures of film-making, they could not help but fall short of the rich tapestry of Rowling's world, the depth of her characterizations, and the complexity of her plots.

The relationship between the films and the books is now reversed for many children (and adults!). There's nothing wrong with that in principle and I'm sure new readers who have seen the films will be impressed by how much of the books is left off the screen.

But what will be lost in reading the books after the films is the sense of discovery the first readers enjoyed -- getting to know these characters and imagining Rowling's world. For many new readers, Hogwarts will always be the place director Chris Columbus imagined and Harry will always be Daniel Radcliffe. Furthermore, these new readers will also lose the experience of being surprised again and again by plot twists, mistaken identities, and startling revelations. And that's a sad loss, I think.

What was your experience with reading the books and watching the films? What are your thoughts on taking the series slowly, books first?

Snape's Secret Admirer

2011-07-07T07:00:00.002-04:00

By Jen Daiker, Hufflepuff

HOGSMEDE, INVERNESS—The secret is out at Hogwarts. A certain someone in a black robe has been receiving love letters from a student.

Have you noticed your girl doesn’t seem as interested in you? You’re not able to sweep her off her feet, even on the Quidditch Pitch? She may be hiding something.

Recently I’ve come across a secret stash of love letters to none other than Professor Snape. I can’t reveal my sources, but suffice it to say, I’ve cracked into a secret club more exclusive than Dumbledore’s Army. If you’re a member, watch your back—and your intimate correspondence.

The Hopeless Romantic
My Dearest Severus,

My feelings for you grow stronger every day. You respect me enough to let me know about my homework ahead of time. You praise me when you praise no one else for a job well done. No one has ever in my life talked to me the way you do. We’ve gone through so much together all ready, like the day when a student set his hair on fire. I believe we could get through anything.

You and I are destined to become the fairytale romance I’ve dreamt about. I’ve read many stories and listened to my friends’ stories of their childish crushes. But my love is for you is so much more—deep, rooted and true. I hope you feel the same.

Yours Truly,
Wanna be yours 4-Ever

Conjure Up My Love
Snape,

I hope we can share a moment sometime during this school year and see where the sparks go. It’s my last year and I know I’ll need lots and lots of one-on-one tutoring in order to excel in my potions N.E.W.T. I’ve also scheduled my classes to make sure they’re close to you. If only we could slip away somewhere romantic to have lunch. How magical it would be.

I have an idea. Since you are indeed the potions master it would be nice if you could conjure up some polyjuice potion so we could meet in secret. You may have been thinking love potion but I don’t roll that way. I know our love is true. We can make this work.

Always,
Lover Gurl

Hidden Love
Steal-my-heart Snape,

I love you so much and you just don't know it. Sometimes I get scared to show it. It feels like when you come around me my mouth becomes grid-locked and all the words I want to say just stop.

My lips clutter because my love is so strong. Your eyes shine like big, glittery beetles. Your words flow like delicious butterbeer. Sometimes I want to open up to you and tell you how I feel --I guess I am too scared to open up and be real. Maybe one day I’ll have the courage, for now I’ll just pray for the perfect love potion.

I hope you share these hidden feelings too. I love you.

Thinking of you,
Never stop our love

Jen Daiker loves transfiguration, fizzing whizbees, and is a founding member of S.P.E.W. She has also been known to dabble with polyjuice potion. She blogs at unedited.

Thestral Gazette is an unofficial publication for students of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Founded by Luna Lovegood and Colin Creevy, the tabloid continues its fine tradition of yellow journalism under the editorship of Laurel Garver and a large staff of student reporters. To join the reporting staff, contact us at thestralgazette (at) gmail (dot) com.

See all the back issues at our archive site:
THESTRAL GAZETTE

Do you think Snape is crush-worthy? Why or why not? Which of the teachers do you love most?

Desert wandering: another kind of "writer's block"*

2011-07-05T09:33:00.000-04:00

We all get stuck at times, find our productivity come to a screeching--or sputtering--halt. In THIS previous post, I discussed one of the causes--hitting walls because we hadn't let our intuition guide the process and had taken the story in the wrong direction.

In the comments on that post, I got the sense that walls are not as common as desert times for making us unproductive. So what is this phenomenon--"desert" writer's block?

Image from weathersavvy.com.

Desert

"The word block suggests you are constipated or stuck, when in truth you are empty."

--Anne Lamott, Bird by Bird 178.

"You're blocked because you have nothing to say. Your talent didn't abandon you. If you had something to say, you couldn't stop writing. You can't kill your talent, but you can starve it into a coma through ignorance."

--Robert McKee, Story 73-74

We've all been there--somehow stuck in a place where you're plumb out of ideas. This place feels hot and parched and lifeless--desert-like. Entering a desert usually looks like the following:

- Your characters are faceless mannequins.
- The story setting is a big white box.
- Your characters slump around looking bored.
- The sound loop is your head is chirping crickets, or some really annoying pop song with unintelligible words.
- When you sit down to write, the only word that comes to mind is "waffles."
- You can't blog, tweet or update your Facebook status.
- Your house is exceptionally clean.

Lamott says that you need to accept that these desert times are going to come. In that acceptance, you free yourself to begin filling up again. When the Israelites let the pillar of cloud and fire lead them, God sent them the resources they needed--manna to fell from the sky, water gushed from a rock. The fact was, they couldn't get to the Promised Land on their own--they needed divine intervention. So do we. Call it "the muse," one's "inner light," "intuition," "unconscious mind," "talent" or "the Holy Spirit"--the sources of creativity need freedom and care and feeding.

So how do you allow the empty places to refill? Acceptance, as Lamott says, is a huge piece of it. If you try to push, "Your unconscious can't work when you are breathing down it's neck" (Lamott, 182). She suggests writing 300 words a day culling your memories--just rough journaling to keep you loose. Then seek things that feed you--walking, visiting friends, reading lots of great and terrible books, wandering museums and historic sites.

McKee's advice is strikingly similar. He suggests research as a way of filling up in empty times: "No matter how talented, the ignorant cannot write. Talent must be stimulated by facts and ideas. Do research. Feed your talent. Research not only wins the war on cliche, it's the key to victory over fear and its cousin, depression."

What things have helped feed you in empty, desert times? What new thing might you try based on Lamott's and McKee's advice?

*This is a revised repost from October, 2010

Fast, loose and aria-belting: Professors after hours

2011-06-30T06:54:00.002-04:00

by Laurel Garver, Ravenclaw

HOGSMEDE, INVERNESS--Think you know your professors here at Hogwarts? You just might be surprised what they get up to in their off-duty hours.

According to Cooper Bingley, golden-curled inhabitant of a Flemish-style portrait in the faculty dormitory, our professors get up to some pretty surprising stuff when away from the classroom.

Transfiguration professor Minerva McGonagall has never made any secret of her skill as an animagus. But you might be surprised how playfully she flaunts it when no one but the portraits are watching. Skinny Minnie, as she was known in her schoolgirl days, loves to stair rail surf in her fluffy slippers. While we're all tucked in our dormitory beds, she can usually be found sliding slipper-footed from staircase to staircase, top of the castle to the bottom, only to POOF--transform into her tabby cat form for a perfect landing every time.

Divination professor Sibyll Trelawney might have the gift of the inner eye, but her outer eye? Not so gifted. In fact, her eyesight is so bad, she's been caught not once, but a half dozen times snogging the portrait of Sir Cadogan. Granted, he is a dashing figure in his shiny armor, but surely his painted face could not have felt quite right.

Laughter might be the best medicine, but it is music that soothes the savage breast of our hospital wing matron Poppy Pomfrey. Both portraits and castle ghosts alike confirm that she loves to sing in the shower. Indeed, the ghosts gather three times a week to hear her belt out Puccini and Mozart arias.

"Madam Pomfrey's voice is an utter marvel of mellifluousness," said the Fat Friar, Hufflepuff house ghost. "It is a tragic loss to the musical world that she suffers such petrifying stage fright. "Alas, only we ghosts, portraits and occasional house elf ever have the joy of experiencing her tremendous talent."

Laurel Garver is Thestral Gazette's editor-in-chief and communications secretary for S.P.E.W. She sings in Hogwarts choir, dabbles in Mermish poetry and tirelessly campaigns for an intramural Pegasus polo team.

Thestral Gazette is an unofficial publication for students of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Founded by Luna Lovegood and Colin Creevy, the tabloid continues its fine tradition of yellow journalism under the editorship of Laurel Garver and a large staff of student reporters. To join the reporting staff, contact us at thestralgazette (at) gmail (dot) com.

See all the back issues at our archive site:
THESTRAL GAZETTE

Which professor's off-hours activities surprise you most?

Verbal magnetism

2011-06-28T09:00:00.001-04:00

Today's post isn't about smooth talkers in fiction (though they're always fun to read and to write), it's about a creativity tool I rediscovered: magnetic poetry.

I recall magnetic poetry being the hot new thing back in the mid-1990s, usually sold in bookstore gift sections. Several local coffee shops near me kept cookie sheets coated with the small magnetized pieces of type you could arrange into forms of expression.

The challenge was to work with the words at hand and arrange them into something at least partially coherent. The truly patient would dig through the sticky bits to find just the right words. The impatient would sacrifice coherence. The guffawing teenagers usually left behind suggestive little ditties like this: white curve / in a window / moon rise / blush and run.

I picked up a new set of magnetic poetry at a flea market over the weekend--the "romance" set, which I knew would have lots of fun additions to the two sets I already own. My daughter and I noodled around for a good forty minutes trying different combinations.

My creativity was spurred by three words that had come linked together on one of the perforated sheets: "slow," "velvet" and "dance."

Here's what resulted:

I noticed a few interesting things working in this medium. First, one tends to go light with using articles, because who wants to spend twenty minutes digging for an "a" or "an"? Second, odd combinations pop up all the time and can cause your subject and tone can shift dramatically as you compose. This piece shifted when the word "pleasure" caught my eye. I got thinking what a cliched concept it often is and let my imagination roam for new ways to conceive it.

If you haven't ever played with magnetic poetry, I highly recommend it as a warm-up tool. Seeing stacks of words randomly juxtaposed will stir your imagination in wonderful ways.

Have you ever played with magnetic poetry sets? If you were to take the words I used in my little ditty, how would you rearrange them?

Elves Gone Wild

2011-06-23T07:00:00.001-04:00

by Renaliss Divine, Gryffindor

It’s no secret that things have been a tad willy-nilly throughout Hogwarts castle of late. Students are painfully aware of the headmaster’s absence. Even the teachers are having trouble keeping events close to the vest. But this reporter has witnessed firsthand encounters that cannot be dismissed or ignored.

The once loyal and faithful creatures we have relied upon to keep the castle’s day-to-day tasks running smoothly appear to have gone mental. Luxuries that students and teachers alike have grown accustomed to have been thrown into disarray. What game they are playing at remains to be seen.

Of one thing we can all be certain…the house elves are hereby out of control.

Since the inception of Hogwarts, house elves have lived comfortably within its walls and have been happy to go about the usual business of their station. That is no longer the case. And who is their would-be target, you ask?

First years.

Yes…as if the task of being a first-year witch of wizard were not daunting enough, they have now become the brunt of seemingly unending pranks, though others are inevitably affected as well.

The accounts seemed innocent enough at first. First years were locked out of Gryffindor tower when the Fat Lady insisted that the pass code had changed. Then the stairways continued to move, trapping a group of Ravenclaw girls, who fell into fits of hysteria. Professor Sprout herself was overheard telling another teacher about unspeakable rashes breaking out among her first-year Hufflepuffs after a routine Herbology lesson. No one knows when her classes will resume.

The most eye-opening accounts surfaced when this reporter herself witnessed the elves, who are normally quite evasive, hexing food and placing enchantments on personal items. Events became even more dicey when the girls’ lavatory exploded, flooding an upper corridor and drenching a group of first-year Slytherins. Teachers were summoned immediately to help with the clean-up.

While humorous in nature, these pranks are clearly uncharacteristic of these fair, gentle creatures. So the question is obvious…what could be possessing the elves to act this way? And who has the power to override our dear headmaster? You can rest assured that this reporter intends to find out. Stay tuned.

Renaliss Divine is a sixth year Griffyndor who enjoys concocting new potions that can cure any hair or skin ailment. She is a slave to fashion, especially when tweaking up a plain old uniform. (If you need to borrow shoes, girls...this is your witch!) She blogs as her alter ego, Renae Mercado, at http://renaemercado.blogspot.com/.

Thestral Gazette is an unofficial publication for students of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Founded by Luna Lovegood and Colin Creevy, the tabloid continues its fine tradition of yellow journalism under the editorship of Laurel Garver and a large staff of student reporters. To join the reporting staff, contact us at thestralgazette (at) gmail (dot) com.

See all the back issues at our archive site:
THESTRAL GAZETTE

Who do you think is making the Hogwarts house elves behave so badly?

And then...derailment at Conjunction Junction

2011-06-21T09:33:00.001-04:00

Dear Editor-on-call,

Why doesn't MS Word like the word "then" after a comma?
For example: I juggled a fish and fire batons, then fell off the tightrope.

Sincerely,
Then Pecked
a.k.a. Stephanie Thornton

Dear Pecked,

Word flags this because you're asking "then" to function in a way that's ungrammatical. "Then" is not a coordinating conjunction, that is, a linking word in the FANBOYS family: "for," "and," "nor," "but," "or," "yet," "so." Word has been programmed to want the coordinating conjunction "and" inserted between the comma and "then" to make the sentence grammatically correct.

Your sentence should read like this:
I juggled a fish and fire batons, and then fell off the tightrope.

(Side note: "Then" functions like a conjunction only in "If..., then..." constructions like this:
If I juggle fire batons, then I will fall off the tightrope.)

What is "then"?
"Then" is usually labeled as a type of adverb. Notice that you could feasibly move "then" around in your sentence and it would still make sense:

I juggled a fish and fire batons, and then fell off the tightrope.
I juggled a fish and fire batons, and fell off the tightrope then.
I juggled a fish and fire batons, and fell, then, off the tightrope.

You can't attempt the same trick with the "and." That mobility is a signal that "then" is functioning as a modifier, in this case clarifying when the subject fell.

What about my style?
Here's the rub--you might feel that the addition of "and" to your sentence feels clunky and wrecks your fiction style. You might argue that the comma is functioning in place of the "and," or that the "and" is understood and can be omitted, like the "you" in commands like "Come here!" Perhaps your character voice is deliberately ungrammatical.

If any of these lines of reasoning apply, and you're sick and tired of Word nagging you to add conjunctions you don't want, you can customize your grammar check function. Here's a very helpful tutorial: Customize the Word grammar checker to match your style.

For more details on the types of conjunctions and how they function, click HERE.

What else does Word's grammar checker flag that puzzles you? How might you customize your grammar checker?

Discovery: Mer-mating

2011-06-16T09:00:00.000-04:00

By Runcel P. Yomeh, Hogwarts alum

HOGSMEDE, INVERNESS--The merpeople in Hogwarts lake have always been a point of extreme curiosity to the wizarding world. They are a notoriously secretive society, but this exclusive peek into their watery world was not at all a challenge to your top Magical Creatures Investigator. Gryffidor alumna Runcel P. Yomeh is pleased to present details in the formerly unknown mating ritual of the merpeople.

Most beings find love through physical attraction or mental connection. Not the mermaids—they seek it through violence. From the time they are able to hold a weapon, merpeople are trained in combat. Often mistaken as blood-thirsty and terrifying, merpeople can be very placid when no outsiders are around. But when a relationship is on the line, they must show no weakness. Love is found through hand-to-scaly hand combat.

It flares during mating season in early summer, when the waters begin to heat up. Females get a crazed look, like they ate too much gurdyroot. They flash the reflective underside of their tails to attract an audience. Males can't help but be drawn to this display—-you can see the attraction connection in their slimy eyes. Once the female picks a worthy looking male out of the crowd, she grabs a spear, and the battle is on.

Males have no choice but fight for love, or die unworthy of it. They must defend themselves but not kill the female in the process; hold their own but not get killed themselves. It's a tricky balance that isn't always accomplished.

This reporter, through top secret witchy ways, got a firsthand look at the mating battle between one young female and her desired male.

The young male fought valiantly, not a scratch on him (she was a lovely match, after all), until the very end when his new mate pinned him to the mushy lake floor with her spear tip. But fret not, dear readers, this is how every successful mating battle ends. The male pinned to something by something sharp. (Though it's polite to avoid the heart or head if it's a win!)

There was a short, impromptu celebration for the couple immediately following the battle. The two then retreated to more private quarters to seal the deal.

Merpeople mate for life, much like hinkypunks. The new couple looked totally at ease with one another. But my investigation of the merpeople’s mating ritual was cut short. The giant octopus was not fooled by my disguise and I had to high-fin it out of there.

Next time, buckle up for the flight patterns of Hippogriffs vs. Thestrals. Who is really the king of the sky? The answer will stupefy!

Runcel P. Yomeh, alumna of Gryffidor house, holds a degree in Magical Creature Studies and prefers the quiet, stealthy life of investigating the unknown. She blogs as her alter ego, Colene Murphy, at The Journey.

Thestral Gazette is an unofficial publication for students of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Founded by Luna Lovegood and Colin Creevy, the tabloid continues its fine tradition of yellow journalism under the editorship of Laurel Garver and a large staff of student reporters. To join the reporting staff, contact us at thestralgazette (at) gmail (dot) com.

Back issues of the Thestral Gazette:
Issue 1: Mrs. Norris's secret identity revealed
Issue 2: Being bullied? Weasel your way out.
Issue 3: Viktor Krum Reunites with Former Girlfriend
Issue 4: Umbridge Unmasked
Issue 5: Ask Abby Gabby: Advice for Wizards and Witches
Issue 6: Cauldron Chatter

Which magical creatures would you like Ms. Yomeh to investigate next?

Defending dialect

2011-06-14T07:27:00.001-04:00

Dear Editor-on-call,

How do we figure out where the line is between a stylized voice/dialect vs. proper grammar? I know this is a hugely "case-by-case" basis, but I often find the pieces I write with a bit of a dialect or style get corrected by critiquers for grammar, effectively changing how the character would think.

Sincerely,
Dialectable Dilemma
a.k.a. Sophia at Sophia the Writer

Dear Di,

I suspect the subtext of your question is this: "What do you do when your critiquers are so zealous in their campaign to promote 'good writing' that they suck all the voice out of your work?"

Let's face it, reading is a subjective thing. Some people like to experience cultures beyond their own, to meet people very unlike themselves--and others don't. Any literary device you choose to use will have its fans and its detractors.

As I see it, you have a few options in this scenario.

A. You keep changing your book trying to please everyone until you hate it so much you shelve it.

Can we say neurotic need for affirmation? Nothing will make you quit writing faster than trying to be everything to everyone.

B. You ignore everything the grammar zealots say, because they obviously don't get you.

Of course, they very well might have good insights into non-dialect sections. Do you really want to lose that too?

C. You ask only those who get what you're trying to do to read and critique.

Here, you run the danger of stagnating, because these friendly folks won't push you to change and grow.

D. You provide requests for specific feedback when asking anyone to critique:
"This story contains dialect. Please highlight spots that you think aren't quite reading smoothly."

If you're getting a lot of advice that feels useless, consider how you can be more explicit about what would be useful. Every reader goes into some default mode when they aren't given instruction. For some, the default is "find a dozen nice things to say." For others, the default is "find every instance of nonstandard usage and sloppy grammar."

You can probably guess which option I favor (D, of course!). While it's a good idea to periodically reassess how healthy or dysfunctional your critique relationships are, don't be too quick to sever ties with those who seem too harsh--or give unhelpful advice. Most folks who get into critique groups do so with the intention to learn and to help. Sometimes all that's needed is a meeting session in which you establish some ground rules, then ask for specific kinds of feedback whenever you submit work to be critiqued.

If that doesn't change things, you can decide to ignore certain kinds of critique (like grammar correcting dialect), mull the crits and weigh their merits, or simply leave if the overwhelming feeling from the group is constant negativity and put-downs.

While I haven't read it myself, I've heard others recommend The Writing & Critique Group Survival Guide: How to Make Revisions, Self-Edit, and Give and Receive Feedback by Becky Levine as a great resource for both new and established critique groups to function well.

And when it comes to dialect, go light. And here are some great links from folks more experienced than I on the topic:

The Uses and Abuses of Dialect
Grammar Girl: Writing Accents and Dialects
Writing Dialect: It's in the Rhythm

How have you dealt with unhelpful critiques? What's your take on dialect in fiction?

Cauldron Chatter: Cloaked Items

2011-06-09T07:00:00.002-04:00

by Belicia Babble, Ravenclaw

It’s not just potions brewing at Hogwarts this year! Find out all the juicy details about your friends, classmates, and professors in my gossip column. Names have been cloaked to protect the innocent (and by innocent, I mean me!).

• Which colorfully-named Gryffindor girl has set her sights on a red-headed Keeper? Some late night spell casting might be in their future, but only if she can brew up enough love potion to snag him!

• Terror in the tea leaves! A Hogwarts professor has predicted the death of yet another student. I suggest he watch out for falling cauldrons!

• This Slytherin boy has found some admirers in a pair of first year girls, though more than one witch wants to know what they’re doing lurking around the halls with those scales.

• Which radish-wearing fifth year managed to charm her way into a high-profile Christmas party? It seems being friends with the #1 enemy of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named does have its perks.

• Get ready for a duel! This pair of (allegedly) platonic friends was recently spotted having a full-blown row over school books. Turns out someone can’t stand the thought of not being first in Potions!

• This pigtailed Hufflepuff got a little jittery before last year’s O.W.L.’s, but now friends are saying she’s gone weak in the knees for a certain Herbology classmate.

• Which member of S.P.E.W. recently inherited a house-elf? If he believes in elvish welfare so much, why won’t he just free the poor creature?

• She’s at it again! This red-haired flirt was recently seen canoodling behind a tapestry with her fellow quidditch teammate. 10 points for Gryffindor?

• This Ravenclaw beauty may have a new beau on her arm, but the word around the castle is that she’s been weeping day and night over the loss of her “chosen” guy.

• A certain Slytherin alumni doesn’t want you to know the awful truth – he was raised by muggles!

• Rumor has it that a know-it-all sixth year couldn’t keep her eyes off one of the Gryffindor quidditch team hopefuls during their recent tryouts. The player in question looked a little confused by her attentions… but quickly decided that he’d like to show her a few more of his moves.

• This Hogwarts professor has been seen slinking around the greenhouses late at night. Let’s hope Professor Sprout sics a mandrake on him!

Belicia Babble is the Thestral Gazette’s loose-lipped gossip reporter. She lives in Ravenclaw tower with Prattle, her Pygmy Puff, and loves prying into the personal lives of her classmates. Rumor has it she also blogs as the slightly more discrete Lisa Galek at Read. Write. Repeat.

Thestral Gazette is an unofficial publication for students of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Founded by Luna Lovegood and Colin Creevy, the tabloid continues its fine tradition of yellow journalism under the editorship of Laurel Garver and a large staff of student reporters. To join the reporting staff, contact us at thestralgazette (at) gmail (dot) com.

Back issues of the Thestral Gazette:
Issue 1: Mrs. Norris's secret identity revealed
Issue 2: Being bullied? Weasel your way out.
Issue 3: Viktor Krum Reunites with Former Girlfriend
Issue 4: Umbridge Unmasked
Issue 5: Ask Abby Gabby: Advice for Wizards and Witches

Which of these objects of rumor do you recognize?

Winners!

2011-06-08T09:22:00.003-04:00

Oh, happy day! I am pleased to announce the winners of my Triplicity celebration and contest.

I'll begin with the skills portion of the contest. This was a fun one to judge, though I think I may have pulled a muscle busting a gut too many times.

The World's Worst Metaphors and Similes winners are (in alpha order by author):

Kayeleen Hamblin of Kayeleen's Creation Corner

The water fell like the tinkling of a grown man with bladder incontinence.

PK Hrezo of My Fiction Addiction

He persistence was like that of a dog returning time and again with a slobbery rope toy no one wants to play with.

Janet Johnson of Musings of a Children's Writer

His suitcase was as heavy as Grandma's pudding and twice as tasty.

Okay, funny gals, you may choose any one of the following:
~a 10-page detailed critique
~10 pages of copy editing
~an editorial overview of up to 50 pages, outlining areas for growth
~a character naming consultation. I'll help you research and find/create up to three character names, any genre.

Please drop me a line at laurels (dot) leaves (at) gmail (dot) com to arrange your prize of my time/expertise.

And now for the lucky one, the winner of a $30 Amazon gift certificate!

Who do you suppose came up as my random drawing winner?

. . .

Wait for it...

Who will get an Amazon shopping spree?

Who, oh, who?

Seriously, who?

Are you tingling with anticipation yet?

How cruel can I be?

Tell us already!

Okay, okay, don't get violent, friends.

According to RANDOM.ORG,

who so efficiently scrambled my long, long list of entrants,

the winner is...

Jenna Wallace!
of Writing in the Dreamstate

Congrats, Jenna! Drop me a line at laurels (dot) leaves (at) gmail (dot) com with your preferred e-mail address and I'll arrange delivery of your $30 Amazon.com gift certificate. Happy shopping!

Don't forget to come back tomorrow for Thestral Thursday. That's right, it's another issue of our Hogwarts underground newspaper, the Thestral Gazette. The lovely Lisa Galek of Read. Write. Repeat. will bring us a batch of juicy school gossip gathered by her alter ego, Belicia Babble.

Which of the winning similes struck you as funniest? Why?

Why so tense?

2011-06-07T07:09:00.001-04:00

Dear Editor-on-Call:

Any advice on staying in one tense while writing? I struggle with slipping between present and past tenses (first person). Is this issue something that improves with experience?

Tense about tense
a.k.a. Christine Danek (Christine's Journey)

Dear Tense,

Using a consistent verb tense does become easier with practice, but there are some simple things you can do now to help yourself.

Verb tense is a reflection of the when of your narrator sharing his/her story. You might find it useful to create some visuals to take you there (or "then") whenever you sit down to write.

Past tense narration
For most writers, past tense flows most naturally because it is the usual mode for discussing events. Every day, we tell others about the events of our lives after the fact. For example, you might arrive at the office and tell a co-worker, "You wouldn't believe what this bozo on the bus just did!" Or you might write in a journal, "In fifth period, a student got up during the exam and puked in my trash can."

Aside from the naturalness benefit, past tense narration give your characters psychological distance from the events and the lovely gift of hindsight. From a looking-back vantage point, your character can clue the reader in about which events are pivotal and can express attitudes about how well or badly s/he behaved in story events. Many of the typical tension-building phrases like "little did I know, my life was about to change forever" express hindsight and require past tense narration as well.

To create a visual, it's helpful to decide how long after the story events this storytelling is occurring. A week later? Six months? Three years? Go search for photos that represent the older, narrator version of the character, and the younger, active protagonist version of the character. Combine the two images. Show the narrator thinking about her past self with the words, "years ago, I..." or "last year, I..." or however you can best express the passage of time between the story actions and the storytelling. This visual can also help you develop voice.

Here's an example (please pardon my lame Photoshop skillz):

If you can't find photos and don't feel confident drawing, it may be enough to post a note on your computer screen: "Yesterday, I ...". This should remind you to have a think-back approach to your story.

You might also find it helpful to keep a short list of common verbs attached to your screen: was, had, saw, felt, thought, went, ran, talked, said, told.

Present tense narration
Present tense is more difficult to maintain, because it is not how we naturally tell stories. Seriously, do you go about your daily routine with a running commentary in your head describing what you're doing? Probably not.

So why write in present? Some writers say they like the immediacy. I don't feel that's reason enough, because this tense is so psychologically weird when you really think about it. What you do gain from present tense is lack of hindsight. You remove a character's ability to have any perspective on what's happening. He or she has to deal with story events as they come.

When might you want to remove hindsight and perspective? When you're presenting an unreliable narrator and/or when your story situation is most plausible and compelling if the character has no idea what the outcome will be.

Your visual reminders can be far simpler. Stick a note to your computer monitor that says, "Right now, I ..." You may also find it helpful to post a list of common verbs in present tense: am, is, talk, say, tell, go, feel, think, see, run.

Flashback caveat
Keep in mind that when you deal with flashback material--events occurring prior to the main story time frame--you should change tenses.

If your main story time frame is narrated in present tense, you would switch to past tense for flashbacks.

Example: As I sit in the windowsill and watch traffic flowing below, I remember [here's your time shift marker--everything after "I remember" is in past] the day ambulances swarmed on Columbus when some dude threatened to jump off the roof of April's building. She gave me a blow-by-blow of the whole freaky event as it went on above her.

If the main story is narrated in past tense, flashbacks should be in past perfect tense.

Example: As I sat in the windowsill and watched traffic flowing below, I remembered the day ambulances had swarmed on Columbus when some dude had threatened to jump off the roof of April's building. She'd given me a blow-by-blow of the whole freaky event as it had gone on above her.

Sorry I can't offer a foolproof method to ensure you never switch tenses. This is a discipline that takes time to develop.

If anyone has helpful tech tools to assist with verb tense issues, I'd love to hear about them!

What helps you maintain your story's verb tense? Which tense comes more naturally to you? Why do you think so?

A quick reminder: today is the FINAL DAY to enter my Triplicity contest and prize drawing! Click HERE for details.

Ask Abby Gabby: Advice for Wizards and Witches

2011-06-02T07:00:00.001-04:00

My name may be Abby Gabby, but there's no need to use the stupify spell to keep me from gabbing! My lips are zipped, so ask this Ravenclaw gal for advice and I’ll give you an answer!

Dear Abby Gabby,
My erm...mandrake plant has horrible acne. How should I clear it up? I’ve tried everything! It really hates being made fun of in school. Especially in potions in front of Professor Snape.
~Spotted in Hufflepuff

Dear Spots,
While I find it hard to believe your mandrake plant is taking potions with Professor Snape, I’ll play along because I am kind and generous like that and would never put a student on the spot. Ha, get it? On the spot?

Anyhoo, mix up this dandy little brew I conjured up several years ago while experimenting with muggle chemicals:
~2 drops of what muggles call “Windex”
~an eye of newt
~a drop of spider venom (you can get Aragog to donate some)
~a pinch of belly button lint

Mix it all together and say: Acnio Destructo. Then apply to your—I mean, the mandrake’s—face and let sit for four hours. Rise off with cool water. Tip: do not keep on longer than four hours or else your face may just melt off.

I assume NO responsibility for the consequences. But I must say, my face has been as clear as a baby’s bottom for quite a few years now.
~AG

Dear Abby Gabby,
I can’t seem to get rid of this pesky house elf that keeps following me around. Any advice?
~Paranoid in Gryffindor

Dear Paranoid,
Trick his master into giving the elf his sock. Then the elf will be free and out of your hair. Works every time. Tip: keep the house elf as a friend, though—you never know when you may need him.
~AG

Dear Abby Gabby,
I caught my boyfriend sneaking off into the Room of Requirement the other day by himself. I tried to follow him in, but it shut me out. What could he possibly be doing by himself in there?
~Confused in Slytherin

Dear Confused,
There are two possible answers to this one:
A. He is meeting another girl, in which case you have my permission to put a hex on them both.
B. He is, um, how should I say this, meditating. In which case, leave him be and give him a couple extra smooches at the end of the day.
~AG

Dear Abby Gabby,
The boy I like has a disgusting pet rat. It’s been in his family for years. I really want to go out with him, but I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to his rat. What should I do?
~Grossed out in Gryffindor

Dear Grossy,
What you need is a cat. A big, fat, orange cat. Every time you come around, the rat will run away. Then you can cuddle with your dreamy wizard without worrying about the nasty rat. Tip: keep a close eye on that rat—if it doesn’t keel over from old age in the next few years, you may have more than just a rat on your hands.
~AG

Thestral Gazette advice columnist Abby Gabby, a member of the Ravenclaw house, prefers to keep her true identity a secret (for the sake of her trusted advisees, of course). She loves divination, lending a shoulder to cry on, and quite possibly has the slightest crush on Professor Firenze. She blogs as her alter ego, Abby Minard at Above Water.

Thestral Gazette is an unofficial publication for students of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Founded by Luna Lovegood and Colin Creevy, the tabloid continues its fine tradition of yellow journalism under the editorship of Laurel Garver and a large staff of student reporters. To join the reporting staff, contact us at thestralgazette (at) gmail (dot) com.

Back issues of the Thestral Gazette:
Issue 1: Mrs. Norris's secret identity revealed
Issue 2: Being bullied? Weasel your way out.
Issue 3: Viktor Krum Reunites with Former Girlfriend
Issue 4: Umbridge Unmasked

What questions do you have for Abby Gabby?

Umbridge Unmasked

2011-05-26T07:00:00.002-04:00

As summer approaches, the Thestral Gazette is moving to Thestral Thursdays! Hot off the presses, here's the latest scoop from reporter/guest poster Michael Di Gesu.

by Michael Di Gesu, Ravenclaw

LONDON— After maniacal decree number whatever, this investigative reporter decided to learn more about beloved High Inquisitor and Head Mistress of Hogwarts.

Hold onto your wands, broomsticks, and lunch, dear readers. Archives of the Daily Prophet reveal that Dolores Jane Umbridge was Miss Britain Witch 1947.

No, I didn’t put a spell on this article; you are reading correctly. That toad-faced, slack-jawed, sadist was once a beauty queen. What happened to her stunning good looks? For answers, we’ll have to grab a time-turner and go back more than half a century.

Thestral Gazette recently obtained sealed Ministry records from an investigator working deep undercover. They reveal that our so-called pure-blood Headmistress was born to not one, but two muggle parents: Dick and Jane Rumbridge of Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk. Oh, the irony of her torturing students like Harry Potter to tell “the truth.” Miss Umbridge, as she renamed herself, has plenty to answer for!

After winning her title, sources say the flaxen-haired beauty entered the Ministry of Magic weaving tall tales of her pure ancestry. No-one questioned it. Her sultry looks and girlish voice mesmerized all, especially the male population. Umbridge quickly rose to influential positions with skills that some say would make even Peeves blush.

Her vixen ways and heart-stopping good looks (I still can’t even fathom this) led to a torrid affair with Minister of Magic Cornelius Fudge. Within a month of her connection with Fudge, Umbridge was appointed Senior Undersecretary. The two were seen everywhere together: the opera, the Quidditch World Cup, and even at a quiet little bistro in Paris.

The Minister’s wife, Tatiana Fudge, a half-Veela former beauty queen, caught wind of the affair. She hunted down the lovers and found them together in the Leaky Caldron’s bridal suite. Outraged, she cast the Bulgarian-Bullfrog hex: a complicated spell only Veelas can cast. To add insult to injury, Mrs. Fudge left Umbridge with only her girlish voice intact.

Surprisingly, Mrs. Fudge did nothing to her straying husband. Her reason? “My Neil is so very kind to heez staff,” she said. “Zat leetle vorm Dolly Umbridge took total advantage of heez kindness! I lay zee blame entirely on zat tart!”

Devastated to be hideous, Umbridge retaliated in the only way she could—by drafting legislation to oppress part-humans like Mrs. Fudge, including centaurs and werewolves. Our favorite Defense against the Dark Arts professor, Remus Lupin, is now in hiding because of her bitter campaign.

Feeling guilty for his part in Umbridge’s cursed transformation, and perhaps to remove her ugly face from his sight, Fudge appointed her High Inquisitor and Headmistress.

Will we ever be rid of her? Only time will tell. Our best hope is for part-human hybrids to rise up and do her in.

Michael Di Gesu is the Thestral Gazette’s investigative reporter. If you have anything to hide, he will sniff it out. When he’s not digging up secrets and sordid affairs, you’ll find him on the Quidditch pitch with friends Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. Terrified of flying himself, he’s yet to take flight with his buddies. Harry’s still working on it. “Someday I’ll get him on a broom!” Michael blogs at: http://writing-art-and-design.blogspot.com/.

Thestral Gazette is an unofficial publication for students of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Founded by Luna Lovegood and Colin Creevy, the tabloid continues its fine tradition of yellow journalism under the editorship of Laurel Garver and a large staff of student reporters. To join the reporting staff, contact us at thestralgazette (at) gmail (dot) com.

Back issues of the Thestral Gazette:
Issue 1: Mrs. Norris's secret identity revealed
Issue 2: Being bullied? Weasel your way out.
Issue 3: Viktor Krum Reunites with Former Girlfriend

Which shady character should Michael investigate next?

Best wishes for a good Memorial Day weekend. Don't forget to enter my Triplicity prize drawing and contest!

Capitalization conundrum

2011-05-24T08:41:00.006-04:00

Today's question comes via my Triplicity contest. You, too, can earn extra chances to win an Amazon gift card by asking me editing questions! Click HERE for more details and to enter.

Dear Editor-on-Call:
When should you capitalize a noun such as "the Virus"? In my WIP, the characters refer to a virus which ended up wiping out most of the human population. Would it be correct to say "the Virus" when referring to it? If so, when they speak of it as belong to a certain person (the creator) would they say "his virus" or "his Virus"?

--Capitals Conundrum
a.k.a. Susan Fields

Dear Cap,
The general rule on capitalization in English is to capitalize proper nouns. In other words, NAMES of specific things.

People and animals
Bob Marley. Billy the Kid. Bo Jangles. Street Sense (racehorse). Tolkien Raintree Mister Baggins (show dog).

Adjectives based on names are also capitalized--Alexander technique, Freudian slip.

Places and Organizations
Seattle. Republic of Congo. Piccadilly Circus. Shop Rite. Grover Cleveland High School. Purdue University. Red Cross. Roman Catholic Church.

Adjectives based on places are also capitalized--French fries, English grammar.

Titles of artistic works (art, music, writing, film, drama)
The Mona Lisa. The Marriage of Figaro. To the Lighthouse. "She Walks in Beauty." Terminator. Waiting for Godot.

Trademarked products
Kleenex. Big Mac. Kindle.

Named events and holidays
Cloverdale County Fair. Annual Walk for Peace. Easter. Rosh Hashanah.

Calendar units (for lack of a better category)
Summer. September. Friday.

The category of noun you describe is a thing. It's less common for a thing to be specifically named, unless it is an artistic work, a trademarked product or a copy of a living thing (Barbie, Winnie the Pooh). We more often use generic terms that the grammar gurus call "common nouns": tree, couch, daisy, leopard, skateboard, pork chop, party, secretary, professor, chemistry, sculpture.

You might have only one spleen, but I'm willing to bet you haven't named it. Likewise, diseases are not treated like proper nouns unless they are named after a person or another proper noun (like a place).

Example:
Julie has diabetes, Glenn has Parkinson's disease and their puppy has Lyme disease.
Jared might have irritable bowel syndrome or Crohn's disease.
Baby Miles needs measles, mumps and rubella inoculations.

If you want to give your fictional virus a name that takes a capital, name it for its creator or the one who discovered it: Malfoy virus, for example. Otherwise, refer to it simply as "the virus" and "his virus."

Which of these trip you up? Any follow-up questions on capitalization rules?

In case you missed it...

2011-05-23T10:27:00.006-04:00

I'm holding an awesome contest!

Sign up for the random drawing to win a $30 Amazon gift card. Earn extra entries for blogging, tweets and asking me editing questions. Feel free to grab this nifty button I made and use it in your sidebar.

An optional part 2: Send me your most groan-worthy metaphors and similes for a chance to win critiques, editing help or a character naming consult.

Click HERE to see all the details and to enter!

I've recently noticed a big drop off in comments and hits on Thursdays and Fridays. Is this a new trend? I'm wondering if I need to rethink my posting schedule.

What's your habit? Do you look at blogs only on Mon.-Wed.?

Viktor Krum Reunites with Former Girlfriend

2011-05-20T07:00:00.003-04:00

By Melissa Sarno, Hufflepuff

LONDON—Bulgarian National Quidditch player Viktor Krum was once again spotted with actress Anastasiya Dilov. The two attended last night’s premiere of her latest film, The Non-magical Exploding Tuba, a satirical take on the Muggle opera The Magic Flute.

The pair have been known for their tumultuous relationship, which began when the Bulgarian social climber crashed the Krum family’s annual pig roast. The known vegetarian reportedly used the Aguamenti spell and was said to have “wreaked havoc” on what was supposed to have been a “private family affair.” Despite her unorthodox methods, Dilov quickly won Krum over. “The girl’s got guts,” the six foot heartthrob said with his signature fist pump.

Of course, others argue that she may also wreak havoc on the famed Seeker’s heart.

Their initial split occurred while Dilov was filming on location in Romania. After Dilov was photographed hand in hand with an unidentified red-haired wizard, Krum reportedly went into a blind rage.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said a member of the film crew. “He apparated there in minutes and nearly took down the set with a Bombarda spell. If he wasn’t so worried that the International Quidditch Association would suspend him, I’m not sure what would have happened.”

Last night, however, the couple was all smiles, despite the fact that questions of Dilov’s fidelity are once again in play. The fashion icon wore a rare dragon skin coat to the premiere, claiming it was “a gift from a friend.”

“Galleons can’t buy that kind of thing,” said renowned fashion designer Augustus Tuttle. “I don’t even want to think about what a person would have to do to get a coat like that.”

Krum declined to comment, but was overheard muttering, “How should I know what she keeps in her drawers?”

Melissa Sarno is Thestral Gazette’s celebrity reporter and co-president of the Herbology Club. When she’s not up to her ankles in mooncalf dung, you can find her accompanying the Frog Choir on harpsichord or writing Witch Lit in the Hogwarts Library. She blogs at http://melissasarno.com/.

Back issues of the Thestral Gazette:

Issue 1: Mrs. Norris's secret identity revealed

Issue 2: Being bullied? Weasel your way out.

Thestral Gazette is an unofficial publication for students of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Founded by Luna Lovegood and Colin Creevy, the tabloid continues its fine tradition of yellow journalism under the editorship of Laurel Garver and a large staff of student reporters. To join the reporting staff, contact us at thestralgazette (at) gmail (dot) com.

Which celebrity of the wizarding world should Melissa investigate next?

Don't forget to enter my contest! Ends May 31!

Triplicity celebration and contest

2011-05-19T06:58:00.003-04:00

I have a quirky love for pattern and symmetry, thus the blogging milestones I chose to celebrate were 111, an "Eleventy one" celebration and 202, my "Too, oh, too Cool" contest.

I'm nearing another such symmetrical milestone--333 followers, so you know what that means. It's time for another celebration with fun and, of course, PRIZES!

My Triplicity celebration and contest is a two-parter--one part skills-based (international), the other, luck-based (US only). You may enter one part of the contest or both, depending on your residency.

Part 1: World's worst metaphors and similes contest
Send up to three entries of original, groan-worthy metaphors or similes (no plagiarism, please) via e-mail as inline text to laurels (dot) leaves (at) gmail (dot) com. For some examples, see my recent blogfest post. This contest is open to international contestants.

The deadline to enter is Tuesday, May 31, 5 p.m. Eastern.

Three top winners will be chosen. Each may chose any one of the following prizes:
~a 10-page detailed critique
~10 pages of copy editing
~an editorial overview of up to 50 pages, outlining areas for growth
~a character naming consultation. I'll help you research and find/create up to three character names, any genre.

Part 2: Prize Drawing
I will be giving away a $30 Amazon gift certificate to one lucky winner (U.S. residents only, please).

To enter, you must leave a comment to this post.

Bonus entries will be given as follows:
+5 Existing follower
+3 New follower as of 5/19
+2 Tweet contest
+2 Link contest on your blog sidebar
+5 Blog about the contest
+10 Pose an "Ask-the-editor" question on grammar, punctuation, critiquing
+1 Calculate your total number of entries

Contest closes Tuesday, May 31, 5 p.m. Eastern.

Come back tomorrow for your weekly dose of Harry Potter hilarity, The Thestral Gazette, featuring celebrity gossip from the wizarding world by guest reporter Melissa Sarno!

Getting a wish, surprise and your character

2011-05-17T07:06:00.001-04:00

I've had a few cool surprises in my lifetime: an engagement ring on Christmas eve when I was sure I'd have to wait till Valentine's day, the pink lines on the pregnancy test when a doctor told me I'd have to start fertility drugs in a few weeks.

I got another nice surprise like that after work yesterday, though not quite so life changing. This pretty half-Siamese stray kitten wandered into my life. She has been sleeping on my porch or in my flower garden for about a week now. My experience with the neighborhood strays has been mixed--some are as socialized as any house cat, and some are feral, more like a woodland fox than pet material.

This kitten not only let me pet her, she climbed onto me as I knelt beside her. She wanted to be held and went into a snuggle ecstasy when I picked her up. She was socialized, all right.

I called my family on the cell phone and asked them to come outside to meet her.

"I think our new kitten has found us," I said.

My daughter has been begging for a kitten for over a year now. While she had her heart set on a gray tabby, she's over the moon to have been "picked" by this blue-eyed beauty she's calling Rosie. I was sure we'd have to take several trips to local shelters to find a good fit, but Rosie is every bit the affectionate cuddler my daughter hoped for.

"Gifts from God are like this, aren't they?" my daughter said. "Never just the way you pictured it--usually better!"

So far, so good with our new feline friend. She gladly let us carry her into the house, ate the kitty kibble we gave her and used the litter box I showed her. Our elderly dog and cat are being aloof, but not hostile, so time will tell how those relationships grow. She's very thin and will need some veterinary care, so it seems unlikely anyone will start posting "lost cat" signs in the neighborhood.

When a wished-for thing happens, it's always a better story if it doesn't come about quite the way the you expected.

I think there's a lesson here about how to avoid the Mary Sue trap--characters to whom everything comes too easily, too neatly. When (and if) the happily-ever-after does come, give us a twist on the character's expectations, or even defy them. How the character reacts to that "gift"--with gratitude, fear, anger, sorrow, mute shock, hope--can make for a much more complex and satisfying ending. One we want to read.

What are some of your favorite fictional "got my wish, but not the way I expected" endings? How might a twist on character expectation improve your story?

Laughter is the best medicine blogfest

2011-05-16T07:03:00.002-04:00

Thanks to Leigh T. Moore and Lydia Kang for hosting today's "Laughter is the Best Medicine" blogfest.

We all love bad metaphors and similes as much as...a cow loves yesterday's half-chewed grass sloshing from one stomach to another. Yes indeedy do.

Here are a few more genuine faux gems:

~Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.

~It came down the stairs looking very much like something no one had ever seen before.

~His cover was blown like a man with a neat comb-over turning a windy corner.

~Her eyes were the mesmerizing green of a moldy cucumber liquefying in the vegetable drawer.

~It hurt the way your tongue hurts after you accidentally staple it to the wall.

~ With each breath, her chest heaved like a bulimic after Thanksgiving dinner.

~He looked at her with the warmth of roadkill on an Arizona highway.

And for those who prefer jokes with punchlines:

A group of friars were behind on their belfry payments, so they opened up a small florist shop to raise funds. Since everyone liked to buy flowers from the men of God, a rival florist across town thought the competition was unfair. He asked the good fathers to close down, but they would not. He went back and begged the friars to close. They ignored him.

So, the rival florist hired Hugh MacTaggart, the roughest and most vicious thug in town to "persuade" them to close. Hugh beat up the friars and trashed their store, saying he'd be back if they didn't close up shop. Terrified, they did so, thereby proving that only Hugh can
prevent florist friars.

Your turn! Give us a good groaner pun, or finish this sentence: Bob was a funny as ____.

Being Bullied? Weasel Your Way Out

2011-05-13T13:00:00.000-04:00

By Jen Daiker, Hufflepuff

HOGSMEDE, INVERNESS—Are you sick of being your classmates’ guinea pig for jelly-legs jinxes and levicorpus spells? Before you beg your parents to transfer you to Beauxbatons, take heart. Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes is now beta testing a product sure to delight.

We'll Watch Your Back map (WWYB) tracks the movement of any Hogwarts students you wish to avoid. WWYB will give you the power to navigate Hogwarts safely and calmly. Better yet, you can achieve this safety without involving Hogwarts staff, freeing you from the fear of reprisals for ratting out your tormentors.

Headmistress Minerva McGonagall had only positive things to say about the product.

"Though I try to restrict certain Weasley products from the school grounds, I can't help but applaud this new item that will surely help the students feel more at home. We are aware that not everything can be solved with magic or even be brought to our attention. For those students who feel mistreated, this product will allow them to steer clear of trouble before it starts with privacy and minimal fuss. However, I would implore those targeted by bullies to also consider stopping by my office for additional support."

The Weasley twins aren’t looking to put the WWYB map in the wrong hands, so all students wishing to have a customized WWYB map created for them will undergo private testing to ensure that they truly are being bullied. Interested students are welcome to try out this new product. To sign up for the free trial period, simply stop by Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes, 93 Diagon Alley, London, or send your request via owlpost.

Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes continues to grow as new products are constantly being introduced. WWYB should prove a great addition to the lineup that includes Puking Pastilles to aid your escape from exams and those adorable Pygmy Puffs, everyone’s favorite pet alternative.

What will they think of next? Only time will tell. If there’s a product you wish the Weasleys to develop, please stop in and share your ideas today.

Jen Daiker loves transfiguration, fizzing whizbees, and is a founding member of S.P.E.W. She has also been known to dabble with polyjuice potion. She blogs at unedited.

Thestral Gazette is an unofficial publication for students of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Founded by Luna Lovegood and Colin Creevy, the tabloid continues its fine tradition of yellow journalism under the editorship of Laurel Garver and a large staff of student reporters. To join the reporting staff, contact us at thestralgazette (at) gmail (dot) com.

What products would you like Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes to develop?

Emotions whirl

2011-05-11T17:03:00.001-04:00

We know that complex characters are what readers love most--people who feel real because of inner conflict and mixed emotion. It can be quite tricky to do that well and not end up with a confusing mess.

I've been revisiting Nancy Kress's Characters, Emotions and Viewpoint for some additional guidance to help clear away muddiness in my draft in process. One of the coolest tools she has is an "Emotional Mini-bio." I won't reproduce the whole thing, of course. (I'd rather tease you into buying the book, dedicated Kress fan that I am.) The two initial questions are such good fundamentals, however, I want to share. I think they could form the backbone of every solid character sketch.

What three or four things does your character value most in life?

What things does s/he most fear?

Having these core values and fears firmly in hand will help you predict how a character will feel and react in most situations.

You will get some of your most interesting plot complications from situations where two core values or core fears are in competition.

How might clarifying values and fears help your characterization?

Give me patience now!

2011-05-10T06:56:00.001-04:00

Waiting. It's a huge piece of what it is to be human. We wait for the weather to change. We wait for payday or that insurance reimbursement. We wait for decisions to be made, calls to be returned, packages to arrive and all sorts of mundane things that somehow just don't happen instantly.

Writing has its own set of waiting hurdles. We wait for our skill level to improve. We wait for the perfect character name to dawn on us. We wait for the shiny new idea. We wait for solutions to plot holes to occur to us. We wait for critique partners to give feedback. We wait for our market savvy to increase. We wait for agents, editors, reviewers, royalty statements, etc., etc., etc.

My faith tradition ties waiting to one of the "abiding things" along with faith and love: hope. "If we hope for what we do not have," says Romans 8:25, "we wait for it patiently."

Personally, I struggle a lot with hope. It's a heck of a lot easier to despair. No real effort or waiting required. Indeed despair can be yours right now with no wait! Not much of a selling point though, is it? Anyway, I've come to grasp the fact that waiting in a state of hopelessness is actually a kind of impatience--one that immobilizes.

We tend to think of patience as a very passive virtue that requires idle serenity. But the serenity that comes from patience is actually quite active. The patient mind works hard hoping. It refuses to moan or flail around. It keeps a steady routine and doesn't lose sight of the thing hoped for. Patience is diligent (not slothful), continuing to find places to progress during times of waiting.

Let's encourage one another to take up the tools of patience when we're on this wait-filled journey. Here are some I can think of:

~limit "stalking" behaviors online (those aimless hops from post to tweet to status without ever interacting); instead use social media to meet friends and encourage others. Take social media breaks when necessary.

~limit slothful habits (TV, video games and the like); instead produce pages of something every day--drafts, research, notes and outlines, wordplay, journal entries.

~experiment with a new technique, genre, style, POV, verb tense.

~focus on learning--study craft books, attend seminars, research new ideas.

~critique others' work and learn from them.

~read widely and make notes about what other authors do that you can emulate.

I could go on an on about all the active ways to wait--there are so many! The key ingredients are progressing toward a goal because you believe with hope that something good will eventually come of it.

What impatient habits or "habits of despair" do you struggle with? What habits of hopeful patience might you try?

An addictive question

2011-05-09T13:00:00.004-04:00

Thanks to Dr. Lydia Kang for featuring my question in her weekly post "Medical Mondays." I have a secondary character with a history of drug abuse and had wondered how that might continue to effect his health and mental state after four years of being clean.

You can read all about the long-term effects of prior heroin addiction in Lydia's post, "Heroin today, problems tomorrow." Pretty interesting stuff--good fodder for potential plot complications in my current manuscript.

Have you dealt with medical questions in researching your manuscript? Where did you seek advice?

Mrs. Norris's secret identity revealed

2011-05-06T07:01:00.006-04:00

by Laurel Garver, Ravenclaw

HOGSMEDE, INVERNESS--Student concerns about the Filch/Norris relationship first surfaced when the school caretaker suffered a breakdown after his feline companion Mrs. Norris was left petrified. Though the attack was later confirmed to be the work of a basilisk, students whispered among themselves: “Why such a fuss over a silly cat?”

Why indeed is the long-haired tabby always close to Mr. Flich’s heels? And why the very human name?

Sources close to the pureblood Norris family now confirm the shocking truth: the feline stalking the halls of Hogwarts was in fact once named Clothilde Katz, a Durmstrang graduate and former undersecretary to the Minister of Magical Animal Welfare.

Katz met her late husband Archibald Norris at a Ministry of Magic holiday party. There, witnesses say, Mr. Norris conjured an entire thicket of mistletoe in which he privately wooed the young Miss Katz, a great beauty fifteen years his junior. Within six months, Katz and Norris wed in Durmstrang’s famed Gothic chapel, honeymooned in the Alps and settled in Ottery St. Catchpole.

A broomstick collision claimed Archie Norris’s life less than a year later, leaving his widowed bride heartbroken. The neighboring Filch family soon took her under their wing, frequently inviting her to join them for meals and conversation. It is also believed that they hired Mrs. Norris to provide private tutoring to their then-teenaged son, Argus.

Why tutoring? Ottery St. Catchpole resident Thomas Peepington explained, “Start of every term, them Filches all pretends like Argie gone to King’s Cross with the rest of the Hogwarts lot. Ah, but don’t I see ‘im plain as you please practicing stunning spells with the pretty young widow in ‘er back garden? He ain’t never got no letter from Hogwarts, did he? We always says Argie’s naught but a common squib.”

Clothilde Katz Norris was last seen in human form leaving the Ministry of Magic offices to respond to an emergency call for the Ministry of Magical Animal Welfare. According to the Ministry logbook, she was sent to investigate an illegal cerberus-fighting ring. And she was not alone. An unnamed “assistant” was also logged as accompanying her, via the Floo network, to the alleged fight-ring site.

Newspapers of the time claim that upon arriving at the scene, Mrs. Norris was vaporized by an unknown dark-magic curse. A quiet, corpse-less funeral was held and the Norris estate divvied out among Archie Norris’s surviving nephews. Soon after, Argus Filch left Ottery St. Catchpole to join Hogwarts staff as caretaker. He was accompanied by a handsome tabby he claimed to have “named after” his slain neighbor.

Our investigation has led us to new evidence that Clothilde Katz Norris did not in fact die on that fated emergency call. She was instead transfigured with a spell so powerful, no counter-curse is known. Seventh-year Slytherin Piers Whithin, who took a first in the legilimency O.W.L., earned five double-detentions with Mr. Filch in order to ascertain the whole truth.

According to memories expertly pried by Piers, Mr. Filch had purchased a black-market wand from Lichtenstein when none of Ollivander’s wands would choose him. Upon arriving at the site of the supposed cerberus-fighting ring, Filch turned the wand on his pretty tutor and spoke a spell he believed was a love-enchantment. Instead, Mrs. Norris was fixed in feline form. Mr. Filch sought help from Professor Dumbledore, who thought it best to offer Mr. Filch asylum at Hogwarts and hush up the entire incident.

"They're together forever all right," Piers said. "Just not the way the poor sod had been wishing."

Who else at Hogwarts do you suspect is not who he or she seems to be?

Coming soon: magical news

2011-05-05T07:02:00.002-04:00

My Friday Fun posts will be taking a magical turn beginning this week. That's right, I'm launching at last the Thestral Gazette!

Founded by Luna Lovegood and Colin Creevy, this publication continues the fine tabloid tradition of yellow journalism, revealing the dark underbelly of Hogwarts. Harry Potter fans, plan to be shocked and amazed (or at least amused)!

My stable of crack reporters will bring you all the news that's fit to, um, post. Our inaugural issue features a stunning expose revealing the true identity of that Hogwarts nemesis of all somnambulists, Mrs. Norris.

You might say it's a blogfest idea that has taken on a life of its own. You can read more about the concept HERE.

New articles will go up each Friday through July, and possibly beyond. If you're interested in joining the reporting team and doing a guest post in July or August, drop me a line at laurels (dot) leaves (at) gmail (dot) com.

Be sure to stop back tomorrow when the stunning fun commences!

Ritual: it's what's for dinner

2011-05-03T07:15:00.001-04:00

One of the most interesting things about staying at friends' houses was discovering just how differently their families approached the evening meal.

My family always ate around 6 p.m. It was a sit-down affair that began with my dad's meandering grace, and usually included two or even three vegetable sides with a casserole or meat and a starch. Hot tea was served nine months of the year. One was expected to have a "no-thank-you-helping" of any newly introduced food that looked unappetizing (a ritual that got easier once I learned to swallow things whole, like you would an aspirin).

We were expected to eat with a napkin in our laps, pass food in a clockwise direction and ask to be excused from the table after eating a portion of everything served, especially the prescribed number of vegetables. Conversation around the table was usually stories about our day, something strange we witnessed, or something interesting read about or heard. Sometimes my parents would share funny stories about family misadventures or their own childhoods. If my parents needed to make a major decision, the dinner table was not the place they'd discuss it.

At my friends' homes, however, dinner was sometimes a quite different affair. Some families ate catch-as-catch-can. Got takeout. Ate on tray tables in front of the TV. Some moms served as short-order cook for all three of the kids. Some families served buffet style. Some plated up portions like at a restaurant. Some sang a grace before meals. Some had silent head-bowed personal prayer. Some dove for the food with no thanks given at all.

Those rituals shape every person and family in deep ways. Here are some details to ask about your character's family dinner rituals:

Who prepares the food?
A parent? The family as a group? An extended family member? A live-in staff person? Faceless people from room service or Burger King's drive through? A handful of restaurants the character frequently patronizes?

Where is the food consumed?
In an eat-in kitchen? A formal dining room? An informal dining room? Kneeling around a low table in a common room? On a breezy porch? On tables in front of the TV? In whatever room the person carries his plate to?

What food items are considered appropriate?
Is there ethnic sameness or diversity in the types of cuisine? Is a special, restrictive diet followed? Is the food ultra-healthy, middling or complete junk food? Are portions large or small?

Who partakes of the meal?
Is everyone in the household seated together? Are certain household members excluded, such as staff or children or all females? Are pets allowed near or even seated at the table?

What behavior is considered appropriate?
Must you wait for everyone to be seated? May you leave as soon as you're finished? How is food served to each person? Is there a pre- or post-meal ritual such as prayer or candle-lighting? Is eating with hands expected or forbidden? How are spills and slurps and burps handled?

How do those around the table interact?
Must silence be maintained? Do only the elders initiate conversation? Do multiple conversations go on at once? Are all persons seated expected to take a turn talking while everyone else listens? Does everyone self-entertain with books or gadgets or the TV?

Thinking about dinnertime rituals can help you better understand--and better illustrate--the values of your characters and their families.

Is your protagonist's family dinner ritual the same as your own or different? Why?

Now published: "Tribute"

2011-04-30T10:57:00.001-04:00

I'm pleased to announce that my flash fiction story "Tribute" has been published in the British e-zine Motley Press, volume one, issue three. To view the issue in PDF, click HERE. My story begins on page 10.

This piece is a cutting-room-floor rescue. It's one of six novel openings that I tried and discarded. But while it didn't fit the flow of the novel itself, I felt this short scene had something important to say about family communication. So I reworked it as a stand-alone and started shopping it around. The editors at Motley Press liked it (perhaps because of the cross-cultural issues) and the scene got new life.

Don't be too quick to give up on your "killed darlings." They may find second life if you're willing to give them some attention. Small victories like this one can be a great morale booster when novel writing feels hopelessly slow and unrewarding. I say more about the topic in the post Giving Life to Peripheral Stories.

Have you tried your hand at short fiction? Have you ever rescued a "killed darling"?

Willoughby gets his comeuppance

2011-04-29T07:08:00.002-04:00

Unable to find a really fresh Royal Wedding-related bit of silliness, I bring you instead some Austen silliness for today's Friday fun.

If the embedded video isn't appearing for you, click HERE.

I think Quirk Books ought to consider Mansfield Park and Mutants for the series. It could be quite an exciting story--X-men for the nineteenth century.

What classics would you love to give the Quirk Books treatment?

The fist

2011-04-28T09:59:00.001-04:00

Many of us have suffered great difficulties and hardships, and as a result we've developed an internal organ for processing pain I call The Inner Fist. The Inner Fist clamps around that set of hurts and keeps it "safe"--unprodded, airless, always raw.

When anything comes at us that feels like the clenched pain--rejection, violation, terror and the like--the Inner Fist hits back. When it hits inside, it punches holes in our confidence, pummels our joy, hammers home the thought that, as usual, the universe and its creator are against us. Sometimes the Inner Fist hits outward, making us lash out at others or become pleasure-chasing addicts.

The Inner Fist strengthens itself by drawing around it expectations that we believe will make the hurt inside magically dissipate. As writers, some of our fist-builders are thoughts like these:

"I will get published and...
...I will have honor instead of shame"
...I will have worth instead of worthlessness"
...I will have abundance instead of deprivation"
...I will be popular instead of ignored or bullied"

Can any publishing experience bear the weight of expectations like these? Not likely. So the Inner Fist goes on punching us inside.

Unclenching the Inner Fist is the heart work of a lifetime. Until you grant access to the pain--to God, yourself, others--the Inner Fist will remain a destructive force in your life. It requires great courage, grace, faith and hope. It is the only path to peace and to creating great art that changes lives. That changes the world.

What unclenches the Inner Fist are ordinary graces--things like delight, wonder and play; learning, mentoring and teaching; communicating with open honesty; freely giving you time, skill, creative output and praise with no expectations simply because it's fun and makes you feel alive. Above all, the gracious work of love--God's, your family's, your friends', and yours for them--builds skin over the raw places.

At times these winds of grace may feel like a tornado. They may feel like self-immolation. Like tossing your possessions out the window. Like standing yourself before a firing squad. Who am I without my defenses after all? You'll never know unless you let light inside.

You might just find that the place of your deepest pain is a well of great beauty--your truth--which when drawn out, has the power to unclench other Inner Fists. I think of Anne Lamott's raw honesty in Traveling Mercies and Operating Instructions. Of Donald Miller's meandering hunger in Searching for God Knows What.

Have you felt the Inner Fist in your life? What ordinary graces have unclenched a finger or two for you? What books have encouraged you in your own heart work of healing and maturing?

Misplaced modifiers?

2011-04-26T07:11:00.000-04:00

Dear Editor-on-call,*

I got this comment in a critique of mine and I have NO idea what it means. Could you shed some light? I feel so stupid, but I just don't get the terminology: "Misplaced modifiers. I’m seeing this phenomenon all the time with my clients! You do this just a little, but watch your antecedents."

Sincerely,
Mystified about Modifiers

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Dear Mystified,

Your knuckle-rapping English teachers were trying to break you of this problem when they made you diagram sentences. You might have vague memories of identifying sentence parts as subject, verb, object. Each of these sentence parts can have modifiers--words or phrases that tell details about them.

Problems arise when those details are not close enough to the word they describe. The resulting sentences can be confusing at best, and inadvertently hilarious at worst.

Let's look at some examples.

Subject modifier misplaced

Example: The boy chased the cat who had asthma.

Whoops--Asthmatic kitties are not too common (though there's a recording label by that name). The modifier needs to move closer to the subject, "the boy."

Revised: The boy who had asthma chased the cat.
Alternate: The asthmatic boy chased the cat.

Example: Growling and snapping, Melody was stalked by the werewolf.

Whoops--Is Mel trying to confuse the predator? More likely the writer doesn't realize the subject and object are in the wrong order.

Revised: Growling and snapping, the werewolf stalked Melody.

Example: Walking along the bridge, a ship suddenly appeared.

Whoops--Is The Ship Who Walked related to Anne McCaffrey's The Ship Who Sang? You've got either some really wacky personification or a sentence with an unclear subject. I chose the latter.
This example is what's usually called a "dangling modifier"--the part of speech being described is actually missing. This sentence needs an actor walking and seeing that ship appear. Here are three ways to resolve the issue:

Revised: Walking along the bridge, the captain saw a ship suddenly appear.
Alternate: A ship suddenly appeared while the captain was walking along the bridge.
Alternate 2: As the captain walked along the bridge, a ship suddenly appeared.

Verb modifier misplaced

Example: He kept a black book of all the girls he had dated in his desk.

Whoops--It might get a mite crowded in there among the paperclips! That directional "in his desk" needs to be closer to the verb "kept."

Revised: He kept in his desk a black book of all the girls he'd dated.
Alternate: In his desk, he kept a black book of all the girls he had dated.
Alternate 2 (with a shifting emphasis): There in Jason's desk drawer was his black book--a list of all the girls he'd dated.

Example: Larry told me he was getting married that afternoon at night.

Whoops--When the heck is the wedding?? Oy vey. Please separate the time of the telling from the information told. "That afternoon" modifies "told," describing when Larry gave information.

Revised: That afternoon, Larry told me he was getting married at night.
Alternate: That afternoon, Larry told me about his plans for a nighttime wedding.

Object modifier misplaced

Example: You need someone to carry that load with a strong back.

Whoops--It the load is so strong, why can't it carry itself? The modifier "with a strong back" needs to move closer to the object of the sentence, "someone."

Revised: You need someone with a strong back to carry that load.

Example: I showed my dog to the veterinarian with the fleas.

Whoops--That poor, itchy vet! Sounds like he's been infested. In this case, it's the object "my dog" that needs to be closer to its modifier "with the fleas."

Revised: I showed the veterinarian my dog with the fleas.

Word order problems

Limiting modifiers can change the meaning of a sentence depending on where they are placed. Some words to beware of: only, not only, just, not just, almost, hardly, nearly, even, exactly, merely, scarcely, and simply.

Below are examples of how a sentence's meaning can change when one moves around a limiting modifier.

Subject modified:
Just Evan drank a Coke.
(No others drank Coke, only Evan did.)

Verb modified:
Evan just drank a Coke.
(Others had a big bar brawl while Evan sat there sipping his cola.)

Object modified:
Evan drank just a Coke.
(Others had vodka tonics, but Evan? Just Coke.)

Squinting modifiers are modifying phrases that could modify more than one part of a sentence. Clarity problems arise when you place them near to both possible choices.

Example: She said on Sunday she would call.

Whoops--Did she say it on Sunday? Or is she going to call on Sunday? We don’t know. The phrase “on Sunday” could modify “said” or it could modify “would call.” Revising sentences like this usually requires adding words to make clear who's doing what and when.

Revised: On Sunday, she said she would call me soon.
Alternate: On Sunday, she said, "I'll call you."

To capture the other possible meaning, try these revisions:
Revised: She just said she would call me Sunday night.
Alternate: She said, "I'll call you on Sunday."

Hope that provides the clarity you were seeking.

As a side note, your editor friend was misusing the grammar term "antecedent" to mean "a thing referred to." The term should only be used when discussing pronouns. The correct grammatical term for something being modified is "headword."

*this is a repost from June 2010.

Which of these areas trip you up? Any other helpful pointers for correctly placing modifiers with their headwords?

Peace, love and editing

2011-04-18T07:11:00.001-04:00

I'll be taking a blogging hiatus for Holy Week, peeps. (And no, I don't care for that particular confection--my faves are coconut-filled dark chocolate eggs and the small white chocolate malted-milk eggs.)

In the meantime, feel free to leave me your ask-the-editor questions. I'll do my best to tackle them upon my return after Easter.

What's your favorite Easter treat?

Any editing questions for me? Grammar, punctuation, style or usage quandaries?

Awesome action authors to the rescue!

2011-04-15T07:14:00.003-04:00

Finally, a manufacturer really gets it! REAL heroes for our daughters to emulate!

For today's Friday Fun, I give you the Bronte sisters as you've never seen them before, performing daring deeds that broke through the chauvinist hegemony in the publishing world.

Having trouble viewing this? Click HERE.

Thanks to my awesome teen beta-reader, Connor Grace, for telling me about this video.

It's hard to imagine the world without Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights or The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. The Bronte sisters took the risky move of publishing under male pseudonyms: Ellis (Emily), Currer (Charlotte) and Acton (Anne) Bell. They eventually had to reveal their female identities because of a copyright dispute (US publishers thought the "Bell brothers" were one person). By then, their books were big hits and publishers began to rethink their anti-authoress stance. If you're a girl and you write, you have the Brontes to thank that you have a chance of actually getting your work published.

What's your favorite book by a Bronte? What other literary history heroes need to be remembered with an awesome action figure?

Research or interference?

2011-04-14T09:09:00.002-04:00

In her nonfiction book on writing, Escaping into the Open, Elizabeth Berg makes an interesting assertion I'd never seen anywhere else:

While drafting, avoid reading books on the same topic as yours.

(Notice she says topic, not genre. I don't think she'd pooh-pooh knowing your wider genre well.)

Her reasoning? "...no matter how aware or sophisticated or experienced you are, no matter how determined to write your own story, there's a very real danger that you will start to copy. It may be unconscious, but it can happen. And if that happens, it's a shame...because it denies the reading public the pleasure of your originality."

My initial thought was WHAT? If I don't know how others have tackled this, how do I know if my ideas are original? How do I avoid just repeating what has been said before if I'm ignorant of it? How do I not end up leaning on tired clichés?

Berg seems to argue here that clichés crop up because you read others' takes on your topic. Huh. It hadn't occurred to me that this might be an actual danger. Berg would call me naive, I suppose.

I kind of get what she's saying, and agree somewhat. However, my reasoning is different. Knowing how others have treated a topic might constrain me to try too hard to take a new direction in order to seem original. In so doing, I risk creating an inauthentic experience with inauthentic emotion. Some overlap is simply natural, especially when it comes to universal truths.

What do you think? Should you avoid reading books on your story's topic? Why or why not?

Revising for scene variety

2011-04-12T09:36:00.001-04:00

"Write what you know" sometimes spills into our approach to scene writing. We stick to the scene format that feels most comfortable to write, whether that's action, dialogue, description, narrative summary or internal monologue. This, my friends, is not good. Can we say "one trick pony"?

Have you picked up a book with too much dialogue and thought, "Would these people shut up already and DO something?" or read something that's action, action, action and felt completely exhausted within 10 pages? Presenting scene after scene in exactly the same manner can become tiresome to read. It can also hamstring your pacing. Tension that's never released tends to fizzle rather than build.

Self-editing for Fiction Writers addresses this particular problem well. The authors' remedy? Mix it up. Avoid putting the same scene format back-to-back. I'd say perhaps an exception would be when there's a chapter break. Example time. I revised a chapter that opens with a dialogue scene. (And by golly am I entirely too addicted to dialogue scenes.) In it, the MC's grandfather drops a large family secret in her lap. Narrating the event would have sucked away tension, so the dialogue is staying. My problem was the follow-up scene. What I shouldn't have is more dialogue, at least not a scene that's driven by it. But alas, that's what I'd drafted. My fix? Rewrite that scene as narrative summary--not telling it in flashback, but reporting the scene events in story "real time." I also included some action to pick up the pace.

If I wanted to slow the pace, my best option would be an interior monologue section. Slower yet? Interior monologue with flashbacks. Narrative summary doesn't come naturally for me. But craft trumps comfort. The more I banged away at it and read writers who do it well, the more the scenes flowed.

So, my friends, get out the carrot or the whip, but by golly, teach that pony some new tricks.

What scene format do you use most frequently? Which is hardest for you and why? How might revising for scene variety improve your story's texture and pacing?

This is a repost from November 2009.

"Me, me, me" isn't always selfish

2011-04-08T07:03:00.001-04:00

Not when it's Beaker, the lovable Muppet. I've always been exceptionally impressed by his ability to communicate so much with a one-word vocabulary. We writers could learn a lot from Beaker.

For today's Friday Fun, I give you Beethoven, joy and, well...Beaker blowing things up.

Have a great weekend, friends!

Which are your favorite Muppets? What can you learn from Beaker's communication style?

What is not there

2011-04-07T07:04:00.001-04:00

While washing my hands at work, I realized my left hand looked a little strange. Naked. The spot where my engagement ring and wedding band usually sit was empty. Stranger still, the now-exposed skin was shiny with scar tissue. The finger seemed atrophied below the knuckle, slimmer than its neighbors. Over a decade of ring wearing had left its mark.

I'll return the rings to their rightful spot this afternoon; my dry skin is better today. Seeing that strange indentation and scarring got me thinking. Long habits mark us, and absence can become as palpable as presence.

A powerful way to portray a character might indeed involve showing the traces of what is not there. Virginia Woolf ends Jacob's Room with a pair of empty shoes, a powerful image of loss in wartime. Artist Sophie Calle photographed places in Berlin where the traces of its communist history had been effaced. Her book Detachment: A Berlin Travel Guide catalogs those images, as well as remembrances--real and imagined--from those who pass by the spots where monuments of the GDR (East Germany) once stood.

Where have you seen in books or life the traces of what is not there? Have you used this idea in your own work? Where might this idea deepen one of your characterizations?

This is a repost from December 2009

Let's talk trailers with author Jessica Bell

2011-04-05T08:00:00.011-04:00

Today I welcome author Jessica Bell, whose debut novel String Bridge will be released in November, to share her story about creating her book trailer.

In case you haven't yet seen this amazing multimedia presentation, here it is for your viewing pleasure:

Now, onto our Q&A!

Q: How was your publisher, Lucky Press, involved in the creation and release of your book trailer? Was there a permissions and vetting process? What was that like?

JB: Well, originally Lucky Press told me to purchase photos from iStock send them with a text and that they would put it together for me. But when I voiced my vision for the trailer and said that I would do it myself, they said, "go for it," but to send a rough in for approval first. So I sent in my mother's original song (didn't need anything other other than my mother's "yes, use it" for permission), and the changes to the lyrics I was going to make, plus an accumilation of photos I wanted in it (some are from iStock and some are mine from past live performances of mine). The photos from iStock are purchased, so I didn't need any special permissions for those either, as permission comes with the purchase. All good so far.

Then I put together my first draft. I originally had VERY minimal text, and my publisher was concerned that it looked too much like a music video, so I added in more text at the beginning as per their suggestions. I hadn't intended to include moving images until I'd done a few drafts and realized it was missing something. The moving images really brought the trailer to life for me. I cut and pasted sections of my mother's music clip into it (full body shot of woman against white wall, and distorted piano keys), and some sped up shots of people walking in Athens streets. The other videos where purchased at iStock. Again no permission difficulties there.

Q: Your trailer focuses on the atmosphere and emotions of String Bridge, rather than the plot. What was your decision-making process in how you approached choosing the style and content of your trailer?

JB: Well, my book really is ABOUT emotion, so it just felt natural to try and make a trailer like that. I want my book to make readers "feel," so naturally I wanted my trailer to give readers a taste of what they might feel when reading the book. Being a musician, and knowing how much music can invoke emotional responses, I figured, "Hey, let's let the music do the talking." The lyrics of the song pretty much summarize the struggles and questions my protagonist faces throughout the story, too. So again, I didn't want to draw attention away from the vocals. The lyrics needed to be heard.

Q: What technology tools did you use to create the trailer?

JB: The videos I used were already made, so I just used Windows Movie Maker to cut and paste it all together. It was quite easy. Regarding the song, well, that was what was the most work. Hours in the recording studio, singing and then letting the music engineer do his magic! The instuments were recorded with a program called Cubase, in my mother's home studio first. The guitar, bass and piano were recorded manually, and drums and strings electronically. I grabbed the data files, put them on a disc, all raw and dry with no dynamics, gave them to the engineer here in Athens, sung to the guitar track, and then let him produce it until it shined.

Q: What unexpected hitches did you face in creating the trailer? How did you overcome them?

JB: Actually, it all ran really smoothly!

Q: Are there any special considerations other authors should think about before composing and performing their own music? For example, should original soundtracks like yours be copyrighted? How can they achieve the best sound quality on a limited budget?

JB: Well, the song hasn't been copyrighted legally. Yet. But it will be. But I can't reallly talk about that right now. I have a bit of a surprise when the book is released. Let's just say it includes a lot more than one song! ;o) I don't think copyright would really be an issue. Once something is out there, with a date on it, you have a legal right to it no matter what.

Regarding sound quality, if you want to produce a song with the least amount of fuss, time and money, do it at home on your computer with Cubase or some equivalent music program. But if you're doing it at home, you need to realize that you won't have sound-proofed walls like proper studios do, so it would be best to use digital instruments to avoid all sorts of static, pops and background noises creeping into your recording. It's a lot more complicated than just "recording it at home"--you have to learn how to use the program and purchase other equipment, etc., but if you already know what you're doing, go for it!

Thanks so much, Jessia, for sharing your experiences with us!

Jessica Bell is a native of Australia who now lives in Athens, Greece. She writes women's literary fiction and poetry. She makes a living as a freelance fiction editor and a writer/editor of global English language teaching materials. She blogs at The Alliterative Allomorph.

What do you admire about Jessica's trailer? What helpful tips did you learn?

Memory lane blogfest

2011-04-02T08:41:00.003-04:00

Thanks to Vicki Rocho at Rambles & Randomness for hosting today's blogfest! Vicki asked participants to answer the following questions.

When did you start your blog?
July 12, 2009.

What is first denomination (price) of postage stamp you remember?
13 cents. The image was something bicentennial related.

How old were you when you learned to ride a bike?
I was six. Bike riding was much easier to learn than shoe trying.

What was the first concert you attended without parental supervision?
My junior year of high school, I went to an all-city youth event featuring a bunch of CCM rock bands who performed covers of Petra and Stryper songs. I also attended plenty of school concerts without my parents. They were in their late 50s by my teen years (in other words, tired) and gave me a fair amount of freedom.

How old were you when you got your first kiss?
I was a month shy of 14, about to start ninth grade. On a youth group trip to Florida, I met a nice guy from the church that hosted us, a dark-haired, freckled, Irish-looking kid with the sweetest Southern drawl. Our two youth groups had a swim party together at a local pool and I'd spent most of that particular evening on his shoulders. We were an almost unstoppable "chicken fight" team. He decided to celebrate our victory by laying one on me during the walk back to church afterwards. I've had a nostalgic fondness for the taste of chlorine since then. ;-)

What is your earliest memory?
I remember climbing out of my crib and wandering around the house late at night searching from my rubber duckie. For some reason I was sure it would protect me from the bad thing I had dreamed about. I was at most 3 years old, because we moved from that house just before I turned four.

How should I celebrate my second blogiversary this summer? Any ideas?

Get fit while you e-mail!

2011-04-01T08:01:00.003-04:00

Good news! Google is coming out with an interactive version of Gmail that will help us all combat writer's butt--at least when we're catching up with correspondence. Check it out!

Awesome, right? I especially love the motion to send a message. It's so...inexplicably stylish.

If you think this is serious, check the date. :-)

Any good pranks planned today? What's your best memory of an April 1 trick?

Harry Potter blogfest: Who would be your mates?

2011-03-30T07:22:00.011-04:00

Thanks to Michael DiGesu at In Time... for hosting today's Harry Potter blogfest.

The concept? Select two Hogwarts students you'd choose to be your best friends and describe what kind of trio you would be. Fun, right? Go swing by Michael's blog HERE to join the fun and enjoy other participants' offerings.

-----

If I were a Hogwarts student, I would be in Ravenclaw and share a dorm room with Luna Lovegood. Being creative literary types, we would dream of starting up our own publication--an underground school newspaper! Of course, we'd need help with the sleuthing and evidence gathering, so our trio would be rounded out by Colin Creevy, photographer extaordinaire.

Luna, Colin and I would be the sneakiest, in-the-know kids at Hogwarts. We'd get to the bottom of why Filch is so attached to Mrs. Norris (obviously a transfiguration charm gone horribly wrong, leaving his young widow paramour permanently feline). We'd uncover all the best secret tryst spots on campus. We'd blow that whole Chamber of Secrets wide open!

With Colin's photos and stories; Luna's creative writing and production experience; and my writing, editing and layout know-how, we'd be on our way to wizarding journalistic fame, right under the noses of our unsuspecting professors and peers. We'd call our publication The Thestral Gazette, with the tagline "Hidden Hogwarts revealed by those in the know."

Anyone want to join us as a secret reporter?

We interrupt our regular schedule...

2011-03-28T07:46:00.004-04:00

This week, I'll be straying from my usual Tuesday, Thursday, Friday routine to participate in some blogfests.

Would you like to join me? Here are the details (and my schedule):

Wednesday, March 30
Harry Potter Blogfest:
Who would be your mates?

Hosted my Michael DiGesu at In Time...

Click HERE for the sign-up widget.

Post a maximum of 350 words based on this prompt: If you were a student at Hogwarts, who would you choose for your two best friends? Describe what kind of trio you would be.

Saturday, April 2
Memory Lane Blogfest

Hosted by Vicki Rocho at Rambles and Randomness

Click HERE for the sign-up widget

Vicki has posted a set of six memory-related questions for you to answer. Easy-peasy!

Blogfests are a great way to get to know people and stretch your creativity.

Have you joined any blogfests? What did you enjoy most? If not, what's holding you back?

What is success?

2011-03-25T07:55:00.007-04:00

I think we're all aware of our dark-side tendency to envy. The comparison game can be insidious and soul-killing. One of the most helpful pieces of advice on that front came from your elementary school teacher: "keep your eyes on your own paper."

Each of us has our own journey, and our chosen route will vary greatly depending on where we want to go. Your vision of success shapes the kind of projects you'll tackle, the sacrifices you'll make, your time priorities and your interactions with other creative people.

So how do you define success? Survey time, friends!

UPDATE Clarification: Click the response that best defines "I will know I am a success when I am ___" or, "I idolize and wish I could be like 'successful' authors who are ____."

Having trouble with the widget? Click this: To me, a successful writer is : modpoll.com

How does your vision of success shape how you work now?

Make them turn pages with this simple trick

2011-03-24T09:38:00.000-04:00

You've heard it over and over--readers, agents and editors love "page turners." So you work hard creating characters that readers will invest in and worry about, engage them in inner and outer conflicts, and lead them through obstacles and opposition. You have the groundwork laid. Now what?

Look at how you exit scenes and chapters. If your scene and chapter endings consistently come to a resolution, you aren't getting the maximum tension potential. First look for ways to introduce the unexpected (setbacks, positive or negative reversals), anticipation (goals, foreshadowing) or uncertainty at scene endings.

Then, consider using the film maker's friend, the jump cut. Interrupt the tense moment. Cut the scene in the middle, at a point where the outcome is unclear. In the next scene, come back post interruption, pick up again later in the time line, or summarize what happened. With chapter breaks, you simply begin the next chapter where you left off.

Splitting scenes over chapter breaks is by far the easiest technique. You'll need to add some scene grounding in the new chapter, but otherwise you likely won't need to do much more to build in suspense.

Keep in mind that any technique, if overdone, will feel gimmicky to the reader. Be sure that you don't split scenes at the end of every single chapter. For variety, use the suspenseful scene-end technique instead, for, say, at least 1/4 of your chapters.

How might better exits from scenes and chapters improve the page-turning tension in your work? What favorite books our authors demonstrate the technique best for you?

Jazz up your revision process

2011-03-22T09:47:00.001-04:00

Many approach revision as if it were the literary equivalent of housecleaning. You sweep away redundancies, throw out excess adverbs and dialogue tags, donate some unneeded subplots to charity, polish lackluster sentences, and voila, a shiny manuscript.

Agents and editors are looking for more than tidiness. They want a story that grabs them by the throat and won't let go. A story that sings.

It's easy to let the fear of making mistakes put your creative gift into a straight jacket, especially when revising. One of the ways to unleash the raw energy your manuscript needs is to take a lesson from the jazz world--improvisation. Once you've done the work of smoothing out the plot--equivalent to a musician laying out the key, tempo, and where important shifts will happen--it's time to go back and make lackluster sections sing. In Manuscript Makeover, Elizabeth Lyon calls this "riff-writing."

Riff-writing is a very focused kind of freewriting. Lyon says it "helps you expand your imagination around a particular problem or need--to lengthen a section, to add images, or to develop more characterization, for instance" (10).

Here's how to approach riffing:

1. Find a section (sentence, paragraph, scene) that feels thin, underdeveloped or emotionally flat.

2. Find a point of entry to explore further--the setting, an object, a character's feelings or memory or attitude.

3. Start scribbling--start at your entry point and follow the thoughts and feelings wherever they lead. As with rough drafting, don't edit or censor yourself. Let any and every idea flow. Push past your comfort level and really explore every dark cave, every windy mountaintop. Remember that in improvisation, "there are no wrong notes, you work them and they become part of the riff," Lyon says, quoting a musician friend (11).

4. Let the riff "cool off" while you work on other sections.

5. Come back and edit down the riff material that works best in your story. Set aside bits that might be useful elsewhere for expanding other sections of the story.

Lyon notes that in her twenty years as an independent editor, she has rarely seen consistently overwritten fiction. It's far more likely that drafts are too thin, a shell of what they need to be. Revision is where you can pump in more life and fully develop your characters, plot and voice.

Image: http://www.clker.com/

Quoted material from: Lyon, Elizabeth. Manuscript Makeover: Revision Techniques No Fiction Writer Can Afford to Ignore. New York: Penguin, 2008.

What sections of your story could benefit from riff-writing? How might you move from tidy draft to fully developed story?

Hitchhiking with Dr. Who

2011-03-18T07:58:00.001-04:00

If you could hitchhike with a Time Lord aboard the TARDIS, where and when would you choose to go? Would you decide, like Rose Tyler (companion to Doctors #9 and 10), to go back and see a relative you never got to know? Would you choose a far-off space port in a distant future? Would you want to meet a famous person? Your great-great grandchildren? See one of the seven wonders of the ancient world?

Gosh, where would you even start? That's what makes Dr. Who's premise so delicious. The possibilities are endless.

I think one of my first stops would be 1780s Vienna. Having to disguise myself in poofy dress and an enormous wig would be quite a laugh. But most of all, I'd love to have a chance to see Mozart in the flesh. Was he charming or a complete jerk? A fun drunk or a mean one? Did he live lost within his inner musical world, or was he actually a fascinating conversationalist?

How about you? When and where would your first stop be if you could go anywhere in space and time?