Age Group Jumping

There are two of me. One writes adult and the other writes YA/NA. There's a simple reason why I write all three. I am an adult (and quite frankly, that stuff sells better digitally) and I loved high school and college. That was a great age for me, so I'm drawn to writing it.

Much to my children's sorrow, I will not write middle grade or chapter books. It's not anything weird like a lack of respect for the genre. I am HUGELY appreciative of those categories because those are the books that make lifelong readers. Problem is, I didn't come into my own until high school, and I don't look back on the earlier years with any fondness. If someone said to me "Hey, we're going to make you twelve again and you can live your whole life over!" My response would be "No thanks, I'd rather choke on my own panicked vomit and die." Plus, quite honestly, I don't have the right voice for it.

There are people who can bridge from picture books all the way to adult and do it all well, but they are few and far between. It always makes me shake my head when I see writer friends/acquaintances who seem to jump on whatever the "it" genre is.

"MG is hot? I'm going to write that!"

"NA is the new thing. Sign me up."

Now, anyone who knows me knows I'm all about trying new things and stretching as a writer, but if the reason you're doing it is because it's popular, you're doing it for the wrong reasons. It's like dating the captain of the football team in high school even though he's a misogynistic creep who never bothers to comb his hair or brush his teeth. Hey, he's still football captain. Hello...popular.

Hello... lame... stupid... ridiculous. (Pick an adjective.)

So is chasing the "it" genre. By all means, if it calls to your muse and fits your voice, have at it. But if you're just doing it because it's popular...

Do you know why I write (some) New Adult? Because I love writing YA, and some of my YA has always nudged into the college arena (I was told at the time it was unsellable). I also write adult, but I've been told I have a "youthful" adult voice. (Appropriate since Julie means youthful.) So that sweet spot for me? It's 16-25. Yes, I've written older characters, but that (even with my adult stuff) is where I like to sit. I'm just lucky enough that it crosses three genres. I have very little desire to branch out much further.

Writing Cliques

People gravitate towards others like them. Sometimes it's common interests, similar personalities, socioeconomic status, gender, race... all sorts of reasons for it. In high school, we call them cliques. Funny thing is, that doesn't stop on graduation day. And it is very common in the writerly world.

In some ways, this is not a bad thing. You want your crit partners, writing group, etc. to really mesh well so that critiques and brain-storming and the like are as productive as possible. But there's a point when an author steps from behind those closed doors and into the public eye that the responsibility shifts a bit.

There are a lot of examples of this with authors-behaving-badly and spouting off in such ways that it drives away their fans, but what about subtler things? In order to have a unifying base, let's talk Twitter. Many, many authors are on Twitter. Some have huge followings, some don't. Some follow back everyone (or anyone who talks to them) and some don't. I'm not going to make comments based on that since you don't have to follow someone to talk to them.

However, some authors don't seem to get that Twitter is about interaction (and I'm going to pick--anonymously--on some authors whose books I adore here). If all you're doing is shouting into the ether, you're doing it wrong. Most people who follow you on twitter also follow your blog/facebook/website/newsletter... they're already fans. So shouting is pointless.

What's more annoying though? When authors throw out questions or statements that invite discussion but only respond to those in their little circle (the writing clique I spoke of earlier). Twitter is not the school cafeteria where your conversation is just you and your little table of friends chatting, or at least it shouldn't be. People are on Twitter to interact, and if an author chooses to ignore their fans (I'll be generous here with the one I'm thinking of) 90% of the time when they say something that invites discussion, it will serve to alienate fans. Yes, I have unfollowed authors because I liked their work, but I was getting really sick of seeing how they ignored their fans. Other people I know have stopped reading their work entirely because of this.

I've noticed another disturbing trend with big(ger) authors. They will start a Twitter event, whether productivity or character driven, that encompasses more than just their books. They will invite others to join in... and then within that event, they only communicate with those in their clique. Especially when it's a productivity thing (writing sprints, 1k1hr, etc). Those who aren't published and don't get mad words every day are the ones who need the atta'boys far more than some other author with multiple NY contracts under their belt.

The thing is, Twitter offers authors a really great opportunity to mentor fledgeling writers without the mad time-commitment. It's a type of support that is hard to come by these days and is almost a guaranteed way to make those writers (who are invariably readers as well) become lifelong fans.

So... I don't get it.

Sure, I understand the occasional @mention getting lost in the feed, even when asking for responses. And I totally understand not being able to respond to everything all the time (some of those people have thousands and tens of thousands of followers). But to ignore the opportunity to interact with all those people all the time in favor of hanging with just your clique...

Yeah. Not a fan.

Throwback Thursday: Music Edition

It's kind of funny writing YA as an adult. Silly things that are different now than they were back in the day and all that. Music is another part that kills me. I write to "soundtracks," but the music is... not necessarily what a lot of teens listen to.

For example, the soundtrack to Pretty Souls contained not one, but two, remakes of songs from the 80s. "Wicked Game" and "Islands in the Stream." Both were very different from the originals, updated and all that, but remakes nonetheless.

And then there's Memory Keeper. For whatever strange reason, the band that most speaks to me with regard to that story is Bon Jovi. Yes, I know they are still around and still putting out music, but I've been listening to them since they had longer hair than I do.

I'm not sure if I listen to "throwback" songs and bands when I write YA just because I love them or if it goes deeper than that. If the music and singers from when I was a teenager help me to tap into the recesses of my memory to harness a younger me. All I know is the one time I tried to create a soundtrack with all "new" music, I couldn't write to it. I completely lost focus when listening.

So, I'll stick with old school since it seems to work for me. And just for fun, a little Bon Jovi for your listening pleasure.

Pulling Up My Big-Girl Panties

Sometimes this writing thing is hard. I don't want it to be. I mean, I like writing, I like revising, I like editing. I don't lurve blogging, but I don't hate it either. So why can't it be as simple as writing a book, editing the hell out of it and putting it out there. You know, so I can move on and write another book?

I've been giving a lot of thought to self-publishing lately. I know quite a few people who have or are doing it and they're happy. They seem to be doing well. But I follow some of them on Twitter and it feels like all they ever do is promo.

Promotion is the single most dreaded part of being an author for me. I hate going up to people and saying "buy my book" or even "this is my book and it got a really great review from ______." I suck at that stuff, and I have ever since I was little. When I was a girl scout I was lucky if I hit the 50 cookies badge every year. And those were GIRL SCOUT COOKIES. Those things practically sell themselves!

So, I look at self-publishing and as much as I think some of my books would do as well (even with my crappy sales skillset), I'm leery of branching out in that direction. But... that means sitting on things I'd like to see out in the world. It means trying to decide what to do with some of my work at all.

This is not a pity party. I have it better than a lot of writers out there. Between this me and the other me, I have quite a few stories out. I have publishers who I like working with and who like working with me. But not everyone publishes YA (sad sad fact of life), and not all publishers who do YA do it well. Plus, all my YA stuff is novel-length which means it takes more work than shorter pieces. So, I can't put everything out when I want to. And, right now I know it's making some people not happy with me.

There's stuff sitting on my hard drive right now that I need to make some decisions on. Self-pubbing is one option. There are others. All of them are a little scary. But eventually I have to do something because even letting them collect dust is me making a choice. It's just the chicken's choice. So, I'm pulling up my big girl panties (because one should never fight demons in any other kind of panties) and staring down my options. Hopefully it won't be as hard a decision as I'm worried it will be. But I want to thank each and every one of you who has been patient (and those of you who have been less so). You're the reasons I'm staring down my demons at all. You're the ones who make the fight worth it. So thanks.

Now where did I put my sword?

Knowing All the Answers

I had a funny conversation yesterday, but to understand it I need to explain what happened three days ago. So, I already mentioned requests from RT and getting those babies sent off. I mailed the last of them on Monday (YAY me!). Shortly after, I told my betas that I washed my hands of the manuscript for the time being. That I didn't want to talk about it, think about it... nothing. Honestly, I love that story, but it exhausts me. So I was looking forward to a nice little break while it was in someone else's hands.

After that, I went to work on another (adult) project. I'm tooling away at it for two days when WHAM! out of nowhere, one of my betas calls me and says, "So... what about STDs?"

At first I thought I'd misunderstood. Then I realized what she was asking. After first chewing her out for making me break my "I don't want to even think about that manuscript for a while" vow, I proceeded to answer her.

You see, there is a fair degree of promiscuity in the manuscript, so it is a fair question. (And not nearly as random as it sounds.) But, it isn't one that was addressed within the pages. For a minute, I wondered if I screwed up and should go back and revise (and resend with apologies). Then I reminded myself of one of my cardinal rules of writing. If it doesn't advance the story, don't include it. Explaining to the reader why they don't worry about STDs does nothing for the plot. Nothing. So it didn't belong on the page.

However, the conversation was a good reminder that, as the author, I need to know about all the stuff that didn't make the page. In this particular case, I did know and explained it to her. Sometimes though, you get hit with a question you didn't think about when writing and you look a little like this...

So, I try to make a habit of (especially when dealing with anything that could be considered controversial) asking myself the hard questions in advance. As for the others that pop up? Keep good notes. Because if you get asked once, you'll get asked again, and there's nothing worse than being an author who doesn't know their own story.

Die, Damn You, Die... Again

I'm in the midst of doing some revisions to a manuscript. On the one hand, I'm remembering just how much I love this story and how in the main character's head I was when writing (this is the book I drafted last year in 31 days). This was major in-the-zone writing and I love it. I think the revisions are making it better too. But... I hate re-killing characters I love.

An explanation first. Those 31 days last year? I spent most of them crying as I wrote this manuscript. It's a very emotional story for me and so many scenes tore me up to write. But I was a sobbing idiot on the days that I had to kill a couple characters. Yes, I know GRRM--if he were ever to read this--would be laughing at me right now, but I think I understand where the difference lies between his perspective and Rowling's. (https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-P_pCHQCYvkE/To3M6oNp6fI/AAAAAAAADFg/q9OUVE65Z8I/jk_martin.jpg)

You see, I kill characters all the time in my adult stuff. I even kill characters I like a lot. And when I do it there, it doesn't really bother me. (The adult story that affected me the most remains unfinished because it was so depressing for me to write. Not tear-jerking, just depressing, and no one even died on the page--only in the past.) But when it comes to my young adult work, killing characters sucks something out of me.

When I'm working on adult stuff, the characters are like my friends. Yes, I'd be heartbroken if my friends died, but I know that I'd pick up the pieces and my life would go on. (Sorry to my friends, but it's true. If nothing else, I'd need to go on for my kids.) But as an adult writing YA, those characters are more like my kids than my friends. And if my kids died, my world would fall apart. Hell, even if my kids' friends died and I had to watch them crumble, it would kill me a little bit inside. So when I have to write the deaths of characters who are so real inside my head that they fell like my own children, it rips my heart out and stomps on it.

I'm at the part in revisions where people start dying. In this world, death is a really common thing, but not the type of death these characters face. I had to "re-kill" one of them today, but that was the easier death. The harder one? The one that really screws with my main character's world? That came a couple chapters later, and the closer I got to it, the less I wanted to work on the book. This death--and the aftermath of it--tear so many things apart that I couldn't stomach the idea of facing it so close on the heels of the last one.

But I have to do it.

So tomorrow, I'm going to pull up my big girl panties and destroy the lives of a group of kids who live inside my head. But tonight I couldn't. Tonight I decided to knit instead.

So, yes, GRRM fans, I guess I'm adorable too. But at the end of the day, I'm okay with that.

This Reminds Me Of...

Of the many places authors must find balance, one of the hardest for me deals with reading what I write. You see, an author should be well-versed in what is out already within the genre(s) they write, but they shouldn't read so much of it that it either stifles their own creativity or those other worlds start to invade theirs.

Because I write both YA and adult in an array of spec fic sub-genres, I let myself believe that I was self-moderating my reading in order to toe that line. I tend to switch things up a lot. A YA paranormal, an adult steampunk, a YA dystopian, an adult urban fantasy... It means I read a little of a lot of things, but not a lot of anything. It seemed like a brilliant way to do things. (Note: The book covers used for this post are just a few of the YA books I've read over the past year, and the one in question is not included--because I'm just mean that way.)

Until someone in the know read my manuscript and said (paraphrased) "It feels really similar to _________, but I'm sure you've read that." Uh... no. I hadn't. The book in question was in that spot on my TBR Pile where I'd looked at it, held it in my hands, and then someone (I honestly can't remember if it was a review or a direct comment from a friend) said something that made me think I wouldn't like it. So it was shuffled down the pile to be lost with dozens of other books I haven't made it to yet. I moved on to something newer and shinier in the same genre. 

But when the comparison was made, I dug out the book. And yeah. I never read it, but there are a lot of similarities, both with regard to some characters and some world-building issues. The stories themselves are different, but the parallels are there. Fortunately, parts of it will be addressed in the changes I'm making to my manuscript, but it begs the question of how to find that perfect balance between reading enough and not reading too much. 

Obviously this time, I erred on the wrong side. As soon as I have some breathing room between reviews, I'm going to spend it filling the gaps in my dystopian reading. Because just knowing the premise of the other books out there doesn't tell you the smaller things that matter--the little bits and pieces that might be too close to your manuscript. 

Plus... I didn't hate the book. It wasn't my favorite, but I enjoyed the writing and the romance angles. (I like more action than this particular book had in it. Plus, the fact that no reasons were given for why the society had become so regulated bothered me the whole time. I don't need a lengthy reason, just some hint as to why this is considered so much better or necessary compared to what came before.)

So, since I need more... anyone know of any great dystopians coming out soon so I can grab a galley to review them? :P

I Don't Like Boxes

Actually, that title is kind of a lie. As far as paper boxes go, I have what could be called a minor obsession with them. I like having all shapes and sizes of boxes on hand. I collect them like some people collect coins. But when it comes to writing? Yeah. I don't like boxes at all.

I'm not fond of genre boxes, and I have serious issues with writing for a word count box.

That isn't to say I don't respect word counts, I do. To say a novel should be between X and Y thousand words, I'm good with that (unless X and Y are really close together, in which case I do this --> O.o). Anyway, in trying to write a YA novella, I discovered that I can't do that very well. Some people are probably staring at the screen kind of funny right now because they know the other me (the one that writes for adults), writes a lot of short stories and novellas. This is true, and I can do short stories pretty well, but the novellas? Those just happened to fall into that word count. I didn't plan to write them that way.

So fast-forward to this YA novella...

The story was inspired by a trip into this cave.

A publisher that really interests me was looking for novellas, specifically YA and new-adult. I'd had this story idea tickling at my brain since I went to Poland this summer, but I kept putting it on the back-burner in favor of projects I needed to get done. When the call for submissions came out, I looked at it again and thought to myself, "This could be a novella." So rather than taking October to plot my NaNoNovel (Plot? We don't need no stinking plot!), I wrote a 42,000 word novella. Which was... 2000 words too long for the submission call.

Like a good little writer, I went through and trimmed some filler words, tightened some sentences, etc. Got it down to just over 41,000. But I couldn't see where to fix it more. So I sent it to my betas-of-awesome. Here's the thing about having betas-of-awesome, even if they won't straight out say "you need to re-work this and make it longer", you'll know because of their distinct lack of woo-hooing that something isn't right. It took a sit-down with one of my peeps for me to say, I don't think it works as a novella. She basically agreed and said the story was too big to fit in that box. That by trimming the word count, I was cutting it down to the bones of the story. Apparently they're really great bones, but that's not enough to make a really great book.

Now the place is pretty...

So I took that box, and that submission opportunity and I tossed it. I'm about a third of the way through revising the manuscript without the word count constraints, and it's already sooooo much better. My heroine's backstory is more present, as well as why she's fighting so hard against her demons and taking risks. The antagonist has better motivation for his goals beyond his training. Dude thinks he's being the hero, and it makes him a much better character. And the hero... well, he was the one aspect no one mentioned building on a lot. But he's getting tweaks here and there as well.

Without the tight little box pushing in from every side, Rory and Ashlyn's story is so much fuller and more alive. It's rapidly shifting from a novella that I liked to a novel that I love.

Best. Job. Ever.

Apologies for no post last week, but I was at Disney World!!!!

Yes, I'm a huge sucker for Disney. I have a Tinkerbell tattoo, and I would have a Stitch one, but I'm not sure it fits in with the whole motif I have going on. But Stitch did flirt with me at the Magic Kingdom, so that was kind of nice (I know he was probably actually a girl, but I'm okay with that. As far as I'm concerned, he was the adorable little alien I love.) No Tigger this time though :(

ANYWAY...

A bunch of stuff happened while I was gone and right after I came back from the trip that sent my writing world spinning. It made me realize how badly I needed to write up a schedule and stick to it. Self-imposed deadlines, people! I love them, but at the same time, since they are self-imposed, it means no one's accountable but me. (Well, that and I have a tendency to make them... uh... challenging is a good word.)

But here's a secret... EVERY writer should have deadlines. I don't care if you're only in the practice stages of writing that supposed million words of crap and you only share your stuff with your dog. One of the most important aspects to my writing life is to do something writerly every day. Just like working out, if I slack off for too long, it's soooooo much harder to get back in the groove. Even a page a day. If you can do that, you'll find yourself more inclined to write as it will become a habit, not a chore.

And, honestly, it should never be a chore. Writers, as a general rule, don't pull down the big bucks. Sure there are the Stephen Kings and the JK Rowlings and the Stephanie Meyers, but most authors? They have day jobs to pay the bills. Be in this gig because you love it. Love the writing, love the revisions, love it all. Get excited about the blank screen. Be giddy over opening a vein to spill your soul onto the page. Love your characters. Cry when you have to kill them. These are the people you've chosen to give living space in your brain to. You are their god.

It's a pretty awesome feeling. But back to deadlines. This month (and probably a chunk of next month) is all about revisions for me. I have two novellas that need significant revisions (at least one that will end up novel-length by the time all is said and done, which is awesomesauce). As of today, to make the deadline, I have twenty days to do them both. Ten days each. It's doable but tight. (See above-mentioned tendency to assign myself challenges.)

The thing is I can't wait to dive in. I LOVE these characters (some more than others, of course) and can't wait to make their stories shinier. Even though it's revisions, it'll still mean a lot of new words (even when it's not MORE words), so I should still get that page a day without any trouble.

Oh, and I get to beta read a book by one of my favorite new authors at the same time.

Best.

Job.

Ever.

And with that, I need to get back to work. But really, for me writing is kind of like living at Disney World. Over the course of the next month, I get to hang out with mobsters, scientists, clockworks, legends and dragons. So, I feel the need to say it again...

Best.

Job.

Ever.

Have a great week, everyone!

Welcome #NaNoRebels!

As many of you know, I have an unhealthy love for NaNoWriMo (if you don't know what that is, check out their site here). This year I'm faced with a November full of what if. There are a number of things going on right now, and any or all of them could come to fruition in November, which will alter my 50k words plan. (To put it in perspective, any of them would befabulous things, so I'm not complaining.)

What that means is, my NaNo is potentially going to be an exercise in change where I jump from one project to another to another. And I'm not the only one. My writing group (the Rebels), has some people who are spending November on heavy-duty revisions, some who are writing the 50k, some that are doing a bunch of smaller projects, and some who are determined to finish a project without worrying about that blasted 50k. Add to that the fact that my local NaNo group doesn't work for me, and...

it's time for #NaNoRebels.

This is not limited to my writing group. We stuck with Rebels because we're not necessarily worrying about the official rules. You already started your project? Awesome. You're a Rebel and can join us too. This project will be running on both this blog (YA) and my adult blog in tandem. On Tuesdays, I'll post there with an updated list of when we have scheduled virtual write-ins (I will probably set up a lot of them, but other people can do this too, just make sure I have the time and URL and I'll get it on the list.) On Thursdays, I'll post here and we'll all do status updates and commiserate with stories and rants from the previous week. (Feel free to rant at the other blog too, but just to give a basic idea of what's where.)

In addition, we're going to use the hashtag #NaNoRebels on Twitter for whatever chitchat we want as well as reminders about upcoming virtual write-ins.

What I want from you. Let me know if you want to play along. I'd really like it if you followed/joined/GFCd the blog (one or both, you know, just to make me happy) and put something in the comments that lets me know you're going to be a Rebel too. The last Thursday of this month, there will be a post where you respond with your goals for NaNo.

So please, join in, tell your friends, and get your fingers warmed up. It's going to be an interesting November.

Our list of #NaNoRebels:

Julie Particka/Seleste deLaney

Gareth/Falcata Times

Noelle Pierce

Danielle LaPaglia/Dannigrrl5

J.A. Campbell/PFirewolf

Terri/Angbuf

Tammy Crosby/CrosbyWrites

CanadianSportsChick/Misha

Katee Robert

Kelly Metz/bwlrgrl300

Rae Lori

Chrissey/ArcadeStarlet

Donna/DBReynoldswrite

Todd DeSilva / @todddesilva

Janelle Alexander / @Janellealexandr

Jennifer Baker / @BronwynK

Sean Hayden / @ShaydenFl

Update: the blog follow thing is fubar. I'm getting on fixing it now. Please follow when you can!