How Does One Cry Underwater?

World-building is one of my favorite parts in the writing process. You can be as creative as you want, you can make civilizations and histories and literally move mountains, but you have to follow the rules.

What rules, you ask? The rules of the world you create.

Let me explain.

Let’s say a mermaid falls in love with a charming, but broody young merman, and they spend their days frolicking in the seaweed (much to her father’s dismay), daring each other to swim too close to the jellyfish (which only stings if you’re a wimp), and trapping tuna (which are slippery, but not altogether too bright). They don’t have a religion, apart from worshipping a metal hairbrush from the surface (we’ll just call it a Dinglehopper), and their biggest dream is to win the all-star synchronized swimming contest.

But building a world isn’t just about combining brilliant (award winning, really) ideas, it’s about consistency. A story is only believable if the characters have some limitations – gravity maybe, or human restrictions, like the one I always neglect, sleep. It needs to have rules, just like a body needs to have bones in order to stand.

For instance, let’s just say our mermaid friend finds her dark brooding merman catching crabs with the mergirl from across the pond. Would she burst into tears? Well, that depends. If she’s submerged in water then probably not. You’ve just bumped up against one of the constraints of your world. You need to find another way for your characters to show the emotions behind the tears.

Maybe she’s not sad. Maybe she wants to stand her ground and tell him off. Would she say, “What the hell? Get your filthy paws off of my merman!” Maybe. But probably not. Because 1) what would our underwater heroine know of paws (I doubt she had a puppy growing up)? And 2) you’ve set up a world where mermaids worship Dinglehoppers, and to reference Hell implies a traditional, surface-dweller’s religious belief system. Anyway, she’s probably not going to “stand” very well with a tail, and I don’t know about you, but the last time I tried to say anything underwater it didn’t go very well.*

You get my point.

When it comes down to it, we use words and phrases every day that reflect the world we live in. I was breathing like I’d just run a mile. Don’t be such a baby. Piece of cake. He’s born again. That costs an arm and a leg. I’m having a bad hair day.

Most of us know what they mean, so we assume our characters do too. But we have to be careful. Just 

because it’s fiction, doesn’t mean anything goes.

Welcome to some of the joys of world-building!

*Anne Greenwood Browne has created a very unique communication style for the mermaids in her book, LIES BENEATH (2012). Check it out! It's awesome!

Prizes from Tracy Bilen, Katie McGarry, and Kristen Simmons

Wow—what a difference a year can make.

In January of 2011, I approached a couple of writer friends and asked them if they would like to participate in a young adult group blog. To my utter happiness, they agreed. So on March 27, 2011, I uploaded the very first post for YA Fusion titled, “Twitter and Third Grade Kickball.”

Since then we’ve added more contributors to our YA Fusion family, we’ve celebrated book releases, and we are on the verge of celebrating a few more.

Even though it is our birthday, we’d like to give our readers the opportunity to win some presents. We have four packages that we are giving away.

Package #1: What She Left Behind by Tracy Bilen notebook and bookmarks.

Package 2: A signed hardback copy of Kristen Simmon's Article 5

Package 3: A signed ARC of Katie McGarry's Pushing the Limits

Package 4: A copy of Divergent by Veronica Roth, Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi, Delirium by Lauren Oliver, and a book chosen by the winner from our list of other titles.

So, how do you win one of these fabulous packages? Comment below by Saturday April 14, 2012 by midnight eastern standard time. Please list your e-mail address in the comment.

Tell us what YA book you're looking forward to this year, tell us what you'd like to see us post about in the coming year or tell us you'd like to be entered into the giveaway. If you'd like an additional entry, twitter about this giveaway and leave the link in the comment section. Sorry, contest is only open to U.S. and Canadian entrants. Winners will be announced on Monday, April 16th.

Happy Birthday Article 5!

Happy Birthday Week Article 5!

January 31^st will mark my debut novel’s release into the wild, which means that I am biting my fingernails down to nubs and am so freaking excited/terrified that I’m no longer able to form coherent sentences. And in times like this I turn to my friend and full-time therapist, author Katie McGarry!

For a writer, it’s essential to find a sounding board that resonates at the right frequency. Who gives feedback in a way you understand and can digest, and who can pull you back to the surface when you’re drowning. For me, Katie is this person. She’s been there through countless calls, processing and plotting and working through stuck points, and because of this, she knows Article 5 nearly as well as I do.

So…shall we see what Katie thinks of Article 5?

So Katie, tell us. If you could describe A5 in 5 magic words, what would they be?

Thrilling

Romantic

Amazing

Heartbreaking

Sizzling

Sizzling, hmmm? Well that’s…awesome. Ok, who is your favorite character and why?

Hard question.

I fell in love with your secondary characters: Sean and Rebecca. They are so well developed and it’s a story line I never saw coming.

Ember is such a great lead character. She’s strong, but at the same time, she’s vulnerable. In the midst of her entire world falling apart, she lets love push her forward. That is a characteristic that made me cheer for her.

Deep down, Chase is my favorite character. His undeniable need to protect Ember made this book a real page turner.

Now one thing I know—we both love a good romance. What are your thoughts on the romance in Article 5?

I continued to think about Ember and Chase after I finished the last page. Chase is this awesome combination of bad boy and Boy Scout. He’s hot and I love the constant conflict between the two. Their attraction and love for each other leap off the page.

If you were running from the Federal Bureau of Reformation, what are 5 things you would take with you?

Food

Water

Clothing

Money

My copy of Article 5 by Kristen Simmons

Like, as a survivor manual? Or to burn in case you can’t find kindling for a fire? Or maybe to throw in self defense? Never mind, don’t answer that.

As my super author BFF/beta reader, you’re one of the few people who have read the sequel to Article 5. What can you tell us about what we have to look forward to?

Oh!!!! I finished the sequel in a matter of hours! I couldn’t put it down! Let’s see…there are explosions, kissing, fist fights, riots, kissing, snipers, and did I mention kissing?

Well, that just about does it for today’s show. Thanks for sharing your thoughts Katie, and can’t wait to do the same in July for the release of Pushing the Limits!

ARTICLE 5 GIVEAWAY!

It’s November, and I’m thankful! For my family, and the ability to do what I love – write – a little bit every day. For my author friends, my agent, and my editor who keep me encouraged. For a life filled with trust, respect, and hope.

For the fact that my first book, Article 5, is coming out in precisely three months.

(OMG OMG OMG)

New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC have been abandoned. 
 
The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes. 

There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials and maybe worse. People who get arrested don’t usually come back.

Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren’t always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it’s hard to forget that people weren’t always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. That life in the United States used to be different.

In the three years since the war ended, Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs—like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes—and how to pass the random home inspections by the Federal Bureau of Reformation. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow. That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And what’s worse, one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings…the only boy Ember has ever loved.

So today I’m spreading the love! I’m giving away an Advance Reader Copy (ARC) of Article 5! The contest closes one week from today, 11/20/11, and winners will be announced here, on Monday, 11/21/11. For more information about the book, come visit me on my website: www.kristensimmonsbooks.com.

How do you enter for a chance to win? Just fill out the form below, and press “submit.” Easy!

Thanks everyone, and good luck!

Opening Lines

As my friend Fraulein Maria says, “Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start.”

I was recently rereading A TALE OF TWO CITIES by Charles Dickens, and was blown away (as always) by the opening line. You’ve probably heard it: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…” etc., etc. In the history of literature that has to be one of the best first lines ever written.* I mean, the sheer physical size of the sentence (119 words) is enough to catch the reader’s attention. Then, on top of that, Dickens covers every emotion on the spectrum by pointing out that for every good thing that exists there is a dark side (Luke…I am your faaaather…) working against it. Glad it’s the “spring of hope?” Guess what? It’s also the “winter of despair.” Pretty excited that we have “everything before us?” We don’t. We have “nothing before us.” Maybe Dickens was Taoist, because he totally nailed the whole yin and yang thang (that's right, I said it).

(As an aside, Dickens uses a concept called anaphora in that opening line. I tried to work in this vocabulary wonder in a clever way, but alas, fell short.)

I agonize over first lines. I write them and rewrite them, knowing full well I’ll just be going back in revisions and rewriting them again. It’s like the hook line in a query letter; your one shot to win someone’s attention. It’s not only the reader’s first taste of the story; it’s the starting point for which the remainder of the manuscript is framed. It’s your first impression, your pick-up line, your hope that they’re interested enough to learn a little bit more.

So how do you make an opening line catchy without being kitschy? How do you tease, but not appease? (Ok, ok, enough.) There are a million and a half ways to do this (I’ve counted). I don’t claim to be an expert on first lines by any means, but I LOVE to read them, so here are a few themes meant to inspire:

1. Inviting the reader in. A “Come join me whilst I tell you a tale,” kind of opening.

2. A “We’re-catching-this-story-halfway-through” news report. Stating the action as though the reader’s been thrust right into the thick of things. (The opening of the HATE LIST by Jennifer Brown is a pretty shocking example)

3. A sense of foreboding. “In these dungeons the darkness was complete, but Katsa had a map in her mind.” – GRACELING by Kristin Cashore.

4. Something sarcastic and biting. My favorite example of this is from CATCHER IN THE RYE (J.D. Salinger): “If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me…”

5. An important memory. “I remember lying in the snow, a small red spot of warm going cold, surrounded by wolves.” SHIVER by Maggie Stiefvater.

6. Something shocking, off the wall, or intriguing, such as “The first thing you find out when yer dog learns to talk is that dogs don’t got nothing much to say.” – THE KNIFE OF NEVER LETTING GO by Patrick Ness.

7. A funny start is always good in my opinion. See the opening of WILL GRAYSON, WILL GRAYSON, or anything by John Green, really.

8. A really surprising wham! Pow! Zap! kind of line. Bullets flying. Light sabers crashing. You get the idea.

9. Dialog. I always feel like immediately I’m part of the conversation when a story opens with dialog. Love this one: “There are places you can go,” Ariana tells him, “And a guy as smart as you has a decent chance of surviving to eighteen.” – UNWIND by Neal Shusterman.

10. Or you can do what I did. After five hundred rewrites, go for simple: “Beth and Ryan were holding hands.” Yup. That’s the first line to ARTICLE 5. Earth-shattering, I know.

So, these are a few of the things I think about when writing/revising my opening lines. I hope they help; there’s nothing more satisfying than feeling like you finally found the right key to open your front door.

*To clarify, I love it; therefore, it is one of the best lines ever written in the history of literature.

Identity Crisis

I still feel funny referring to myself as a writer.

It seems sort of idealistic. A little too pie-in-the-sky maybe. What do you do? Oh me? I'm a writer. As though this somehow implies I spend my days pouring over poetry by the fountain, and sampling vegan foods from around the world, and contemplating the human condition with any number of brilliant acquaintances from my diversity roster.

For the record, I haven't read much poetry since college, and my vegan experience peaked at the Whole Foods salad bar. I do have lovely, smart friends, but we usually spend our time eating pie and catching up on what’s happening in our day jobs.

The truth is this: I hesitate to call myself a writer because I’m afraid I might be a bad writer. I swim too, but I don’t call myself a swimmer. Michael Phelps is a swimmer. I’m a person who likes to swim. So maybe I’m just a person who likes to write.

I mean, I do suck at grammar, and Spellcheck is the only reason I don’t look like a total idiot in print. For crying out loud, writers are supposed to be good at the mechanics, right? Yet, some small voice inside of me insists that these things don’t matter. That being edgy, and mysterious, and brilliant – all those stereotypes I set up and then fall short of – aren’t important either. They’re just layers of padding, built in excuses so I don’t have to admit that I’m afraid of looking like a fool.

And the truth is I am afraid. I send my manuscripts to my agent and then chew my nails down to nubs, and eat everything in sight, and refresh my inbox forty times an hour. I rehearse what I’ll tell my editor if she doesn't like my work. I remind myself that it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks – what is this middle school? – as long as I’m happy with myself…blah, blah, blah. And you know what I’ve learned? It’s okay to be neurotic. It’s okay to be self-conscious. If I wasn’t so afraid, I wouldn’t care, and if I didn’t care, writing would just be a hobby.

Here’s how I know it’s not: When I wake up in the morning, I want to write, and when I go to bed at night, I know I haven’t written enough. I think in sentence form (typically grammatically incorrect sentences). I’m distracted by dialog being spoken in my head. And I will always assign hero and villain status to individuals in my everyday adventures.

When I write I feel like my best self, the self I want to be. When I put it all out there on the page, I feel fulfilled. And if that makes me vulnerable, and that vulnerability makes me scared, that’s okay. Because this is who I am.

Maybe writing isn’t your thing. Maybe it’s basketball, or, I don’t know, acting, but you don’t know if you’re any good. Own it. If it’s what burns inside you, if it reframes the way you think and is a part of every decision you make, you aren’t just a person who likes to act. You’re an actor.

And me? I’m a writer.

Kristen Simmons

BIO: Kristen was raised in Sparks, Nevada, just below Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. In high school she was a triple threat of awesomeness: Girl Scouts, Jazz Choir, and marching band. She attended several colleges in several states before finally receiving a BA in psychology and a master’s in social work. After working everywhere from a domestic violence shelter to a group home for at-risk teens, she became a mental health therapist. After surrendering to the addiction of all things chocolate, she became a Jazzercise instructor.

Kristen is married, and has a rescued greyhound named Rudy. Her first novel, ARTICLE 5, the first installment of her young adult dystopian trilogy, will be released by Tor Teen in February 2012. Learn more about Kristen and her writing at KristenSimmonsBooks.com.

DEBUT: ARTICLE 5 (Tor Teen, Winter 2012)

New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC have been abandoned.

The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.

There are no more police — instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior — instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested don’t usually come back.

17-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren’t always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it’s hard to forget that people weren’t always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. That life in the United States used to be different.

In the three years since the war ended, Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the Federal Bureau of Reformation. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow. That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And what’s worse, one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings…the only boy Ember has ever loved.