Something To Look Forward To

Hi YA Fusion friends,

First a pause to acknowledge that today is Memorial Day.   Thank a veteran--but not just today.

As many of you know, I am a Co-ARA for SCBWI Midsouth (along with fantastic YA author Courtney Stevens--whose debut was discussed here by Bethany Griffin ).  My ARA duties largely revolve around setting up and maintaining the new Midsouth website, though I am also on the committee for the 2014 Midsouth Fall Conference.  Those duties overlap in the form of the conference registration.  After a looooooooooong and frustrating month of trying to early-adopt the new SCBWI registration system, I am pleased to report that the Midsouth conference brochure is live now, and registration opens on June 1st (albeit using an older system).  Massive credit for the conference and brochure go to others, I am just a conduit here.  Well... I'm gonna take credit for some of conference work, but really, it's almost all being done by the other folks you'll find listed in the brochure.

Anyway.

The faculty, as you will see, includes some fine YA authors, including our own Fusionista, Katie McGarry.  The keynote speaker is none other than Gennifer Choldenko.   And, Midsouth RA and YA author, Kristin Tubb, will teach an intro to publishing class.

But wait, there's more.  I've attended the conference for years, and I can promise you that many fine YA authors will be in the building, either helping to put on the conference or attending.  

Not looking to attend a conference?  Don't forget the book store where faculty sell and sign their books--a great chance for a little one-on-one with a great author.

Here's a  link to the website, where you will find a link to the brochure.  Happy browsing.  Hope to see you in the fall.

2014 Midsouth Fall Conference

Having a Bit of a Moan

It happened again.  I picked up a new book by one of my favorite authors, and found mistakes.  This one was especially bad, with everything from plot holes to typos to massive continuity problems—even a repeated scene.  Admittedly this wasn’t YA, but I’ve run across more than my share of mistakes in recent YA books, too.  Used to be, finding a mistake in a book was a big deal, and at most it was a typo.  Not anymore.  And that reminds me of a story.  Ready?  On the count of three, everybody do that wavy, moany thing they used to do on TV to signal a flashback.  One, two, three.  Woooooo-wooo-wooo.

My author friends are tired of hearing me say this, but loooooooooooong ago, I was tight with some good-sized book publishers.  I helped develop, write, and edit a wide range of third-party computer manuals, journals, and online articles.  At the start of my involvement, these were major productions, both large in size and heavy with content.  I’m proud to say that I was a small part of some of the best books in the industry.  Unfortunately, that quality didn’t last.  Print publishing was just starting the musical chairs of consolidation in those days, and that was especially true where a computer-literate customer base was more than ready for change.  Parent publishers, who were busy being bought and sold to one another, flailed.  Product lines ballooned and then popped before they could generate anything but expenses.  Inevitably, books got shorter, content got lighter, and editing fell by the wayside.  In-house management felt enormous pressure to move releases forward while pushing expenses backward.  Books went out before they were ready.  I read the reviews; trust me when I say people noticed.

Okay, the flashback is over.  I’m not sure what sound effect I should use for an analogy, but looking at this book also reminds me of parallel story.  It goes like this: I’m a bit of a construction junkie and like to read Builder Magazine, which is a trade magazine for the residential construction industry.  After the housing bubble burst, I noticed a common thread in many of the articles.  The industry, which had been focused on speed during the boom years, discovered that quality was far more important to their bottom line.  To survive in a brutal market, builders couldn’t keep cranking out badly-build houses—there were plenty of those already.  What builders needed were happy customers.  Enter quality.  And it turns out that when builders focused on quality, they lowered their long-term expenses, while increasing their referrals and repeat customers.  Ching!

So maybe I’m reaching here, but I think there’s a lesson.  Maybe publishers, even my beloved YA publishers who are feeling so much pressure from above, should put more focus on quality.  I know our teen audience grows up fast, but give them credit for wanting books without mistakes.  After all, their word of mouth is our biggest asset.

Meet Sharon Cameron--Win Books!

The lovely and talented Sharon Cameron joins us today to share her historical mystery adventures, The Dark Unwinding, and A Spark Unseen. In fact, she’s giving away a copy of each, so stick around for the details, but first, let’s meet Sharon.

According to her website http://sharoncameronbooks.com/ Sharon has taught classical piano, raised a family, been a part-time genealogist, chaired a non-profit theater group, and continues to be a coordinator for the SCBWI Midsouth Fall Conference. Plus, you know, she writes books. I met her through the Midsouth conferences, and can tell you that she is one of the warmest, most energetic people in the building. Conference attendees also remark on her fabulous reading voice.

Sharon, thank you for joining us. I’d like to begin with your trailer.

It’s obvious you put a lot of work into this. Please tell us a little about the process of creating a trailer.

Thanks for all the kind words, Kurt! You’re right, the trailer was a ton of work, but really, really fun to create. I did the storyboard and staged most of the scenes, and Will Darnell of Modmonk Productions http://www.modmonk.com/ did the filming, editing, original music, sound, and…everything! We filmed in the Two Rivers Mansion here in Nashville, put the camera under a glass table and ran a hose pipe over it, built a Tesla coil in my office, and broke glass on my back patio (You wouldn’t believe how hard it can be to break a jar. We really should have made a blooper reel.) Many hours, but worth it to capture the spirit of the books.

There are a lot of historical details in these books. As a fan of analog science, I was struck by the automatons and the water mills, but there’s no denying that clothing plays a central role in setting the scenes and moving the plot. Can you tell us a little about your research?

Oh my. The problem here is going to be how to STOP answering your question. The science in the books was a huge research project. From clockwork to ship building to water management to the gasworks to you name it. All the machines in the book were either based on existing designs or imagined by me, and then designed by Philip Cameron (the husband). He created working schematics (like the swimming fish above), so we could know how the machines would sound, how long they would run, fuel sources, etc., etc. He also ordered chemicals that probably put us on a few FBI lists and created explosive gun cotton in our basement. (Note: Gun cotton does, indeed, smell terrible.)

But for the other, more day to day historic details, because I was already well versed in the time period, this was less research and more about making very careful choices. Clothing is a huge detail in any novel. The time period, a character’s economic status, their status within a community, the weather, background, personality, all this can all be stated with fashion. When Aunt Alice keeps Katharine in dresses of unflattering and uncomfortable cloth, this was a deliberate choice to not only show Aunt Alice’s personality, but the background of Katharine’s. And when Katharine chooses to leave off her ugly, tight dresses for the free-flowing, beautiful ones of her grandmother, it is a deliberate statement about what has changed inside her, and a foreshadowing of the choices she is about to make in her life. So very much a “show, don’t tell” kind of writing device that I enjoy playing with.

There comes a point in the first book where Katharine’s life gets unworldly enough that the reader really doesn’t know what is happening any more that she does, yet you had to show her actions without giving away the mystery. I’m curious as to how much those scenes evolved from your first draft.

I think ALL my scenes have evolved from my first drafts! But yes, a narrator that’s not completely reliable when the story is being told in first person is a very tricky thing. I had to go through those scenes many times, finding ways for Katharine to reasonably clue the reader while not being reasonably clued in herself. And of course to do that, the author (who knows all) has to figure out what clues a reader will and will not catch. This is where a really excellent critique group is gold.

There’s a bit of an homage to Oscar Wilde and P. G. Wodehouse in the books, yes? Could you suggest some period must-reads?

You noticed! I adore understated British silliness, and Oscar Wilde and P. G. Wodehouse are two of my favorites. I credit them both with my love of the tiresome, meddlesome aunt and tea served up with some snarky dialog. (For the record, none of my aunts are meddlesome and I try not to be snarky when I drink my tea.) When in need of a very Britishy laugh, I think everyone should read Heavy Weather by P.G. Wodehouse, and the Oscar Wilde plays The Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest. Another recommendation would be the BBC Wooster and Jeeves series (based on the books by P.G. Wodehouse), with Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry. Love these!

I mentioned your reading voice. At the conference, you read the YA First Pages with considerable skill considering the fact that you haven’t seen the text before, and you’re reading it in front of the authors, who are, in a sense, being judged. Am I seeing a theater background at work?

Well, I did a little theater in high school (a VERY little) and I have a daughter who has grown up on the stage, so I’ve spent a lot of time around actors, but I’m not sure that gives me an official theater background! Though I really do love and appreciate theater, and try to support it on a local level. I was, however, a musician for many years, so I think maybe it’s my musical background that has more to do with reading aloud. I have always loved the tone and rhythm and sound of words, and the imagination they ignite. Very much like music.

You know several talented authors, including a few with debut novels in the works. Care to drop a name or two we should look for in the coming year?

Absolutely! Courtney Steven’s Faking Normal is coming in February 25, 2014, and Tracy Barrett’s The Stepsister’s Tale in July, 2014 from Harlequin, Teen. Jessica Young’s second picture book, Spy Guy, will publish spring of 2015 with Harcourt, and in winter of 2015, David Arnold’s debut Mosquitoland will hit the shelves from Penguin. I live in SUCH a talented town!

Speaking of future projects, let’s finish with your next novel, Rook, which comes out in 2015. According to your website, it’s “a retelling of The Scarlet Pimpernel set in the future, which chronicles a Sunken City gone mad, an unwanted betrothal, and 13 innocents who will die unless a legend can save them.” That’s quite a setup, and I imagine you had to do some new and exciting research. Can you share a few details?

Sure! I love archaeology, and have always been fascinated with the idea of when we, the people of 2013, will be the ancient and vanished past, studied like we now study the Romans or the Incas. I’ve also always been amazed by the repeating patterns of history. So the setting for Rook is a time where our world has vanished and become the stuff of myths, and unbeknownst to the people involved, history has actually repeated itself through a dark age and into a new enlightenment. But really it’s about corsets and swords and beheadings and spies during a second French Revolution, in a Paris that has collapsed into its catacombs and been rebuilt. And did I mention corsets and sword fights? Lots of those.

So my research for this has been very odd. All about what would be, instead of what was, but based very much on what was, because that was what worked for us before! Currently learning about biodegradable plastics, methods for making fireworks, religion during the French Revolution, what would happen if we didn’t have flood control on the Thames, free climbing buildings, and strange and interesting ways to hide a dagger.

Again, my thanks to Sharon for taking the time, and for sharing her books.  We’ll be giving the set to one lucky winner.  Read on for details on the prize and how to enter.

 The Dark Unwinding

When Katharine Tulman's inheritance is called into question by the rumor that her eccentric uncle is squandering away the family fortune, she is sent to his estate to have him committed to an asylum. But instead of a lunatic, Katharine discovers a genius inventor with his own set of rules, who employs a village of nine hundred people rescued from the workhouses of London.

Katharine is now torn between protecting her own inheritance and preserving the peculiar community she grows to care for deeply. And her choices are made even more complicated by a handsome apprentice, a secretive student, and fears for her own sanity.

As the mysteries of the estate begin to unravel, it is clear that not only is her uncle's world at stake, but also the state of England as Katharine knows it.

A Spark Unseen

The thrilling sequel to Sharon Cameron's blockbuster gothic steampunk romance, The Dark Unwinding, will captivate readers anew with mystery and intrigue aplenty.

When Katharine Tulman wakes in the middle of the night and accidentally foils a kidnapping attempt on her uncle, she realizes that Stranwyne Keep is no longer safe for Uncle Tully and his genius inventions. She flees to Paris, where she hopes to remain undetected and also find the mysterious and handsome Lane, who is suspected to be dead.

But the search for Lane is not easy, and Katharine soon finds herself embroiled in a maze of political intrigue. And with unexpected enemies and allies at every turn, Katharine will have to figure out who, if anyone, she can trust to protect her uncle from danger once and for all.

Filled with deadly twists, whispering romance, and heart-stopping suspense, this sequel to The Dark Unwinding whisks readers off on another thrilling adventure.

Please comment below to be considered for the drawing. Extra points offered for posting about the contest on Facebook or Twitter (please include mention of this in your comment). Email MUST be included in the comment to be considered. Open to US and Canadian entries only—apologies. Contest closes at midnight EST on 12/1/13.

Labor Day

Before I try to tie Young Adult fiction and Labor Day together in a meaningful post, I’d like to brag about my own labors.

For the past three years, I have been the Critique Group Coordinator for SCBWI Midsouth.  The job was occasionally frustrating, but wildly rewarding, if for no other reason than I sounded vaguely credible when I asked to join one of the groups I was supposed to track down and document.  That group took me in, and I now share manuscripts with some seriously talented people.  Volunteering as coordinator also got me nominated for this year’s SCBWI Tribute Scholarship, which I somehow won, entitling me to a trip to the August 2013 SCBWI conference in Los Angeles.  I take no credit for the award, and can only say “Thank you.”  Well, that and, “Check it out, I got my picture taken with a spitting dinosaur.”  (Yeah, I know, a dimetrodon wasn't a dinosaur, but the metaphor I'm about to make doesn't sound right with "non-mammalian synapsid." )

With my return from LA, I am stepping out of the role of crit group organizer and into a new role as Midsouth Co-ARA.  In that job, I will be responsible for the all-new Midsouth website.  I’ve got to learn something new, which is why that drooling dinosaur picture is so appropriate.  Of course, I’ll still be writing too, which brings me to today's thought about Labor Day.

With a nod to the amazing Bruce Coville, who has said many wise things about the place of children in this world, I note that for most of our history children were a source of cheap, disposable labor.  Teenagers had already worked for years on farms and in crowded factories, putting in long, dangerous days and nights.  Those kids didn’t have time for school, to learn to read, to sit down with a book.  Or to put it another way, my target audience didn’t exist.  Until recently, I wouldn’t have been able to do what I do.  One of the reasons for that change is the Labor movement.  So as I pause for the holiday, I will be saying, “Thanks,” not just to the folks who made my LA trip possible, but to the folks who made my audience possible.  And then I’ll get back to work.

YA Fusion Welcomes Back Ruta Sepetys--and a Giveaway!

We’re having a banner week at YA Fusion—best-selling author Ruta Sepetys is back to answer questions and give away of copy of her newest offering, Out of the Easy.

When YA Fusion last talked to Ruta, her award-winning debut, Between Shades of Gray, was racing up the charts.  

Since then, Ruta has had her nose to the promotional and writing grindstones.  I’m not sure if there were actual nasal sparks flying, but knowing Ruta I wouldn't be surprised.  She’s made multiple trips to Europe for book signings and lectures, appeared at conferences, and written Out of the Easy.  Here’s the new book’s scoop, straight off the jacket:

It’s 1950, and as the French Quarter of New Orleans simmers with secrets, seventeen-year-old Josie Moraine is silently stirring a pot of her own. Known among locals as the daughter of a brothel prostitute, Josie wants more out of life than the Big Easy has to offer. She devises a plan get out, but a mysterious death in the Quarter leaves Josie tangled in an investigation that will challenge her allegiance to her mother, her conscience, and Willie Woodley, the brusque madam on Conti Street.

To that I would add that this is a well written and delightfully paced character-driven adventure with a splash of mystery and romance in a fun historical setting.  Let's get Ruta's take on the book.

Ruta, thanks for hanging out with YA Fusion, we really appreciate your time.  Start at the beginning, please.  Was there a light bulb moment for Out of the Easy's story and setting?

RS – There was definitely a “light bulb moment!” My introduction to New Orleans came through a vintage pair of opera glasses I received for my birthday. The glasses were still in their original case from the jeweler in New Orleans and they were engraved and dated as a gift from someone named Willie. I’m nuts about history, so I hired a researcher to trace the origin of the glasses. I learned that Willie was a woman from a brothel in the French Quarter. And the jeweler who sold Willie the glasses was poisoned. He ate a dozen oysters in the Quarter and kicked the bucket. You can’t make that stuff up. My fascination with New Orleans was born!

So... the brothels of New Orleans.  Research must have been interesting.  Got a good conversation starter you can share?

RS – Oh my gosh, there were so many incredible research moments. But the most exciting part of the research process involved visiting the former brothel of New Orleans madam Norma Wallace. Willie’s house in the book is based on Norma’s. I was able to go into the house and see exactly where everything took place. It was both fascinating and unsettling.

Out of the Easy has some similarities with Between Shade of Gray—they both have a first person, past-tense female lead who starts off unusually young for a YA, and they both have a strong historical context—but the books are very different.  For one thing, the historical element of Between Shades of Gray is more central to the story.  In some ways, it is the story.  With Out of the Easy, though, the characters are central and the history is context.  Did the process feel different to you while you were doing it?

RS – The process of writing the two books was extremely different – especially on an emotional level. Writing Between Shades of Gray was very difficult because I knew that what I was describing had actually happened but was kept secret for over fifty years. The pain and suffering was very real. Writing Out of the Easy was full of joy. The characters made me laugh and cry but it was a celebration of identity in a very positive way.

Josie, the heroine of Out of the Easy, is very together and capable, yet she still has strong needs and vulnerabilities.  How conscious were you of balancing her strengths and weaknesses?

RS – I’ve met women like Josie Moraine so the character is very real to me. I wanted her surroundings to be a major hurdle that challenged both her strengths and weaknesses. I definitely evaluated that balance as I read my drafts.

The character Jesse builds nicely as the story progresses.  He’s a lot of fun, and I get the feeling you enjoyed writing his scenes.  As he would say, you like him.

RS – I stole Jesse's lines straights from my husband. Yes, I am mad bonkers in love with the hubs.

Please tell us a bit about your writing process.  How much do you outline, and how defined are the plot and characters before you start writing?

RS – I wish I had a specific process. For me it starts with the characters, what they are striving for, and what sort of moral decision I can push them to. I don’t create a detailed outline but I make notes on the specific characters and a loose breakdown of action.

You had a career in music management before becoming a full time writer.  You’re still involved in music education, yes?  Is there a crossover in the work experience?

RS – My experience in the music industry absolutely feeds my writing. I was fortunate to be around so many creative people. After twenty years, the artists encouraged me to leave the business side of the industry and pursue my own creativity. Yes, I’m still involved in music education, mentoring, and am on the board at one of the universities here in Nashville.

What’s next for you, Ruta?  Touring?  New book?

RS – Earlier this year I did an amazing ten-week international tour. I’m now taking the summer to work on my third book. I’ll be touring again September – November 2013 and then on the road again February – May of 2014. I’m really excited because I’ll be hitting Berlin, Krakow, Paris, Barcelona, Madrid, Tokyo, Bangkok, Budapest, Warsaw, as well as many US cities. It’s a dream and I am so grateful to my publishers and the readers! The full itinerary is listed on my website at:

http://rutasepetys.com/events/

Thank you for having me here at YA Fusion!!

Thanks again to Ruta for sharing her time and a copy of, Out of the Easy.  Readers, if you don’t win this copy, visit a bookstore soon, you won’t be disappointed.

Please comment below to be considered for the drawing. Extra points offered for posting about the contest on Facebook or Twitter (please include mention of this in your comment). Email MUST be included in the comment to be considered. Open to US and Canadian entries only - apologies. Contest closes at midnight EST on 6/16/13.

Masque Winner!

Congratulations to Heather Dent who won our drawing for a copy of Bethany Griffin's Masque of the Red Death.  Be sure to check out the After The Masque.., More Masque post below to learn more about the impending sequel.

After the Masque... More Masque!

Time for all Bethany Griffin fans to celebrate.  Her deadly, sexy, (and alligator-filled) Masque of the Red Death is now available in paperback.  What’s more, the conclusion to the two-book series, Dance of the Red Death, comes out on April 23^rd.  To celebrate, we’re giving away a paperback copy of Masque.  But first, here’s a bit about the books.

If you haven’t read the first book, Masque, you’re missing quite a ride with heroine Araby Worth.  I won’t spoil the ending, but I can promise romance, action, costumes, steampunkish gear, monsters (both the human and animal kind), plus the heavy air of revolution.  The emotional weight of Bethany’s writing is addictive.

Good as Masque is, though, Dance is even better.  The world grows larger and denser, Araby hits new highs and lows, the plot--as they say--thickens.  On her website, Bethany begins her description of Dance with the phrase “Everything is on fire” and I agree.  Reserve your copy now.

     

Please comment below to be considered for the drawing. Extra points offered for posting about the contest on Facebook or Twitter (please include mention of this in your comment). Email MUST be included in the comment to be considered. Open to US and Canadian entries only - apologies. Contest closes at midnight EST on 4/14/13.

Consider the Eggnog

This is another early attempt at starting what ultimately became my Work-in-Progress. This one is more specifically Christmas themed, but still has little in common with the final story. You can see more about my efforts to start this story in my earlier post, Free Tickets.


The following scene takes place on the night of the annual Morgan County High School Christmas party, at the home of fraternal twins, Stacy and Marcus Addleberry. After years of getting the boot from his much cooler hostess sister, Marcus has finally managed to stay inside on party night. What’s more, he’s staked out a spot in the basement, sitting on the legendary SOMTKWPGOSGL—Sofa Of Much Tongue Kissing With Popular Girls Of Supreme Good Lookingness. Alas, his sister has no intentions of letting him stay.



Consider the eggnog, it neither toils nor spins. Unless I give it a swirl, then it spins in a really cool liquid pudding kind of way. Shame it doesn’t grow like the lilies. That would be nice—a never ending holiday beverage, a permanent Christmas break. I chug the glass, lean back on the sofa, and stare up into a scowl.

“Marcus,” Stacy growls down at me, “you’re under my mistletoe.”

I peer past her blistering face, see a weed nailed to the ceiling. “Somebody has high hopes for tonight.”

“Hopes that do not involve you.”

“I think we should leave that up to the impending party hotties.”

“They will not be interested in you. Besides, any hotties will be here because I invited them. And I haven’t invited you, so why are you here?”

“Well, it all started seventeen years ago when Mom and Dad did something I’ll explain to you when you’re older.”

“We are the same age, dweeb.”

“And I look back on our time in the womb with fondness.”

“This is my party.”

“Which was your attitude even in utero. Who’s the unfortunate boy for whom you’ve topiaried the ceiling?”

“There’s only one boy.”

“Ah.” My least favorite person in the entire world. “Him.”

“Go away, Marcus.”

“Why would I leave my own basement?”

“I didn’t invite you.”

“An oversight on your part. Happily, I’m not easily offended.”

“Marcus, I don’t ask for much.”

“Bit early for making resolutions you won’t keep. New Years is two weeks away.”

“All I ask is that you be gone.”

“I could take that the wrong way, you know.”

“As long as you take it somewhere else. Even you must have someplace to be on Christmas.”

She stares at me until I return to my eggnog, and because it isn’t bottomless, I can’t sip my way through the awkwardness that is the rest of my life with no place to be.

Free Tickets

I’m almost finished with the first draft of my first YA novel, and that’s got me thinking about free tickets. See, a last-minute complementary concert seat is how this novel started. The music was loud and thick and textured—and to tell the truth—entirely over my musically illiterate head. So there was my brain, happily overwhelmed and free to wander. It made up a short story, which I wrote out the next day and submitted to my crit group. They said yes, and I grew the little daydream into a completely different novel. But looking back, I can still see hints of the original characters. Here is that short story for your reading pleasure. Enjoy.


HE SAYS

If this is a romance—which it totally isn’t—I’ll be introduced at the post-game party as an A-1 loser goof. You know, camera pans a living room full of rowdy juniors and seniors, zooms in on the Zit Kid sporting miss-matched threads. As if stripes aren’t just half a plaid, and plaid isn’t just extra stripes. Think about it.

But not for too long, because the camera’s still moving, frames the door—music swells—and this totally hot chick like the new girl who just walked in, walks in. Pow, I fall for her, but she thinks she’s too good for me and I believe her. Not that I do.

Flash forward to Act II. Her snooty friends pull a prank on us and we end up on a road trip through Death Valley, where our perfectly good car dies of measles. It happened to Freddy Thompson’s mom’s car. Swear.

We bake in the sun, hot chick and me, ’til she snaps, says something honest but mean and I snap back, say something honest but worse. I can be like that. Stone cold. I just need a little time to think up a comeback.

You know, now that I think about it, Mrs. Thompson’s car might not have had measles. It could have had bad injectors, because I’d bet Freddy that a diesel could run on alcohol, but the only stash we could find was my brother’s pot and I figured one high was pretty much the same as the next and we spiked the tank with weed.

Anyway, chickie has insulted me and I’m all, “Snap, insult you back!” She cries and runs into the frickin’ desert and I have to chase after her. Then I save her from a rattlesnake—no a brown recluse, I don’t like snakes. She says she’s sorry, I say I’m sorry, and buckets of rain fall where it hasn’t rained in like, forever. Figure that out Mr. Weatherman.

We roll in the mud because we were so happy to be alive, then night falls and we steal new clothes from a broken-down Halloween costume van. All she can find is a Wanda the Wench dress, and I’m sharper than sharp in a Dracula tux. She sees my total dapperness in the moonlight—even though the moon doesn’t always come out at night, sometimes it comes out in the day, because that’s how orbits work—and ten seconds later we’re doing it in the back seat of her dad’s Lexus, ’cause I don’t even own a car.

Plus, and this is how I know this story’s not a romance, I’d have spent the whole introduction doing a babbly voice-over.

Damn.

There’d better be a ninjas in the next scene, or I’m ditching this story.

SHE SAYS

If this is an action adventure—and let’s be clear on the subject, verb, and object, it is not—then… Sorry, backup. By “it” I meant the story. Implied subject. Mrs. Jackson, my old English teacher, would totally rap my knuckles with a ninjato for that, and for using a “to be” verb in a topic sentence. But cut a girl some slack, it’s her first night in town.

Back to the scene. If this story is a macho fist-fest, the Big Muscle Dudes will be too busy grunting to notice that my eyes are puffy from crying. Instead, Big Muscle Dude Number One hits on me. When all I want is chocolate. Then Big Muscle Dude Number Two hits on me. Seriously, how about a little conversation to take the edge off a foreign town? And maybe an ibuprofen. But BMDs don’t do talking, so they hit on each other, instead. The other kind of hit on, I mean. Unless they’re cute and will let me watch.

But no, by Act II we’re in a car chase. I’m strapped into the passenger seat next to Dude One, who shaves with a machete and thinks it’s spelled with a Y. We race across the desert, scaring the crap out of me and some lonely kid looting a broken down Halloween costume van, while Dude Two blasts us with heat-seeking, laser-guided missiles that somehow miss us—but blow open the door to his secret desert lair.

Yeah, Dude Two is a super villain with a catch phrase like, “Mr. Evil, because it’s all about M. E.” Bullets fly, and just when you think it—the story I mean—can’t possibly get any more testosterone stupid, they fight it out in CGI animated super suits. Seriously.

Plus, and this is the real action-adventure giveaway, I’d be holding back more than lonely tears right now. I’d be holding back the truth about being a secret government agent on a last-chance mission to find the Chosen One—the boy who can save our country from the forces of darkness. And I’d have throwing stars appliquéd to my underwear.

Damn.

If I don’t get chocolate and a little hand-holding in the next scene, somebody’s getting stainless steel perforations. I nominate the plaid fashion disaster who’s about to trip over the wrestling team’s beer keg.

It's Like This And Like That

Chasing Skirts
Submission policies seem to go through phases. Ten pages, three pages, query only, first three chapters, query and a synopsis, fifty pages—it’s a sort of publishing hemline, up one year and down the next. In the mini skirt years, short pitches are all the rage. Three line, one line, thirty seconds. The elevator pitch it’s called, though you should never ambush an editor in the elevator. Or, as one editor went to the trouble of explaining in his lecture, no urinal ambushing. Shame too, because that’s where I saw him the most, there being so few men at a children’s writing conference. Anyway...

Going Mini
The short pitch. While we might think our books are too deep and meaningful for a three sentence description—and I’m a huge fan of complicated plots with lots of characters—I like this test for my own stories. After all, if I can’t describe a story in a few sentences, there’s a good chance I don’t know what the story is about. And if I don’t know what a story is about, it’s not ready for submission. Granted, a three sentence description won’t capture the subplots and most of the characters, but it will hit enough high points to show that I have a story. So, can we do it in one sentence?

One sentence is not going to capture the plot and characters of a YA novel. But if you borrow a few touchstones from our common culture, you can at least convey the concept of a story. Yes, I’m talking about the “This Meets That” pitch. For instance, War of the Worlds meets Shane gives you Cowboys and Aliens. Or maybe not, but you get the idea. Borrow, from the zeitgeist, make your own gestalt.

Back to my earlier point about pitches going through phases. The “This Meets That” pitch is in style. I’ve even seen an online submission form that expressly asked for a one sentence “This Meets That” description—and nothing else. So I say, if it’s not going away, why not have a little fun trolling the depths of our culture and polishing our submissions at the same time?

Cause It’s All About Me
In my bio on this site, I describe my YA work in progress as being like Toy Story meets Dirty Harry. See, in my mind, Toy Story is a road trip buddy picture, and the Dirty Harry is a violent crime story. But I’ve since refined that description to better match the plot structure and story. I now think of the story as The Wizard of Oz meets James Bond. Again, The Wizard of Oz is essentially a road trip buddy story, and James Bond is all about violent espionage. Plus there’s a sort-of Bond Girl in my story and gadgets.

This is a YA blog, but I’ve written a few middle-grade books as well, so indulge me while I try to describe those stories. Okay... Mr. Ribs, a two-plots in one story, is the Calvin and Hobbs cartoon meets Raiders of the Lost Ark. Not because I’m as cool as Bill Watterson, but because it’s about a boy who shifts worlds in his head, while on an epic treasure hunt. Amanda Johnson, Extra Ordinary, a girl buddy story, is Fast Food Nation meets A League Of Their Own. Bertram Grome, a fantasy, would be The Hobbit meets Hatchet, except I wouldn’t dare. And Shadow Space, a not-time-travel adventure, is The Time Machine fails to meets my childhood (I said this was all about me).

And About You
Have you written a story that you can describe in a “This Meets That” format? Post a comment and make us all want to read it. Then have a little fun. How weirdly can describe a classic story? Maybe a Renaissance painting meets a techno-pop song, or monumental architecture meets a traditional food recipe? Can you remind us of touchstones we’ve forgotten? Or use contemporary references in unusual ways? Go for it, and blow us all away.

Storyboarding—it’s not just for moviemakers

I have amazing movies in my head. The scenes grow from subtle details like lighting and body language, to breathtaking action powered by strong emotion. Of course there’s snappy dialog, too, delivered with tone of voice and driven by deep internal motivation. I’m talking epic stuff, here. Big, good, funny.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a movie projector in my skull—I can’t point my head at a screen and charge theater prices for popcorn. I can’t even stick a USB cable in my ear and brain-dump my mental productions into MS Word. There is no app for Kurt’s psyche (consider yourself lucky). So... I write. I convert my omniscient writer/director dreams into two-dimensional, black and white text.

To help me translate detailed action sequences into text, I sometimes act out the scene, while narrating it aloud. With luck, I can describe the action in everyday words, and even remember them long enough to type them into my computer. But acting doesn’t work when I need to freeze a moment and see it from the outside. That’s when I borrow a trick from movie making, called storyboarding, and run it backwards.

When a movie director translates the written word of a screenplay into the lights and sound of a movie, he or she will often start by drawing pictures. These cartoon-like images, called a storyboard, show freeze-frame moments of action from the audience’s perspective. By studying the pictures, a film crew can figure out lights, cameras, marks, eye lines, and so on. Words become pictures, which become movies. All I do is reverse the process, going from pictures to words, except that...

I don’t draw well. My brother is the cartoonist in the family (shameless plug—you can see his work at www.theregularscomic.com. I’m the unseen brother in strip number 109, and no, you can’t have my Prada sneakers). Anyway, I don’t draw, so I use a camera. Most recently, I made a storyboard for a rewrite of a car chase. The scene is too dangerous to video, so I used still photos instead. In this scene—which is the modern equivalent of the stagecoach robbery in an old western—the absurdly macho Hammerfist hangs out the car door, brandishing his club.

Picture 1: Hero-wannabe Hammerfist prepares to hurl his club (I think he’s compensating) at an SUV full of ninjas.

Picture 2: The car drifts into a rut, tilting the car and dropping Hammerfist perilously close to the ground.

Picture 3: The car slides into an opposing rut, swinging the door closed. Crunch!

Not only do I have these images to study and translate into words, but I have also demonstrated that the actions are humanly possible—an important detail, because my top-notch critique group asked.

Storyboarding works for me, maybe it can work for you. Or maybe you have another trick of the trade. Let me know, and post a link if you’ve got an example on your website.
Kurt

Chew on the Bristle End of the Brush

“Chew on the bristle end of the brush,” and other random thoughts from, Impressionist Landscapes: Monet to Sargent.

“Look at all those little blobs of paint.” There we were, the author and the Impressionists, hanging in the basement of the Speed Art Museum. As usual, I had to do all the talking, and being a word guy, I turned the subject to writing. All those little blob of color? They’re like words. Stick enough together and you get a picture—or a book. Maybe not a good book, but then, maybe not a good painting either. Which lead to my next thought...

“Some of these paintings are kind of, you know, blah.” Well they were. Some were amazing, sparkling with vibrant colors that leapt off the canvas, but some were flat and dull. Apparently painting with blobs isn’t easy. Just putting color on a canvas isn’t enough. Dimension comes from contrast. The brights have to be super-bright, the darks deeply dark. The same is true in writing. Putting colorful words on a page isn’t enough. Even something as realistic as contemporary YA needs intense depth and contrast to hold a teen’s interest. So I had to ask...

“What’s with the fog?” Turns out, Claude Monet developed cataracts that left his world shrouded in purple fog. He painted what he could see. I have my own world view, too—my own mental cataracts. I don’t have personal experience being any other category on the census form, but YA readers are sophisticated enough to know if I’m faking it. Characters have to be whole, feelings have to be true. But speaking of faking it...

“I can’t define Impressionism, but I know it when I see it.” The exhibit is arranged chronologically. At the start, the paintings are clearly influenced by earlier art movements. At the end, there are hints of the styles to come. I know because somebody else said so. But with that nudge, I started seeing influences and hints throughout the exhibit. Book categories show the same blending. Writers may think in terms of age ranges and genres, but from Tween to upper YA, contemporary to fantasy, young readers don’t do boundaries.

And a final thought...

“Those blobs look like water.” Impressionist paintings are a wonderful visual reminder of the important writing rule—Show, Don’t Tell. For example, Impressionists paint the sea in dabs of yellow and green, with sparkles of white and streaks of red that blend into purple shadows. Yet at a distance, the canvas looks blue and wavy. The painter implies, the viewer infers. Just as an author should. Imply the crashing waves, the roaring surf, the salty spray. The reader will infer the sea—and the sun and the beach and the surf boards and the lounge chairs and could somebody put a little lotion on my back?

Please enjoy the extras below and feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts on art, writing, or just your—you know—impressions.

The Wikipedia article on Impressionism contains (horror) words, but also many pretty blobs of color. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impressionism

The Speed Art Museum exhibit Impressionist Landscapes: Monet to Sargent is up through May 22 2011. http://www.speedmuseum.org/

Trick of the Eye by Dennis Haseley. I’m throwing you a bit of a double curve with this recommendation. The book is recommended for 12 and up, so it’s a little young to be strictly YA. Also, the paintings in it pre-date Impressionism. But still... it’s a worthy read. The hero, a young boy, becomes engrossed in paintings which speak to him as he tries to remember a horrible crime. Apart from teaching a bit of art history, the book also shows just how easily we readers can accept the author’s vision and run with it. We really can walk into paintings and talk to the subjects inside.

In honor of the cross-dressing scene at Big Bob’s Truck Stop and Country Store (in my work in progress) Kurt poses next to Monet’s Woman with a Parasol.

Kurt's Bio:

I have always been a tinkerer. I enjoy building things—be they real or imaginary—especially if they tell a story. Once upon a time, that meant building castles in a sandbox. Now I build castles in my word-processor. The only real difference is that the neighborhood cats don’t do their business in my office.






Kurt at the 2010 SCBWI-Midsouth conference in Nashville


You can find more details, including writing credits and current projects, on my website at http://www.kurthampe.com/.