Summer Reading List Surprise

I was surprised when I read my daughter’s suggested summer reading list. She is entering ninth grade – High School (!) - and I was expecting a lot of “old” material (i.e., Shakespeare).

There was actually a lot of “new” stuff on there.

Like the Uglies Series by Scott Westerfeld. I have read the books, and liked them (they are a permanent part of my book collection.) They are books that I go back to reread when I want something fun, but that gives me something more. Not a moral, per se, but something to think about when I am done.

Which is probably why it is on my daughter’s summer reading list.

She isn’t sure she wants the read them yet, and I am not going to push. She is busy reading Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater (I am impatiently waiting for her to finish so I can get a chance to read it.) I am just happy that she is reading. We have a deal – one book from the list, one book she wants to read.

But I think it is good to see progression in what is included on summer reading lists. Of course, stories like A Raisin in the Sun, a play by Lorraine Hansberry, are also on there. I read that one in college and enjoyed it. That definitely has something to say to the reader.

Which is one of the things - one of those near-intangible things - that makes a good book a classic that will be read over and over and included on a summer reading list. It needs to have something to say, without preaching or hitting the reader over the head with a copy of the OED.

So, are there any “new” books that you think should be included on a summer reading list?

Another book to read..."Thomas Riley"

"Thomas Riley", written by Nick Valentino, is a steampunk adventure novel. Which is one of the reasons to read it. If you have never read a steampunk adventure before (which was my case), I think this is a good one to try.

It is fast moving with identifiable characters (even the secondary ones) that the reader can relate to. It is written in omnicient third person, which is not the POV that I prefer, but it works in this novel - so much is going on, that you have to get some of it from others points of view. It is done quite well.

And, if you ever get a chance to meet Nick Valentino at a convention or conference - you MUST do so! This is an author who knows how to market a book. He is in steampunk costume and has a table display of artefacts that could very well be from his novel. He had special stamps to stamp your copy of the book (like a passport gets stamped), as well as signing each copy purchased. When I met him at the Virginia Festival of the Book in Charlottesville, Virginia this past spring, his was one of the busiest tables around, except maybe for the authors that were actually presenting talks on the mechanics of writing.

My daughter and her friend practically haunted his table; I wound up buying three copies of his book - one for each of them and one for me, since my daughter wouldn't let me touch her copy.

This is someone who needs to be asked to talk about marketing a book (hint, hint to those who run these conferences). At another convention, he gave away a [toy] gun! For details, check out his latest blog at Echelon.

You also have to check out his web site . He knows what readers want and he gives it to them. This web site a wonderfully, moody, steampunky interface.

Happy reading (and writing.)

Let me know if there is a book for young adults that you think I could learn something from.

So, today is Saturday, the husband and daughter are away for the day, and I actually got some writing done. The dogs do not have bones for this evening, so they will have to make do with a carrot each, and we are out of milk so I will have to make pancakes for breakfast, but hey - I got some writing done!

Having problems though. I have decided to plot out what I have so far done in "Red." Wish I had done that in the beginning.

I have found that I only have about half a plot.

So I am fleshing it out and filling it into what I have already written, focusing on dialogue. I am finding that my villain, a brute named Wilkins, has a really foul mouth.

Writing dialogue is not as easy as it sounds. I guess I like to write exposition; I like what the characters are thinking.

I am trying to keep it from Kaalinda's POV, in third person. But, I keep wanting to delve into what Ramirez is thinking and his motivation. I have to keep all that in mind, but I have to remind myself that Kaalinda wouldn't know any of that, unless he told her.

somehow, I never want to know what Wilkins is thinking. I think that is a good thing.

I guess I should let you know that Kaalinda is my main character, and Ramirez another main character. A love interest for Kaalinda, if you will.

Whew!

Hard work.

I think I am developing Kaalinda better, though. I kind of had her doing everything correct from the beginning, and now I am having her make mistakes and having to learn from others. I am making sure she has her own talents to offer though. Can't have it all one sided.

This rewrite is getting more in depth all the time.

I might have this redone by the end of the year. Or I might not.

We'll have to keep plugging along and see what happens.

Still more of "life stuff" getting in the way of writing. Though I did have a wonderful idea for another story last night, and had to get up to write it down and outline it. If I hadn't, I never would have gotten to sleep, and eventually would have lost the idea completely. I keep a notebook and pen next to my bed for just such times.

Though I do have to learn to write slower - there are a few ideas written in there that are either hieroglyphs or my husband is using my notebook.

Hope to get lots of writing time this weekend. The husband and daughter will be away and, barring any incidents with the dogs, I should have lots of "alone" time with my laptop. My aim is to get the next two chapters of "Red" edited and posted on authonomy.

I'll let you know how that goes.

Wish me luck?

Oh, the ups and downs of writing. After spending most of the weekend actually working on revising my manuscript, I come home from work on Monday and here it is after ten o'clock, and I haven't had time to work on it at all.

First, dealing with the daughter - we got her registered for school today. Then dinner, then e-mail (I have a new second cousin - he looks like my grandfather who recently passed away.) Then, its an ice cream run (I delayed it all weekend so I could write.) And here I am and no writing done (but the chocolate ice cream was really good.)

I guess one of the "tricks" to writing is finding the time to write. It doesn't help that I have to clear the table (after dinner) so I can set up my laptop, then let it boot up and find the wireless connection, before I can actually get any work done on my writing.

Oh, for the days when I can do this full time. Because I will get there - eventually.

Even if it is just retirement, and I am in my house writing while my husband is in the garage working on his old car.

But, I have made a decision (doesn't that always feel good?) I am going to find a permanent corner of the house for my writing stuff, so that the thirty minutes of setting up can be spent actually writing (or rewriting).

Let's see if that will help move things along.

Writing, and rewriting, and rewriting, and ...

Okay, it's sunday evening and I haven't been on here for a couple of days. I have a really good excuse though - I've been revising. In fact, I have more or less rewritten chapters 2 through 6 of "Red" (and deleted the original chapter 2, saving a few good passages for inclusion later.)

I have added a lot more dialog and put in a lot more "show" (vice "tell.")

I have realized that my writing has gotten sloppy over the years. I can see when reading where what is down was written a long time ago (like when I was taking creative writing at college) and what was written later, in a push to "finish" the manuscript.

Big mistake there - thinking it was finished.

Reading it after others have made comments - keeping their comments in mind while reading - really helped me see where there were problems.

So, I have spent the last couple of days working on making fixes.

And now, the edited chapters (new chapters 2 through 6) have been uploaded to authonomy and I am hoping that someone who read the originals will reread and let me know if I fixed some of the problems, or if I only made them worse.

I mean, I think I made them better; but, I think I'm a bit too close to the project to really tell.

Guess it's time to check into revising and editing (and re-editing) advice.

Anyone have any suggestions?

Like a flea on a chihuahua.

So, right now, I’m feeling like a little dog (think miniature Chihuahua, if there is such a thing, or maybe even a flea on said Chihuahua) trying to keep up with the Great Danes of the world. (Great Danes are even taller than bullmastiffs.)

All the big publishing houses (the big dogs) want you to have an agent; most agents want you to have publishing credits. It’s a way to help them determine, out of the enormous amount of submissions they receive, who to read and who not to read (or, as us would-be authors feel about it – who to ignore.)

One solution that has been postulated is to work on small publishing credits in your local newspaper or in magazines. In old terminology, these are called “clips.” I would think these clips would have to somehow relate to what you are trying to publish currently. The fact that I had a guest column published in The Virginian Pilot (http://www.thevirginianpilot.com) and a poem published in Old Dominion University’s (http://www.odu.edu) literary magazine 44th Street don’t seem to be helping me to publish my young adult novel now.

So, I guess this little flea needs to find a bigger dog – er, bigger clips, maybe a fancy barrette with big flowers on it. Oh, wait, I think I am mixing metaphors here.

So, I guess it’s time to check out the young adult magazines that publish fiction.

Oh, wait. I have had a short story published. But it’s on an online magazine? What’s the difference, one would think. Published is published right?

Hmmm. Back to the chihuahua… and the magazines...

Running, er, trudging, with the big dogs…

I know what big dogs are like (after all, I live with bullmastiffs – check out http://hibullmoose.org/map/index.html for what a bullmastiff looks likes – that’s my daughter, husband and Delaney in the top left circa 1997) and they like to lead and ignore what doesn’t matter to them. I’ve watched little dogs in the neighborhood bark and jump and bark some more while my dogs ignore them, walking by as if the little dog wasn’t even there.

We have pugs next door, and those two pugs, looking like miniatures of my bullmastiffs, will huff and puff and nearly kill themselves, panting and gasping at the corner of their lawn, attempting to engage my dogs in a battle of the barks.

But my dogs don’t even bark. Heck, they don’t even blink.
The little one – the 110-pounder – doesn’t even huff, like she will at a bicyclist or someone pushing a carriage (she doesn’t like wheels.)

They just don’t see those little pugs as threats.

So just what is a little dog supposed to do in a big dog world?

Any ideas?

Tara

Reading "The Sweet In-Between"

So, in order to write, you have to read. We would-be authors all know this.

So, here is one you should read. Especially if you are curious about that elusive thing called "voice" that publishers and agents are always asking for.

I actually had Sheri Reynolds, the author of "The Sweet in-Between" as one of my professors at Old Dominion University; Woman Writers. I was introduced to some truly amazing writing that I would never had been introduced to if I hadn't taken the class. It is one of the few classes where I still have my notes.

"The Sweet In-Between" was not necessarily written as a young adult novel, though its protagonist is a young woman turning 18 and the story is a bit of a coming of age novel. Read it to enjoy the book, and as a would-be author, experience a wonderful example of a unique and distinctive "voice."

To find more of Sheri's books, and more about Sheri, check out her website: www.SheriReynolds.com

After reading and digesting this novel, I think I have a better understanding of what "voice" means, and I know that I have to get better at letting my characters speak for themselves, rather than me interpreting their words and translating them into my own.

Tara

Happy July 5th. I was getting ready to write a post late yesterday after grilling and eating brats and cleaning up after, when the neightbors started setting off their celebratory fireworks in the street in front of my house and I suddenly had a 150 pound (yes, 150) dog in my lap, and a 110 pound dog trying to get in my lap.

We own bullmastiffs, and neither one likes loud noises and flaring lights. So I sat with them, petting and crooning, until it was over. And by then, I was ready for bed, covered with dog hair and smelling a lot like dog.

Do you have any idea what scared dog smells like? Yuck! They let their musk glands go and it is not pleasent.

So happy July 5th! Hope everyone had a wonderful July 4th with no trips to the emergency room!

Tara

So I have posted the first six chapters of "Red" at Authonomy.com. and lo and behold, I have comments. Many were "I backed yours; will you back mine?" Which is expected - after all the whole point is to be the number one backed book and get published.

I'm just wondering about the politics of it all.

I went to one fellow writer and read some of their first chapter. I didn't know what to type as my comment! I wasn't sure if I should give them honest criticism, while also saying what I liked about it, or just type "Great! Loved it! Backed you!"

I am hoping to get honest feedback about my writing so that I can honestly work to improve it. I did get some input - about DIALOG! The comment was that the person loved dialog and that I had good dialog. Which is what I was told was missing by the agent judges at Amazon. So, I guess, in some way, I am fixing that problem!

I still kept the main character, Kaalinda, silent though, in the first part, since they aren't supposed to be talking there, but I added more later.

I'll keep you all up to date on the feedback I get, and if I ever solve the "back-me back-you" issue.