B is for BABY NAME WIZARD

April 2, 2012April 2, 201236 Comments

I’ve got a fantastic book recommendation for you today, one I consider to be a must-have writing resource: The Baby Name Wizard by Laura Wattenberg…

The Baby Name Wizard: A Magical Method for Finding the Perfect Name for Your Baby From Goodreads: Yes, your baby’s perfect name is out there. The trick is finding it. The perfect baby name will speak to your heart, give your child a great start in life—and maybe even satisfy your relatives. But you can’t expect to just stumble on a name like that in an A to Z dictionary or on a trendy list. That’s why you need The Baby Name Wizard. Created by a name-searching mom, it uses groundbreaking research and computer generated models to pinpoint each name’s image, examine its usage and popularity over the last 100 years, and suggest other promising ideas. A perfect guide to the modern world of names, The Baby Name Wizard will engage you from the first name you look up and keep you enchanted through your journey to the just-right name for your baby.

I used The Baby Name Wizard to name my daughter almost five (!) years ago, and I’ve used it to name each and every one of my main characters since. This is no run-of-the-mill baby name book. In The Baby Name Wizard, every name has a “snapshot,” or a brief overview of its popularity, style, alternatives, and ideas for sibling names. For example:

Hannah
Popularity: #4
Style: Antique Charm, Biblical,
Nickname-Proof
Variants: Hanna, Hana
Sisters: Abigail, Olivia, Chloe, Ava, Emily
Brothers: Caleb, Noah, Austin, Ethan, Jacob
Looking for a warm, old-fashioned bibilical name? Male choices abound, but for girls’ names it’s slim pickings. Hannah is one that hits the bulls-eye. It’s simple and sweet and sounds great with almost any type of surname. Hugely popular, especially in cold-climate states where warmth is always in fashion.

Or:

Wyatt
Popularity: #111
Style: Country & Western, Nickname-Proof
Sisters: Faith, Carolina, Scarlett, Sierra, Mariah
Brothers: Zane, Colton, Bryce, Jonah, Caleb
Wyatt is rawhide tough, but polished enough for the big city. One of the strongest and most versatile of the retro-cowboy names.

There are more examples HERE. As well as the snapshots, The Baby Name Wizard is full of easy-to-read graphs and charts detailing when names were most popular and how they’ve trended over time. Plus, there are lists of names that share a certain feel (Country & Western, Biblical, Celtic, Lacy and Lissome, etc…). All in all, it’s an incredibly helpful resource (and, simply, an interesting book) especially if you’re struggling to come up with a character name that has a specific ring to it, or a name from a certain time period.

Recommend!

Have you used The Baby Name Wizard? What are your favorite character naming resources?

The Two Minute Tension Test

February 21, 2012February 19, 201226 Comments

Brace yourself: Today I’m doling out writing advice. It’s hard-earned (on my part), though, so hopefully it’ll be helpful to you.

One of my greatest writing challenges is tension. I have a way with penning detailed descriptions, witty dialogue, and sweet (or steamy) kisses, but infusing my stories with high stakes and intense conflict is not my strength. I love the people who populate my books and, inherently, I want them content. The problem is, content does not make for an exciting read. I’m constantly working at finding ways to make my characters suffer. I want–need!–my readers to worry about these people I’ve created because really… why else will they continue turning pages?

So, I’ve devised The Two Minute Tension Test as a way to keep myself and my writing in check. It’s easy and it literally takes two minutes, but it’s made a big difference in my writing, especially the rewrite I’m currently working on.

To administer the Two Minute Tension Test, I highlight approximately three-hundred totally random words (about a page) in my manuscript. Then I read through them carefully, without the context of the scenes and the words that come before and after (as if I’m planning to post the three-hundred word sample as a teaser or for a contest or whatever). When I’m finished reading, I take serious stock of what happened within the highlighted sample.

Then I ask myself the following questions:

Did I introduce a question (however big or small) about a character or a plot thread?
Is whatever’s going on in this snippet the absolute WORST that can happen to these characters?
Did I include a hook, something to pull my reader on to the next three-hundred words?
Did I give my reader a reason to care?

If the answer to any of those questions is NO, then I know I’ve got work to do. I either fix the problem immediately (because I have very little patience for a known deficiency) or I make a note of it in my outline to address later.

The Two Minute Tension Test is small-scale. It’s looking at the trees instead of the forest, if you will, but it’s a great way to zone in and assess your story in manageable bits. Once you’re proficient at applying it to three-hundred-word chunks, you can apply it to scenes, then chapters, then acts, and so forth.

So, there you have it: The Two Minute Tension Test.

Tell me: What’s your writing weakness? How do you compensate?

Monday Musings…

December 19, 2011December 18, 201128 Comments

Ahh, the holidays. I feel like I’ve been shopping and wrapping and baking for eons! I’ve got so much crazy going on this week, it’s hard to keep it all straight in my head. Good news? It’s all fun, Christmas-y stuff. Bad news? It’s all majorly time consuming! That said, I do have a few things to share with you today. Please excuse the random nature of this post. 🙂

1. Thanks so much to everyone from the Deja Vu Blogfest who stopped by this little blog over the last few days. Your comments on my (re)post were reassuring and validating and inspiring. The YA community rocks!

2. I made November Cakes! In case you’re in the dark about these tasty little treats, November Cakes are pastries invented by Maggie Stiefvater, beautifully described in The Scorpio Races (an aMaZiNg book, by the way). Maggie recently wrote and posted a recipe for these little rolls of heaven, and of course I had to test it out. Though they took about four (FOUR!) hours to make start to finish, the effort was certainly worth it…

Now, I’m not sure Maggie would approve, but I’m thinking I might’ve come up with a shortcut for November Cakes, in case you’re not down with spending four hours in the kitchen dealing the yeast and multiple risings. Why not buy already prepared refrigerated bread dough and start with that, picking up Maggie’s recipe after the first rising, and skipping the second rising all together? I admit, I haven’t actually tried this yet so I can’t vouch for whether these shortcut November Cakes are quite as delicious, but I’m definitely down to give it a go. Also, the next time I make November Cakes I’m going to roll candied pecans into them. Because… why not?

3. YA Highway has been rocking my world lately. It almost seems as if the bloggers there are tailoring their posts to me and the specific struggles I’m having with my writing. Take this post on Getting Your Characters “In” by Veronica Roth, or the one about Asking Why by Leila Austin. Seriously awesome. I highly recommend you check out these posts (and all the rest!) if you haven’t already.

4. The Class of 2011: YA Superlative Blogfest kicks off one week from tomorrow! There’s still plenty of time to prepare and schedule your posts before the real holiday madness begins. Have you signed up yet?

5. Dexter. Season finale. Last five seconds = Jaw drop. Holy Hell.

6. Remember last week when I mentioned my daughter’s preschool Christmas Program? Well, it was predictably adorable. Nothing like 25 four-year-olds screaming Jingle Bells at the top of their lungs. Not that I’m biased or anything, but there was one four-year-old who was especially delightful…

All pretty and ready to go…

Taking her role as Mary VERY seriously…

Totally rocking her Winter Wonderland solo…

Cutest!

♥♥ Love my girl! ♥♥

How was your weekend? Who else has a crazy-busy week ahead?

Surviving Revising…

October 18, 2011October 17, 201132 Comments

Ah, another round of revisions is coming to a close. Good news: I just have this feeling that I’ve made some super successful changes… yay! Sort of bad news: The whole thing has been quite a challenge. As I’m sure most of you can attest to, the revision process is full of musing, second-guessing, doubt, and tons of hard work. I feel like I’ve been staring at my computer for ten days straight, and thinking about this story nonstop.

Oh, how to deal? Well, there are a few things I do to survive the madness of revisions. I’ve compiled my best tips and tricks to share with you today…

Sleep on it. Feedback, I mean. If you’re anything like me, the first reading of a revision letter is met with a certain degree of mental resistance. We want to believe our work is perfect as-is, but deep down we know it’s not. That’s we why ask for feedback in the first place, right? I find if I take a night or two (or a week–whatever works) to absorb and ponder revision notes, they feel a lot less personal and a lot more helpful. My mind starts to mentally work out the problems that need addressing, and suddenly I’m excited to dig in.

Set a completion goal date. If I don’t give myself a deadline to work toward, I’ll procrastinate for hours (or days!) before I ever get down to being truly productive. When I’m really struggling with motivation, I take goal-setting a step further and break my workload into days, like: Revise 30 pages on Monday, or Address supporting character (Chelsea) on Tuesday.

Draft a scene-by-scene To-Do List. I’m intrinsically organized and an enthusiastic list-maker, so seeing all the work I need to do in bullet points makes the revision process a lot less daunting. If I can trick myself into thinking it’ll be easy, that it’s totally manageable, then I’m able to dive in with a whole lot more confidence. Also, I make a point to highlight each scene on my list as I compete it. It’s so encouraging to watch each item on my list transition to bright yellow, one by one!

Tackle the big stuff first, but keep a running list of “little things” to go back to later. This works for me because it keeps me on task. I find as I’m revising overall story elements (theme, pacing, character arc, whatever), little things consistently pop up that also need altering. But it’s a serious waste of minutes and momentum to stop, back up, and take care of a tiny detail. Still, I don’t want to forget about these important bits, so I keep a separate list at the bottom of my scene-by-scene To-Do List. It’s something of a reward to run through and change each one as the revision comes to a close.

Sign off. Like, from everything BUT your manuscript. I know, I know… it’s so hard NOT to check Twitter and email and Facebook. It’s no fun to cancel social engagements because you have to work. It’s annoying to see all your favorite TV shows backed up on your DVR. It sucks to watch a fine layer of dust accumulate on your coffee table (okay, that might just be me). But I have to let go of all those outside distractions in order to get into my revision mindset. The only real “breaks” I give myself are quality time with my daughter (obviously), exercise, reading (but just a little!), and the occasional blog post.

Enjoy that final read-through. When I’m “done” and it’s time to begin my last overall read-through, I try to ditch Revising Writer Katy and settle into Casual Reader Katy. This way, I’m able to catch problems I might not have noticed otherwise. Little things, like a slight voice inconsistency or an overuse of a character’s name. Also, it’s an incredibly pleasant and gratifying experience to read through all my hard work as an eventual book-buyer might.

When all else fails, have a treat. This healthy little faux brownie got me through this latest revision. I ate one nightly, and I didn’t gain even a pound!

1. Spray a microwave safe bowl with Pam.
2. Combine 2 egg whites, half of one mashed banana, and 1/4 pumpkin puree.
3. Add 2 T almond meal, 1 T Stevia, 2 T unsweetened cocoa powder (I love Hershey’s Special Dark!), and 1/4 t baking powder.
4. Mix all ingredients thoroughly.
5. (Optional) Add a sprinkling of bittersweet or dark chocolate chips. (I love the Ghirardelli brand). Combine.
6. Microwave for 2 to 3 minutes, depending on your machine and altitude.

This recipe yields one enormous faux brownie that can be enjoyed on its own, or topped with peanut butter, almond butter, whipped cream, or ice cream (depending on what kind of day you’re having :)).

So, how do you endure the challenges of revising? Any tips to share?

Links (Because I’ve Got Nothin’)

October 10, 2011October 10, 201115 Comments

Guys. I’m smack in the middle of incorporating a change into Where Poppies Bloom that has me absolutely giddy with its awesomeness. Unfortunately, all this revising has completely zapped my creativity and wit, so I’ve got nothing new or unique or valuable to contribute to the blogosphere today. BUT… lucky for you, my writing friends have managed to come up with some amazing posts and news, which I’ve compiled in the tidy little round-up below. Visit. Peruse. Comment. Enjoy. 🙂

This post on Suspense in Writing by the lovely Katharine Owens, complete with stills from some classic Alfred Hitchcock movies. Kat’s post is compilation of tips from Simon Wood’s original article for Writer’s Digest, which you can find HERE.

This bit of fabulous from Alison Miller on Reading for Pleasure. “Look, I’m as busy as the next person, but reading is a priority to me.” Yep, I couldn’t have said it better myself, Alison. Not only is reading fun, inspirational, and relaxing, but for a writer, it’s crucial to professional development.

My CP Jus Accardo‘s debut Touch is available in eBook today!

You’ll have to wait until November 1st for the paperback version, but if you’ve got an eReader, you can find Touch at Barnes and Noble, Amazon, and Books on Board. And do check back here for more about Touch and an interview from Jus in the very near future!

And, finally, we’ve got an October novel for Tracey Neithercott’s Fall Book Club!

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky. In a dark and dusty shop, a devil’s supply of human teeth grown dangerously low. And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war. Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she’s prone to disappearing on mysterious “errands”; she speaks many languages–not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she’s about to find out. When one of the strangers–beautiful, haunted Akiva–fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

I couldn’t be more excited about this selection!

We’ll be discussing the book on Friday, October 28. If you have a blog, post your thoughts on the book there, then leave a link to your blog over at Tracey’s on October 28th. If you don’t have a blog, leave your thoughts in the comments on other members’ blogs, which you can easily get to by clicking the links on Tracey’s post. I hope you’ll participate!

So, that’s what I’ve got for you today. Do you have anything writerly, readerly, or otherwise interesting to share?

Have a lovely Monday, and I’ll see you in two days for Road Trip Wednesday!

RTW: Overcoming Writer’s Block

August 24, 201133 Comments

Road Trip Wednesday is a ‘Blog Carnival,’ where the ladies at YA Highway post a weekly writing- or reading-related question for participants to respond to on their own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.

Today’s Topic: How do you beat writer’s block?

Oh, there are many ways…

1. I eat. Sometimes healthfully. Sometimes not. Often Bottle Caps, my ~~drug~~ candy of choice.

2. I read. Books on craft. Young adult fiction. Entertainment Weekly. Whatever.

3. I exercise. Run, walk, bike, yoga–anything weather appropriate.

4. I hang with my daughter. We color. We play Princess. We make beaded necklaces. Anything creative and fun.

5. I brainstorm with my husband. His ideas are almost always random and unusable, but he’s an amazing sounding board. Very supportive.

6. I write drivel. I type out sweeping descriptions of the setting. I fill in backstory. I let my characters have meaningless conversations. Sometimes they just make-out. This stuff almost always gets the cut, but it often helps to get good words flowing.

7. And, perhaps most helpfully, I plot. Or replot. Because when I’m blocked, it’s usually because I’ve taken a wrong turn. I’ve written something wrong earlier on, and that something needs to be identified and corrected.

And those, my friends, are my magical cures for writer’s block. I’m curious…how do you beat writer’s block?

I’m Rewriting!

August 22, 201121 Comments

So, I had an epic blog post planned for today, one in which I was going to discuss my on-going rewrite of a book that was “done” a year ago. Then my daughter fell on her face (literally) while we were walking our dogs last night and I ended up spending two hours at the ER, then another at Denny’s because she wanted late night pancakes, sausage, and ice cream. Who am I to deny?

*SADNESS*

Anywho… I actually AM starting a rewrite. And good news–it’s getting easier. Know why? Because I’ve finally figured out the trick to a successful rewrite. Ready for it?

You must first be willing to let go of what the story used to be.

All my past struggles with rewriting stem down to one crucial mistake: I wasn’t rewriting. I was shifting, revising, tweaking, patching, replacing–anything and everything I could do to add new material while still hanging on to the essence of what the story was. And it wasn’t working.

So, I’ve let go of the original story. In fact, I’m treating it as if it’s not even mine. I’m viewing it as subjectively as possible. Those words I spent all last summer slaving over? They’re simply raw material I’ve stumbled upon and hope to improve. Sure, I’ll pick up the few scenes that happen to work and fit them back in, and I’ll flesh out characters who are worthy, and maybe steal back some of the dialogue that’s particularly witty, but other than that, I’m REWRITING. Completely. And that’s good, because I’ve spent months mulling over ways to make this story what it needs to be, and I think I’ve finally got a handle on it. This is exciting!

Because I’ve been incredibly overwhelmed by this undertaking, and because I’m an incredibly visual person, I’ve started with a crude, simplistic plot map:

See? Very simple.

That’s poster board and Sharpie, and those star Post-It notes are the major plot points. I’ve got smaller, color-coded ones that I plan to start working on tonight, Post-Its that will stand in for subplots, character notes and setting descriptors. Hopefully my little chart will serve as a jumping off point and make this rewrite more manageable and–God willing–more fun.

Have you ever attempted a major rewrite? Any tips or tricks to share?

For the Birds…

August 1, 2011July 31, 201118 Comments

I recently read Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird (mentioned it in last week’s Reading Wrap-Up). If you’ve yet to read it, I highly recommend picking it up. Bird by Bird is an excellent craft book–not too technical, not too preachy, full of concise, snappy chapters, and at times laugh-out-loud funny.

As I was perusing Bird by Bird, I got the urge to reread bits of my very first manuscript. As I’ve said before, Novel One is tragically low concept epic teen romance that has lots of sweet little scenes I’ll always love. It also has a forced “plot,” loads of over-writing, and characters that are conveniently clueless. In other words, Novel One is completely unsellable.

Now, I’m sure Novel One’s flaws are run of the mill for first (and second and third) efforts. I made mistakes lots of new writers make, learned as I went, and improved with time. I read tons of YA and piles of craft books, and picked up tips and inspiration and lessons along the way. And, it just so happens that a few of my favorite lessons from Bird by Bird apply directly to Novel One. I’ll share them as they apply to my own writing and maybe save you some trouble. 🙂

1: BE FLEXIBLE – While writing Novel One, I had a very specific direction for the story. And I took it there, even though at times it felt forced and unnatural. I also had exact, detailed scenes in mind, scenes I eventually wedged in, whether they fit the overall story arc or not. All this pushing and coercing and throwing around of my writerly weight resulted in a story that reads like this: Say what?!

I failed my characters. I neglected to listen to them. I didn’t let them guide the plot. Instead, I molded them, made them do certain things and act certain ways just for the sake of the storyline (which, honestly, wasn’t even all that strong). What I should have done was let the plot grow and expand and change as I got to know my characters.

2: DO NOT BE AFRAID – The earliest drafts of Novel One are so very vanilla. I followed all the rules. I didn’t let my characters swear. I barely let them kiss. They all drove nice cars and lived in tidy houses in a lovely town. They spoke politely and made good choices. Sure, a few bad things happened to them, but through no fault of their own. These people–their lives–were flawless. The reason for all this vanilla? I was afraid of what people (my parents, my husband, my friends) would think if I really went there.

Over time, I’ve developed courage and an anything-goes attitude. What difference does it make if one of my characters drops an F-bomb? Who cares if she wears a skanky top or drinks a beer once in a while? So what if she thinks about school and friends and family and boys and–gasp!–sex? If she’s in character and the story is moving forward, she can do no wrong. But I never went to any of those places in Novel One because I was too focused on my mental naysayers, watching them shake their heads and wag their fingers, listening to them preach about what’s appropriate. And now the story’s a snoozefest.

3: GET IN THE ZONE – Novel One is choppy and lacking in voice. This is partly to blame on my previous lack of flexibility (and experience), but my failure to get in the zone and stay there is also responsible. By “the zone” I mean that delightfully elusive place where you’re focused and typing and barely thinking. Suddenly you glance at the clock and three hours have passed. You’ve written 5K words without ever looking up from your computer screen.

For me, the zone is a silent room, a comfy chair, and a burning candle. I have critique partners who find their zone while listening to loud music through headphones. Others like to work at a certain table in a specific coffee shop with an iced Chai beside them. I need to be in my the zone in order to listen to the voices in my head. I need to listen to the voices in my head in order to find MY voice. (Is this all making me sound slightly crazy? I’m not alone, right?)

I didn’t know about the zone while writing Novel One. I wrote whenever and wherever, and it always took me ages to find a groove–if I did at all. Now I try hard to give myself the best writing conditions possible because only when I get into the zone does my best writing emerges.

I’d love to hear about your first manuscript. What beginner mistakes did you make? What craft books have you found most helpful?

Friday Five… Must Follows

June 17, 2011June 17, 20115 Comments

I’ve recently discovered Paper Hangover, a fantastic group blog that offers writing tips and advice, book reviews, weekly Friday Five topics, and teen interviews. I highly recommend you spend some time exploring the site–they have so much to offer! Today I’ve decided to give Paper Hangover’s Friday Five a shot. Here’s the prompt:

And here are my Must Follows (Click the links to be redirected to each Twitter page):

Savvy Authors – An online writing community for writers of romance, offering tons of diverse workshops, forums, and pitching opportunities. I met a few of my super talented CPs at Savvy.

YA Highway – A group blog focusing on (duh) everything young adult lit.

Gayle Forman – YA Author (If I Stay and Where She Went… LOVE) who always has thoughtful, witty Twitter contributions and awesome blog posts.

Georgia McBride – Founder of YALitChat, extremely knowledgable, host of Wednesday night YA Twitter chats, and overall awesome.

Vickie Motter – My agent… Hello! Of course you should be following her!

*BONUS* If you like reality TV of any kind, you follow Andy Cohen – He’s got nothing to do with writing or publishing, but he’s Bravo TV Royalty, and he’s absolutely hilarious!

Tell me–who are your must follows on Twitter?

RTW: To Plot or Not to Plot

June 8, 201138 Comments

This Week’s Topic: Are you a plotter or a pantser? Do you like to make a detailed plan before you start a project? Or do you prefer to fly by the seat of your pants and make it up as you go along?

Easy. I’m a plotter, both in writing and in life. I like to have a plan for everything I do: day-to-day activities, traveling, tackling the grocery store, and yes, writing. That’s not to say I’m a rigid stick in the mud. I am fairly flexible. Things change–of course they do–but anytime there’s a change, I like to make a note of it on my outline. 🙂

Here’s my process for plotting (discussed in more detail in this previous POST):

1) Once I’ve got an idea I’ve stewed over for a good, long while (like, months) I write a twenty-five word (hopefully) high concept pitch, which forces me to get my idea down to its true essence. Later, I use my pitch to write a three-line pitch, then a full query-type blurb.

2) Next I make a basic list of the scenes I already have in my head, which is pretty much an enormous brainstorming session.

3) Then, I tackle a beat sheet, plugging scenes into appropriate places, and coming up with new ones to fill in the gaps. The beat sheet I use is a melding of the one in Blake Snyder’s Save the Cat and the summary of steps in The Hero’s Journey.

4) Once I have my beat sheet, I make a detailed outline, scene by scene and color-coded, one I follow pretty closely once I begin to write. Of course my scene outline isn’t set in stone. I add and delete as I go, because once I start writing, the story begins to come to life and certain aspects inevitably become more or less important.

Sometimes I wish my process could be less formulaic. It seems so much more romantic to sit down with an idea and just start writing, but plotting works for me and I’m sticking with it!

Tell me… are you a plotter or a pantser?