Speed Up Your Writing

Do not Pass Go, Do not Collect $100

by Suzanne Cordatos

www.suzannecordatos.blogspot.com

What is the fastest way from Point A to Point C? Generally speaking, a straight line through Point B does the job. Like pawns in a board game, characters move from one point to another around the story—but their writers should be warned. Mobilizing a main character from the breakfast table to school to a post-game pep rally should not, literally, take all day.

I’m a wordy writer. My first drafts are complicated affairs with blow-by-blow action determining what each limb is up to (“with one hand, the protagonist did x but with the other, he did y!) and so on. Boring! It is not necessary (or desirable) to report every turn of the doorknob between Point A and Point C (unless, of course, the knob-turning is a vital part of the suspense you are creating). 

Is it part of the game? If not, skip it. A bored reader is not a page-turning reader. A bored reader is not a book-buying reader. The writer holds the cards. In the game of Monopoly, for example, Chance cards direct players to skip entire sections. Go to Jail. Go directly to jail. Do not pass GO. Do not collect $100. Translation for writers? Imply action.

Scene Breaks

A few extra lines of white space separate one scene from a new one, marking the passage of time, a change of location, mood, end of thought, and a new beginning of some sort. Anyone who has been to school knows that a locker scene or cafeteria scene implies a school day. No need to talk about Period 3. It gives readers a rest for the eyes, permission granted to put the book down for a snack—or better, a chance to anticipate what might happen next.

Section breaks

Three asterisks (or other simple art) centered above the break indicates a stronger change than time, mood or location. A section break is more definite and is often used to mark a different character’s point of view. It keeps the momentum of a chapter going but lets the reader see it from another angle. Next time you read a book that moves along at a good clip, notice scene and section breaks. Chances are excellent the writer is using them to great effect.

Practice “Writing down the page” 
Brainstorm your protagonist’s next move in a quick list is another technique to speed things up. Without bothering to write out complete sentences or scenes, you'll see where the ideas take you. Quickly list the steps of a scene down a page. Bogged down with details? Determine which are necessary to the plot, which can be implied. Skip some, imply some, move it along. Now, you're ready to write out your game-changing sentences.

Breakfast table to School to Pep Rally  Writing down the page lists prove that my character's day has too many details that prevent the reader from getting to the exciting pep rally. Forget Mom’s complete breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast with butter and jam and a tall glass of milk if it not key to the story. Instead, the character throws on his backpack, grabs a muffin and Mom’s hug and uses the bus ride to munch the muffin while mulling over his hopes—and fears—for the pep rally. Next?

<<Scene Break>> Something happens at his locker during the school day that foreshadows his hopes getting brighter—or fears getting stronger.

<<Section Break>> From another friend or foe’s point of view, we get another glimpse of the plans.

The reader is anticipating what will happen at the pep rally in the next chapter!

Have you found it easy to imply action and move it along with scene/section breaks? How long are your chapters? Are you consistently using a few scene breaks per chapter or is it more random? I'd love to hear how you use these techniques in your writing.

Writing a realistic BFF

What were you afraid of as a kid?

Hot tears bubbled into my child’s eyes when the minivan pulled into the preschool parking lot. Like a caged animal, Erica usually strained against the straps of her car seat to be released. Erica LOVED preschool, from the dress-up corner to snack time to the hamster named Peanut to chasing boys around the playground. On this bright morning, however, my three year old was kicking and holding onto the straps for dear life.

           

A lioness could not have been more proud of her cub’s attack; but where was the danger? I braved a few bruises to lean in and heard Erica mutter about a leopard at school. Today. What?!? Dashing to the entrance, I grabbed Mrs. “B”, the head teacher. “Erica won’t get out of the car. She thinks a leopard is at school?!?”

Dawning comprehension lit Mrs. B’s face as she kept pace with me, running back to the car. “Not leopard, a leprechaun!” she panted out. “Today . . . St. Patrick’s Day . . . promised the kids . . . leprechaun visit . . . puppet show . . . Oh my, I forgot.”

Puppets. That explained it. The only other bad day for Erica at preschool had been when a firefighter used puppets to explain fire safety. To say puppets freaked out my child would be an understatement. As only good teachers can do, Mrs. B quickly transformed Erica back into my happy child who skipped into school holding her hand with a promise she could sit next to her backstage to see how the show worked. She came home raving about being brave to stick her hand in a puppet.        

Does it matter now?

It isn’t St. Patrick’s Day and Erica isn’t three anymore, but sixteen—to this day a fan of the stage and NOT puppets. When writing for older kids, it is time consuming but worthwhile to create a back story for each character including a made-up childhood. Each tidbit might not make it into the book, but you will draw from the well to write a richer story.  School stories abound—easily put down, easily forgotten—with stereotypical bullies, team defeats, unbending teachers and catty friendships. To help you write a book worth re-reading, develop characterizations that include fears, secrets, and giddy joys left over from childhood. In the classic book The Secret Garden, the invalid Colin irrationally believed from a young age he was doomed to suffer a crooked back, coloring the household’s treatment of him for years.

Create a realistic BFF!

When I write middle grade fiction, I worry about creating realistic friendships. Imagine the emotional, weighty moment between teen friends when they discover something uniquely shared between them from childhood: a favorite song, amusement park ride, unusual color, a worst nightmare, a special toy. My father-in-law and stepmother share a birthday on Valentine’s Day, a fun discovery bonding two people from different countries. Once, while visiting a friend’s home, tears filled my eyes when I noticed a teddy bear identical to one I had loved and lost decades ago.

·       Do you have a childhood fear or passion that lingers to teen/adulthood?

·       Have you worked it into your writing via characterization, symbolism, flashback?

Viral Social Media, Dissected

Viral Social Media, Dissected

By Suzanne Cordatos

                                             www.suzannecordatos.blogspot.com

www.thelostcrownofapollo.wordpress.com

The Singing Salutatorian

How well do you remember commencement speeches? With 24,000 high schools in the USA, I’d guess 48,000 valedictorian and salutatorian speeches this year were highly forgettable, no matter how well they were received in the moment. In under a week, however, Wethersfield High School’s Greg Corning has garnered 29,000 hits--and counting--on YouTube with his salutatorian speech.

Mouse-squeaks of jealousy vie for attention in my brain with admiration over his cleverness at going viral. How did he do it? What did he say? What did he eat for breakfast? Can I have some, too?

Which way to the readers?

I've been brainstorming ways to "trap" new readers and "train" them to want my upcoming books. It sounds manipulative, but it is simply a matter of locating my potential audience and figuring out how to provide them the opportunity to read a book I think they will love. I’ve got time, about a year—plenty of time to dissect the success of other writers. 

Choosing popular songs from each of his four years of high school, Greg Corning sang his speech, changing the words of hit songs to be meaningful to his classmates. Apparently, WHS endured heavy renovations this past year, because his take on Miley Cyrus’ Wrecking Ball got a big reaction.

Viral-ness isn’t necessarily our goal as writers, but book promotion? Absolutely. Sweeping the globe with my best ideas between book covers? Sign me up! Like the recently viral (but now ancient) Gangnam-style dance, it’s impossible to predict what wacky idea will gain a huge following next, but let’s pick apart this WHS speech like an unfortunate subject of a high school Biology lesson to see what scratches its way into our memories. Perhaps we can add one or more of these ideas to our next book promotion to boost its popularity and success. The Salutatorian's speech hit all of these hot buttons:

Popular – within seconds, the audience recognized the songs and could hum along to every note.

Familiar—like blue jeans, people like what is comfortable. The songs were familiar, and his words told stories everyone already knew about their shared experience.

Surprising—nobody expected a song in place of a speech. The matserial was familiar but fresh. Like editors say, there is no new story under the sun, just different ways of telling it.

Range of emotion— from funny to sentimental, practical to emotional to inspirational, the range of emotions in his lyrics kept the audience awake and interested, poised for what’s next.

Audience-focused—audience members could feel as if parts had been written expressly for them alone.

Heart-filled—presented with sincerity, nobody doubted that the speaker cared for the audience and was fully committed to his idea. No hesitation, no apologies for the unconventional method. Simple and heart-felt.

QUESTION: Have you discovered any other hot buttons that work to attract attention? Have you used any of the above tactics to achieve a desired result in your own promotions?

Create Pre-Book Buzz

How to Create Pre-Book Buzz

By Suzanne Cordatos

www.suzannecordatos.blogspot.com

Your long-awaited book is FINALLY hitting the shelves in the foreseeable future. How do you build buzz that drives book sales? Be pro-active! Here's how to get started and FIND YOUR AUDIENCE!

Write non-fiction articles and use social media to find folks that relate to your fiction topic

At first glance, there isn't much non-fiction I can squeeze from my upcoming 4RV picture book about a dragon, Willard the Dragon: Sneeze-Fire. But look again! Willard loves pepper jelly. How about putting a recipe for pepper jelly on my blog with a link to it from Facebook? Willard loves to play in the snow. I started a Pinterest page showcasing snow-dragon photos.  The dragon catches a bad cold, so an article geared for pre-schoolers on how to avoid catching a cold would be appropriate for a school newsletter, or perhaps an online magazine can pick it up. With the third Hobbit movie coming out this year, dragons are everywhere. I can hop on the bandwagon with an article about books and their famous dragon characters.

Focus on finding the niche where your readers hang out

In the case of my upcoming novel, The Lost Crown of Apollo, the problem isn’t so much coming up with non-fiction topics as how to narrow the field of too many. Anyone who has dipped their toes in the pool of Greek history knows it is a deep ocean rich with material. Archaeology, thousands of years of history and wars, religion, islands, tourism, boating, Greek mythology . . . the list goes on and on. How do I find new angles on such well-trodden paths? The main characters discover spear fishing, snorkeling, jellyfish that light up like Christmas and explore cave formations. I can write articles about these topics, along with kid-friendly history about the Greek islands. Did you know that the Greek island homes were built with a maze of alleys on purpose to confuse pirates? Narrow the focus to find your potential readers.

Publishing takes forever—how can I get articles out there before my book?

Seek out newsletters for special interest groups (print and online) and discover local groups for special interests that may have their own publications/flyers. Does your main character ride a bike or dig for dinosaur bones? There are often city clubs and local groups who gather for shared interests from kite-flying to hiking to archaeological digs. These venues may have a website, blog, flyer, meetings and festivals in which to volunteer as a guest contributor. In a timely manner, you'll build a readership of kids and parents most likely care for your store before it becomes available. What author doesn't want a long line of people anxious for their special signed copy?

Think global, act local

Community bulletin boards, local library and independent bookstore newsletters may be a good source. Develop a grassroots base of fans for your book that can spill out into social media and cyberspace. Discover local clubs in interest areas similar to your main characters. With further digging and a few phone calls, you may find that these groups have newsletters of their own that could print a timely article—and could welcome you as a guest speaker expert on a topic of direct interest to future readers. The local preschools may like to have a guest speaker talk about how to not let your dragon catch a cold!

My fictional family spends their summer vacation on a boat. While there may not be much interest for ancient Greek mythology in my local area, there is a lot of interest for boating of all kinds. I live near the beautiful Connecticut shoreline with an old whaling tradition and diehard boaters in places like Mystic, Guilford, Stonington, and the Thimble Islands. Bank Street Books and RJ Julia are a fantastic independent bookstores along the shoreline and they constantly host events with authors. With some pre-book effort on your part, you'll have a ready made audience anxious to click "buy" when your book comes out!

What ideas have worked to generate your book buzz? Please share in comments!

Will Write for ___________?

If your family is anything like mine, springtime brings a torrent of busy activity into our lives. Spring gardening, school concerts and new sports, trips, shopping, cleaning, pets with muddy paws, work and more cleaning. Excuses to not write multiply faster than Easter bunnies. A novel has been “nearly finished” on my writing desk for months but never gets “done.” New ideas simmer but never quite get hot.

The well is dry. An abandoned muse scrapes the bottom of your imagination and comes up empty-handed, draped in cobwebs. Unrecognizable. If you come across this forlorn muse among the back alleys of your brain you may simply walk on by, unseeing what is right in front of you.

Do you beg that long-lost muse to come back? As I reflect on this persistent problem, I realize I don’t need lightning to strike with brilliant inspiration. What I need is motivation to sit and do what I have to do. The ideas are there, if a little dusty. Invite the muse back in by acting like Nike and JUST DO IT.

What motivates you to write?  

A designer bag? Peeps? Taking a day off with a movie marathon? 

A cookbook writer's guide titled Will Write for FOOD by Dianne Jacob makes me wonder what motivates other writers to do what they do. Most of us obviously don't write for the money. One author of chick lit fiction, Cathy Yardley shares in her humorous book Will Write for Shoes that she shops for a great pair whenever she finishes a manuscript. FINISHES. NOT SELLS. Finishing is a big deal. Do you promise yourself a reward for reaching a writing goal? Share what motivates you to write in comments!

Writers are not the most materialistic people out there (other than never owning enough books, maybe). Do you envision the look on your grandchildren’s faces when they hold a book written by their Grammy?

Tape a picture of your "prize" to your writing desk, and go for it!

What keeps you AWAY from writing? Analyze your schedule to see what chunks of time you might be wasting without realizing it.

           Set aside the cell phone. Put it on silent mode. Better yet, put it where you can’t hear it vibrate with every email that whispers it must be an editor or agent dying to get in touch with you.  

If you have particularly gabby friends and relatives that keep you from writing, make an appointment with yourself at the library or coffee shop. Go by yourself.

Take a notepad and paper to write without that pesky internet tempting you away from writing. The fresh air and fresh perspective might do the trick. You might even hire a teen to type up notes for you into the computer. Teens get tired of babysitting and might love a new way to make some cash.

Go ahead, buy yourself a bouquet of spring flowers--AFTER you write that new chapter. And please share what motivates you. My muse and I could use some fresh ideas.

The Sound of Story

By Suzanne Y. Cordatos

www.suzannecordatos.blogspot.com

The cool music director of my daughter’s 5^th grade band goes for classic rock ‘n roll and traditional marches— the stuff that sounds good really loud. The young people haven't yet developed the ability to play a range of sounds through their shiny new instruments, so these pieces sound good the louder the better!

Does your work-in-progress sound too one-note?

• Is your writing packed with lightning-paced action?
•  Do you play tour guide for your readers, meandering through description (and avoiding nasty things like confronting your beloved character with bad guys and car chases?)
• Is witty, contemporary dialogue your thing?
• Do you stay in your comfort zone by relying heavily on one of these elements?

A radio hit tells us we’ll “miss the sun when it starts to snow” and we'll know you "love her when you let her go.” Without contrasts, it is difficult to recognize what is sometimes right in front of our noses. In a good book, readers are more compelled to turn pages when emotional highs and lows pull them along. Who doesn't like to cheer in the stands when a favorite character is the underdog?

Layer notes in your composition

•          Make satisfying “ups” by writing worst-case “downs”
•          If your story flies at a fast pace, how will the climax stand out?
•          If the characters don’t slow down to offer their thoughts, when will the reader identify with a character and process what is happening?
•     Talking-head characters need feet grounded in reminders of setting, so a reader can walk along. 

Musicians grow in talent when they add notes and technique to their repertoire. The conductor guides an ensemble through the score to convey the composer’s intended volume and feeling: soft pianissimo, loud forte, dramatic rhythm, or soothing flow. Music can play upon emotions like a dance, a falling in and out of love. My other talented daughter is singing this weekend in a production of Les Miserables with Colchester Community Theater. The music in Les Mis has the power to make one feel hope, anger, love, determination, longing and despair—and I’m probably missing another half dozen emotions in this list! Who doesn't love a good show (OR BOOK) that makes us laugh and cry, often at the same time?

Warning: One-note novels can be boring and exhausting to read.  

For a more interesting balance, alternate scenes with moments of contemplation—a quiet opportunity for your main character to reflect on what has gone down. More importantly, it will give your reader time to worry about what comes next. 

Have you enjoyed a book especially "musical" in its emotional complexity? When you read, do you like to feel you are in the competent hands of a good conductor? Share some titles!

Home Decorate Your Editing Style

By Suzanne Y. Cordatos

www.suzannecordatos.blogspot.com

Whenever an editor or critique partner suggests that cutting a major scene would improve your work, do you chop it with a smile? Is that chunk of writing one of your favorite babies? How long does it take you to craft such a great scene? Hours? Days? Months? When asked to cut the cord, did you expend a lot of energy defending your little bundle of exposition?

Step back. Take a deep breath. Do something different. Let’s re-decorate a room, shall we?

Pick a room in need of attention. Mine is the basement. It recently got walls, floors, a bathroom, bedroom and rec room space, all in need of a color scheme, fixtures, accessories, lighting, flooring, carpet, etc. Okay! Overwhelmed yet? With no idea how to pull together a color scheme, I hunted for a rug, pillow, or curtains for inspiration. I finally found a bolt of fabric that incorporated all my favorite colors and, when the space was finished, would be perfect to make into coordinated curtains. 

The patterned fabric worked well. It became easy and fun to choose colors for walls, trim, flooring and accessories. However, when the space was finished I no longer wanted to use that fabric for curtains. The finished spaces, with the wonderfully coordinated color scheme, needed something simpler at the windows. The pattern didn’t work as I thought. 

Was it a mistake to buy the fabric? No. It served its purpose well, helping me make decorating selections. Its purpose changed, however, as the project developed and changed. Perhaps much like your scene that needs to be (face it) chopped. 

Writing out that scene maybe helped you understand the bigger theme, or perhaps it helped you better understand your character’s motivations. Writing it out was valuable time spent, but maybe it is time to cut the scene from its current crib. Perhaps it has already served its purpose.

QUESTION: 

How do you recognize when a scene isn't working and you need to give it up? Writers spend a lot of time trying to force a favorite scene to work rather than cut it completely and start over with a new approach. I keep a file called "extra scenes" so when I delete it from a work-in-progress I feel it isn't gone "forever." Any other suggestions?

Got Characters?

By Suzanne Cordatos

www.suzannecordatos.blogspot.com

Need someone new to fill out your cast of characters?

Attend your Summer Reunion!

If you are a writer holding an invitation to a reunion this summer, what are you waiting for? RSVP YES!

Not only will you reconnect with old friends or family, but your attendance will be rewarded with a surprising roster of characters to add to your writing power!

Not everyone enjoys a reunion, especially if the initial experience was one that took several years to forget let alone spend money for hotel and gas in order to remember. High school reunions usually elicit a "meh" from me, but this summer an invitation came to a reunion I couldn't refuse: a once-in-a-lifetime 30 year reunion of a camp staff I had worked with as a teenager. I had spent a few nearly idyllic summers on a lake in western NY working as a cabin counselor and waterfront/boating staffer at the most wonderful camp in the world. I had to go.

The promise of being 17 Again (i.e. sans the spouse and kids for an entire weekend) was enticing…It's the title of a fun Zac Efron movie and exactly the way I felt driving from Connecticut across New York state.

"You look exactly the same!" "Really? So do you!"

Teenage years are spent running along the brink of life, deciding the biggies: what to do with our lives, where to attend college, what values to stand for and who to love. Exciting summers filled with goofy, spontaneous fun and deep conversations. Endless days of lakeside fun and evening songs around the bonfire. It was a personal thrill to see beloved faces and hear voices that remained familiar after three decades of silence. 

The writer in me found a gold mine. 

"Gotta be some golden characters in them thar hills!"

Changes are not so obvious in people you see daily or even yearly. A reunion provides an opportunity to compare how people were “back then” with a snapshot of the “now.” 

Those yearbooks proclaiming some faces as “most likely to” probably actually really didn’t; in my reunion’s example, the “class clown” turned out to be one of the most successful as marketing director of a company that is a household name around the globe.With a collision of “what was” and “what is” in front of your eyes, your writer’s mind will easily be energized, like a magician conjuring many “in between” stories.

Try it for yourself! Have you met new characters this summer?

How to Host a Book Launch Party

How to Host a Book Launch Party

 by Suzanne Cordatos

www.suzannecordatos.blogspot.com

I had the recent pleasure of attending the book launch party of my writing friend—and fellow 4RV author—Kristine Carlson Asselin. In a suburb of Boston, Kris launched her first picture book, Worst Case of Pasketti-it is. It was a great time and a huge success. You can pull off a great book launch, too!

Where?

An easy jog off a major highway, Kris held her party in the welcoming community room of a local library. 80 people attended, including curious walk-in library patrons!

Who to Invite?

Invite people most likely to tell others about your book: family, friends, librarians, teachers, reporters. Invite a photo buff to send pics to author’s website, blog, Facebook fan page, local papers. Kids added zing to Kris’ author Q & A time.

Make it a Party!

Kris used an online invitation service called “evite” to get the word out. Balloons and a large poster of the book cover welcomed guests outside the front door. Inside, more balloons and entertaining activities were quick attention-grabbers.

Stations

"Be sure to include family and friends in the planning of your party,” advises Kris. “They are excited for you and will often push you to be more "out there" than you would on your own. I'm sometimes embarrassed to "sell" myself, but my family and good friends aren't shy about it at all!"

Kris put family members to work at various stations:

Welcome table

Greet people personally. A welcome poster and sign-in list near the door helps add walk-ins to your mailing list. Have a stack of business cards, bookmarks or postcards printed with book cover design and easy order information.

Activities for kids

Kris’ main character loves pasta, so she had a fun guessing contest: How many pieces of macaroni in the jar? Offer a prize because hey, who doesn’t like a goody bag? Have crayons handy and coloring pages made of your characters. Relate a craft to your book. Kris had colorful yarn and pasta shapes for necklaces.

Food

Kris had a beautiful cake courtesy of her parents for the launch. At regular book events, you might want to offer simple candy, store-bought cookies or pretzels.

Book Buying

Assign a family member or friend to manage ongoing sales for you throughout the event. Make it easy for people to order books after the event by tucking a business card or bookmark with information in every copy sold. Extra cards on the table help guests purchase books later if they are not prepared at your event with cash.

Entertainment: YOU

This part can be intimidating, but authors who want to sell books have to put themselves out there. An ongoing slideshow of art from her book kept guests entertained until the presentation. Kris read the story along with a slide presentation of her adorable book. To prepare Kris says, “Be sure to practice reading your excerpt aloud a few times. Add inflection and pauses to make the read interesting. And be sure to project so that everyone in the room can hear you." Include time for Q&A for guests to ask about the story’s origins, getting published, etc.

 

Kris Asselin and Jessica Cordatos

Book Signing table

Kris invited everyone to stay for cake and crafts. And, of course, she signed books with a beaming smile for as long as people wanted her to!  More information about author Kris Carlson Asselin:

Director, SCBWI New England Regional Conference
May 2-4, 2014 in Springfield, Massachusetts
Web: nescbwi.org ~ Twitter: @nescbwi ~ Email: nescbwi14@gmail.com
Find me on Twitter @KristineAsselin
Find me on Facebook: www.facebook.com/kristinecarlsonasselin

Visit my website: www.kristineasselin.com

On Butterbeer

by Suzanne Y. Cordatos
www.suzannecordatos.blogspot.com

Quick--Name something that exists solely because a writer dreamed it up. One yummy example is Harry Potter’s favorite drink, butterbeer. On tap and wildly popular in Florida, a butterbeer can foam your lips courtesy of a JK Rowling-approved recipe. After reading a scene in the books or visiting Hogsmeade in the movies with Harry and friends, you can’t help but crave a butterbeer mustache of your own.

Does your writing contain powerful objects? Do you create symbols? Do you simply hand your characters a cool prop when convenient? People intuitively know a good thing when they read about one. Make your object important and they’ll remember it.

Consider butterbeer. A frothy, slightly fizzy, kid-friendly butterscotch drink, butterbeer is on hand to celebrate a Quidditch win or relax on a day off school. Is it a coincidence that Harry's friends often smuggle the stuff into their cozy common room? Is it an accident that the worst wintry weather coincides with pub trips? In contrast to the cold outside, the friends holding the mugs take on the warmth and comforting qualities of the drink. Who doesn't need friends, warmth and comfort? I'd guess J.K. Rowling designed butterbeer moments with great intention. 

The orphan Harry was friendless as can be before arriving at the wizard school. It is friendship—love—that ultimately gives Harry the strength he needs to defeat the villain Voldemort. Friendship is a powerful theme in the Harry Potter books, and butterbeer is a symbol of that theme. No wonder fans make the trek to Orlando to taste it!

Ordinary objects can hold great significance. A photo of a person or place your character hopes to see again. An apron once worn by a treasured grandma who knew how to cook her way into a family’s heart. The smell of a flower or a few notes of a melody remind your character of a person, place or aching need.

Create a symbol:

            Is it necessary to the scene? To the overall story?

            Are your scenes cluttered with objects? Can fewer be given a spotlight?

            Does the object represent anything else going on? Does it symbolize a theme?

            Fantastical or ordinary, is your symbol grounded in humanity? 

Characters come alive when they need to do things such as eat, drink, love, sleep, clean, communicate, travel and defend rights just like us. Your characters will leap off the written page and resonate with readers.            

Slippery Slope of New Year's Resolutions

By Suzanne Y. Cordatos

www.suzannecordatos.blogspot.com

January is a slippery slope for those who set the new resolution bar too high. Writers are great dreamers who like to think, "My book will spawn the next super franchise" or "When my website gets off the ground, my Amazon ranking will zoom to the top." Pressuring yourself to accomplish the near-impossible within one calendar year is setting yourself up to fail. (The dreamer in me had to add "near," Never impossible.)

When my first pair of skis arrived under the tree in fourth grade I raced to the local ski center, which boasted a bunny slope, a lumpy black diamond and some intermediate runs. The chair lift whisked me thirty feet off the ground in seconds. On the way to the summit, I tapped my skis together to shake off snow when the boots sprang out of the brand new but poorly adjusted bindings. As this happened in the 1970's, both skis remained attached to the boots by "safety" straps. I struggled to shove the boots back onto the skis, but I couldn't fix them in mid-air. I waved wildly to the operator in the hut at the top as I approached with both skis dangling, but to no avail. I rolled off the high-speed chair praying my legs wouldn't break in the tangle and that the people coming off the next chair wouldn't ski over my face.

Big goals start with successful baby steps. Before tackling the black diamond in new skis, a test run on the bunny hill—with its two-feet-on-the-ground rope-tow—would have set me on a better course that day. Set achievable goals, and the summit will be in sight. 

What are your goals for 2013?

I plan to end sloppy habits and get my novel to a publisher. Baby steps will carry me closer to big goals. Here's how:

Big Goal: Be a prolific writer. 
BABY STEPS: Produce more, procrastinate less.

I CAN and PROMISE to use those ten minute gaps in my schedule to write more often.
A sentence at a time. A paragraph at a time. A page at a time.
I CAN and PROMISE to complete my works in progress, one at a time.
I CAN and PROMISE to power through the muddles in the middle. Set deadlines, or use contests as a goal. 

Big Goal: Get my writing off slush piles, onto bestseller lists.
BABY STEPS: Improve my chances by improving my craft. 

I CAN and PROMISE to seek out appropriate beta readers and critique partners.
I CAN and PROMISE to trust my instincts more. And READ more.
I CAN and PROMISE to devote one workshop to my own development per year.

I CAN and PROMISE to develop a business and marketing strategy.
I CAN and PROMISE to write tighter. Find and delete repeated words—here's a link for a great list of overused words: http://writersinthestorm.wordpress.com/2010/06/25/echoes-repeat-offenders/

Big Goal: Get my work known by a great editor or agent.
BABY STEPS: Improve my chances by improving my network. 

I CAN and PROMISE to comment on other people's websites and blogs.
I CAN and PROMISE to keep in touch with new writing friends.
I CAN and PROMISE to submit work to editors who attend those conferences.

Gifting a Writer

 By Suzanne Cordatos

www.suzannecordatos.blogspot.com

Like an unfriendly ghost, a past embarrassing moment drifts to the present with the power to make us cringe years later. Afraid you've stumbled on a lost Halloween blog post? No, worse, a 1970’s Secret Santa Gift Exchange. It haunted me the other day like the Ghost of Christmas Past. The scene? Giggling Girl Scouts. Holiday packages filled with pink lip gloss and Love’s Baby Soft drug store perfume. Candy wrapped in crinkly cellophane dotted with Rudolphs and red noses. I couldn't wait to open my box.

Like Scrooge, I had to learn the hard way about gifting. My lesson? The beauty of the polite cover-up. I felt eyes, a Girl Scout friend, watching me open the box. Inside? A pen. A lovely pen, probably, but it wasn't pink or sparkly, and at ten who notices quality? What on earth had I done to earn the most boring gift in the room? Then I heard the friend mumble, “You said you want to be a writer.”

She was right, I did. I hide my Scrooge face better these days, but I still don't want a pen under the tree!

 

SO . . . What gifts might warm the heart of a writer in your life?

* Books. Obviously! 4RV books! Link right here! http://www.4rvpublishingcatalog.com/  

*  Goofy writer gifts abound on internet shopping sites, like legal-pad designed napkins for when hunger—and the next great bestseller idea—strike at the same time. 

      * Keep inspired with a desk knickknack that represents the main character in a work in progress, or frame a motivating quotation from a favorite writer.

The best gift?  Time… to listen, to work, to brainstorm.

* Offer to read a manuscript and give an honest critique.

            * Create homemade coupons, each good for an hour of uninterrupted time to write or listen or read.

            *  Invite the writer to a coffee shop for an expenses-paid session to chat up their latest work.

Santa’s hint . . . Print the list. Let it mysteriously land on the family computer keyboard, or maybe accidentally-on-purpose stuffed in the cookie jar.

Have a wonderful holiday! And share—if you dare, what shadow haunts from your Christmas past? (Careful, story ideas lie buried there!)

Hold the school bus!

by Suzanne Young Cordatos

Many authors would rather write an essay than get handed a microphone to speak in front of a crowd. With a little prep work, you might enjoy it.

Word-of-mouth is still alive and kicking in this digital age.I found myself donning a Hawaiian lei at a middle school’s “Literacy Luau” after selling a couple stories to Highlights magazine. The stories have yet to be printed, but my excited kids told their teachers, who turned around with invitations to speak.

After the thrill of being a writer in someone’s eyes--besides my own--passed, panic set in. What do I do with a class full of kids? The following information comes personal experience and from sessions at conferences of SCBWI, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.

 1. Don’t go empty-handed. Kids like free stuff. Create bookmarks (cheap and easy to do online) with your contact info, website, blog, email, book titles if any, publisher store, etc. Even if you don’t have a book yet, you can use a photo of yourself, a few lines of poetry, photo of your story's setting, etc.

 2. Leave lectures to their teacher. As Katie Hines pointed out in her great 4RV blog entry in March about library visits, make your time interactive and fun. Forty-five minutes can drag. Mix it up. Be creative. Ask them to close their eyes and listen to music for 2-3 minutes, then make up a scene that the music inspired. Dramatic? Dangerous? Spellbinding? Hand the kids the microphone and watch them glow.

 3. Skype visits Many successful authors offer free Skype visits instead of traveling out of state. They might offer a free half hour and arrange with the teacher ahead of time to order books for the classroom so the kids are familiar with it before the visit.

 4. Ahead of time  Arrange with the teacher or school to distribute a flyer (that you copy and provide) to make kids aware of your upcoming visit. One prominent author spoke at my daughter’s school. A flyer came home about three weeks in advance with a tear-off order form, asking for the money to cover the cost of a book that the author would sign in front of your child. It was optional but a no-brainer. The school ordered many books in advance and the author gave them a bulk discount. She sold hundreds of copies in a day.

 5. What topics are students covering in school? A class I visited was in the process of editing. I brought the first page of my new novel and said, truthfully, I was having trouble with the beginning. I could use their “expert” help since it was a book for their age level. Teach kids how to give “friendly” critiques. (1) say something you liked (2) say something you would change if it was your own work (3) did it raise a question? The kids did a fantastic job and offered great solutions to a real problem.

 6. Use math. Multiply your presentation opportunities. If you arrange for a school visit, call area schools, libraries and bookstores to add stops to your itinerary. Ask the classroom teacher who invited you for names of other teachers, nearby school districts, etc. who might be interested in a visit.

 7. Offer extra value.  Teens might be curious about the journey to publication. Younger readers might like a craft, song, or snack that goes with your story. My dragon character, Willard, loves pepper jelly. I could offer a bowl of pretzel sticks that kids can dip in a jar of pepper jelly—if they’re brave like Willard. Visit Suzanne's blog Ideas Tingle and Bite at www.suzannecordatos.blogspot.com

Pebbles on the Beach

Pebbles on the Beach

By Suzanne Young Cordatos          

 www.suzannecordatos.blogspot.com      

Are you a collector?

When on vacation, I find it impossible to resist bringing back a piece of the place. How better to preserve memories of special times, gatherings, food, music, and scenery than holding it, literally, in one’s hand?

Sometimes a “piece” means a cheap refrigerator magnet in the shape of the Mayflower, but often it means a literal piece picked off the ground. My husband is from Athens, Greece, and visits to his family always include a trip to the beach. The ubiquitous pebble beaches of Greece are a wonderful place to find packable treasures. Marble chunks smoothed by years in the Mediterranean Sea. The whitest pebbles, or the blackest. Pieces of blue and green bottles. Broken terracotta so smooth it seems like an ordinary pebble, but one that might have originated in some ancient past. Each pebble contains the power to bring back visions of my kids dancing in a village square, laughing and stumbling over the fancy Greek footwork.

Collect words

In my writing, too, I am a collector. When I first began, I voraciously sought out “how-to” books. How to structure a story. How to bring believable characters or plots to life. How to build a platform. Then I realized: I was doing a lot more reading about writing than actually writing. Has this happened to you? We “feel” like writers, therefore we are? Nope. Not unless we are writing! Now, I prefer collecting books of words, unique thesaurus-style books filled with words relevant to whatever theme I am exploring barefoot at the moment.

Keep a small notebook

Collect special sayings that touch your heart in a notebook. They might worm their way into a book's theme. A small notebook can be a writer’s best friend, easily on hand to record the joys/pains of life. Annual events like the 4^th of July would seem easy to recall, as they happen pretty much the same every year—but on a winter’s day writing about it, are you going to remember the sound of the American stripes flapping in a strong breeze, or its hooks clanging a summer music against the flagpole? Will you remember the sting of lemon in a fresh cut, or the pesky bee buzzing around the pitcher of lemonade? 

Writer, Can You Spare a Dime?

Writer, Can you Spare a Dime?

By Suzanne Cordatos

www.suzannecordatos.blogspot.com

Are some of your characters standing on street corners with their hands out? Do you have jobs for everybody in town? Are they puppets, simply cardboard cut-outs holding a sign? Convenient buggers, aren’t they? Need a taxi driver? Here you are. Teacher. Kid on bike. Red Herring. Our characters get a literal “job”— but is it meaty enough? Will it satisfy?

Writer, you are CEO and chief employer of the fictional world you’ve created. How do you divvy out character roles? Do the best jobs go always to the protagonist and villain? Any spare change left for the unemployed but ever-present sidekick?

Don’t get mugged!  

It is loads of fun plotting and putting together a novel with as many pieces as a jigsaw puzzle. The more complicated the plot, however, the darker the alley of keeping every character’s job in mind. I got “mugged” recently by my cousin’s daughter, Ann. At ten, is the first official kid to read my work-in-progress manuscript. I sent her a hundred pages; she recorded it on her school reading log, and I resisted the urge to ask every ten minutes what she thinks. Two weeks later, I got an email with three magical words: “What happens next?” She wants MORE!

Ann’s email was a loaded gun, pointed at me and filled with questions. Questions that caught me unguarded in this dark alley of who-does-what. The most painful: OOH, I  can’t wait to see if [minor sidekick character] gets to do something special later on!

WHAT? BACK UP THE TRAIN.

In importance to the story, this cutie-pie sidekick character she’s referring to doesn’t rank in the top ten. Remember, if we’re doing our job, readers care about the characters. It keeps them turning pages. This sidekick’s puppy had a job. A good one. A fun-to-read, momentous-moment kind of job that only the puppy could do. The puppy’s little master, however, did not. How can she help the plot move forward? I had to think quickly to save myself, before disappointing 100% of my readership—the one kid in the world who had entered my newly-minted world!

In the Harry Potter series, JK Rowling developed several minor characters. They were fleshed-out  with strengths and flaws; virtually none were just filling the hallways of Hogwarts. The author NEEDED those characters to pick up the ball and run with it in the final novel, Deathly Hallows, while the hero, Harry, was preoccupied in the Forbidden Forest with the villain Voldemort.  If JK Rowling had not taken the time to lovingly develop her minor characters into fully-formed beings, Harry’s fate might have been different.

Writer-boss, don’t let crimes of character happen on your watch. To prevent slips, try a Cluster Diagram.

Cluster Diagrams Show Poor Spots

If you are not familiar with a Cluster Diagram, do a quick Google search of Cluster Diagram images. Essentially, draw a circle in the middle of a blank sheet of paper. I wrote a quick summary of the climax scene in the center: Summer Festival. Draw lines extending out like rays of the sun and attach each line to a character name. Circle the name and add a couple lines indicating that character’s main job in the scene. Don’t leave anybody out.

Ask yourself: Who isn’t busy enough? Is that character a place holder? If they don't have a meaningful job, add one or fire them from your book. Take them out. Your writing will be tighter and your characters more memorable as a result.

Spring Rains

Spring Rains By Suzanne Y. Cordatos Did you make any writing resolutions this past New Year? How are they going? In January, my writing friend set ambitious goals: Submit work more often. Research and query agents. Enter contests. Query. Revise. Again. And Again. I meet with this writing friend every week for a hearty breakfast of eggs, critiques, conversation, inspiration and motivation. (BTW, if you haven’t yet found a writing friend, it is easier than you might think. Join a formal association, or simply make a few public comments that you “are a writer”. Fellow writing souls will emerge from the woodwork.)In March, her effort paid off big-time. Her manuscript was in the hands of agents and contest judges, right on schedule. Even better, the novel we had labored over for two years (longer for her) was placed among the top four finalists of a contest. Her work would be read by a top NYC publishing house! The top finalist would be handed a gold-plated book contract! Yippee! Right? Not so fast.

Like spring rains, however, rejections started pouring down on her good efforts and optimistic spirits. For the past few weeks, her writing pen has barely slogged across the page. Have you ever felt that way? Why do we writers torture ourselves like this? Her self-torture: If she hadn’t submitted more, she’d be swimming happily right now in her pool of dreams, a pool deep with fantasy contracts and book signings. Why do you bother to write? I keep trying because stories have shaped my sense of empathy, my understanding of the human condition; fiction binds us together as people of a planet who share the human experience: its dreams, sadness, and hopes. Stories help create empathy for others and transport us out of the mundane. Find out why by reading some of your favorite old classics. Those treasured, dog-eared books you dragged around? The ones whose characters felt more like friends than the kids down the street? I found myself—the values/views/themes/beliefs I hold dear to my heart—in specific sentences of those books. Single lines that rang true. Bits of dialogue. Unforgettable settings. Characters who triumphed over obstacles. The joy of watching flowers bloom and helping others reach their potential? It’s behind the locked door of The Secret Garden. The value of a good cry? Who didn’t cry over the beauty of life and self-sacrifice in Charlotte’s Web? A sense of adventure and the belief that small people can make a big difference in the world? Just ask Frodo and Bilbo Baggins. The deep sense that Mom cares no matter how bad I am? It’s in the bowl of soup that Max’s mom left at the end of Where the Wild Things Are. After Max’s misadventures, the soup was still hot. Writers make a difference. Published or not. I sat across a conference lunch table from Newberry Award writer Jerry Spinelli a few years ago and heard about a manuscript he still keeps tucked away – a novel the editors don't care to publish. What if he had stopped writing when they said no to that first try? Whatever is on your heart that needs to be said to the world—it matters! Whatever keeps pushing the keys on your keyboard, the words that speak to your heart, it really does matter.

What inspires you to keep writing through rejection? Visit Suzanne's blog Ideas Tingle and Bite at