Make Them Obsessed and Tear Their Hearts Out

So, I got to read the sequel to THE NOCTURNIAN, the YA Sci-Fi novel Francesca's querying right now, over the past couple of weeks. 

(I know. You're seething with jealousy. And you should be. Here's why:)

I finished the book and I felt like I needed a moment to be alone, just so I could deal with it being over.

Chessie's asked me what I thought about it, and I feel bad that I can't really put it into words any better than that. But it's true. There was a sense of completion, victory and hope, underlaid with a very acute feeling of loss. Something irreparable. Something life-changing.  It felt like there was sort of an emptiness, where the book had taken a little piece of my heart that I couldn't really ever get back.

What I could say about the book was this: The last book  that made me feel that way at the end was POSSESSION by Elana Johnson. The one before that? CATCHING FIRE, the second book in THE HUNGER GAMES trilogy.

Yeah.

Now, there have been plenty of books I've really really enjoyed that did NOT make me feel like that. Those books fall into the (much more easily definable) category of "Obsessed." That means, to me, that even when I'm not reading, I'm thinking about the story. Songs  I hear on the radio make me think of that-one-chapter-when. I see someone at a coffee shop, and think, "Oh! That looks just like Alexis." I can't hear something about Paris on the news without thinking of the fictional hi jinx that occurred there in that one book I loved so much.

So all my CPs' books fall into that category, (duh)  right along with HARRY POTTER and TWILIGHT.

All these books are ones I am passionate about, for one of two reasons:

1. I'm obsessed with the world and/or the characters and/OR
2. I feel like my heart got torn out and trampled on by the end.

Of course, I want to write a story that others are passionate about. After all, a book's not going to sell too well if people pick it up, read some pages, say, "eh," and put it down again.

This is only my second project, and so I'm still not quite sure how to go about inspiring obsession.  But I think I have some idea of how to tear hearts out.

This brings me to a post my CP and writing-life coach Jean made recently about war in fiction. In the blog, she discusses her WiP,  and how even though it's about kid assassins (I know! Awesome, right?) it's really about war.

Then I commented that  reading about war is so gut-wrenching, because at the end, no one wins. And that's the worst part of the whole thing.

And then I thought, well, that's really how real life is, isn't it? There are no one hundred percent happy endings. For stories to feel real, and identifiable, and to tear the readers' hearts out and put them back in again not-quite-whole...there has to be a sense that no one really won here. Even if there was a literal win, like of a battle (oh hey HARRY POTTER) there's still going to be a lot lost.

The same sense we feel in our own lives.
The same things that build us up and tear us down.
The same things we know to be true.
The same things that make us human will make our characters and our stories human too.

Quite frankly, this is something I think is a little flawed about my first project. Sure, there's a bit of loss, and it's something that punches me in the gut every time. But I'm not sure it's something every reader would care about. In writing ONE, it was one of my hopes that, in achieving some of her goals, my MC also had to sacrifice a great deal. I think I'm getting a lot better at that with this second project.

So, what makes you crazy-in-love with a book? And what are you doing to make that happen in your own writing?

Friday Obsessions: New Coldplay, Outstanding CPs, and Tater Tots

Everything I was obsessed with this week. 
Because I know you want to know.

1. Oh, heavens to Betsy. It's NEW COLDPLAY.
Close the door, crank up your speakers, sit back, and bliss out. Simply incredible.
(It might be good for your writing too. If you listen to this song your book will be a bestseller. Promise.)



2. My CPs. You guys, I have the best CPs on the planet (I'm looking at you too, Heidi.)

 I'll just come right out and say it - I've been reading the mushy-gushy scenes from Gina's first novel when I feel, well, like I want to read something mushy gushy. And then last night, she sent me three chapters from a new one and *sigh* - incredible.

 I'm obsessed with Chessie's book, not only because I'm in the middle of critiquing it.  I became uber obsessed when she sent me a mushy-gushy-yet-super-intense scene of her own, which I somehow forced myself to stop reading after only two five twelve times.

I have favorite books just like anyone else. It says a ton that these are two of my go-tos, even over a bunch of  published, bestselling ones. So I'm pretty sure these ladies will be published and bestselling too.

3. Tater Tots
Tater tots are one of the most perfect foods in existence.  There's nothing like those tiny cubed potatoes, compounded into nuggets and encased in a crunchy, golden, greasy shell. You don't even have to chew them if you don't want to - those little pre-masticated bits are just as easily broken out of their tasty casings between tongue and roof of mouth. Best of all, they taste like they came out of the fast food fryer, but  - and this is important - you don't have to actually go to the fast food place to get them.

Oh, and since I know you're wondering - with barbecue sauce. Is there any other way?


4. Alllllrighty. I hestiated this week to share some of ONE, mostly because we are in a fight. I worked on this sucker at NaNo speed throughout August, only to hit the worst of blocks once September rolled in. In the last two weeks? I've written 4500 words. Compared to August's FIFTY THOUSAND.

Yes, I am now working at 1/5 the speed I was just a few weeks ago. So needless to say I'm not feeling so warm and fuzzy toward the ol' WiP. But I figure maybe your cheerleading will break the block. *fingers crossed*

Meet Leni (short for Helen.) She's been buds with Elias forever, and all her friends are bitchy, dieting cheerleaders. Here's a scene where Merrin (MC) sits down to have lunch with them.

“Is she crushing on Elias?” another brunette girl asks while unpacking her lowfat yogurt and carrot sticks. I have to keep from rolling my eyes, though I know that now I’m definitely not pulling out that candy bar I was going to call lunch.
“Save your energy, honey. Elias VanDyne has only dated one girl at this school, and that was back when we were little freshmen.”

I raise my eybrows at her, silently questioning - I can’t help it - and then she suppresses as grin and points at, her index finger making a circle in the air.

“Yep. Helen and Elias, sittin’ in a tree…”

Leni rolls her eyes, pushes the girl lightly on the shoulder, and says, “Quit it. You know I was too good for him.” She laughs, and all the other girls eye each other.

Oh. So Leni’s the ringleader of this group. That could be really good or really, really bad. Depending on how much she feels like sticking up for me.

“Yeah. Too good for all the boys at this school, apparently.”

“You know it.” Leni smiles, but it’s the same face I’ve seen on her once before, and on Elias. Faking it.

The Obsession Factor: Supporting Characters

There's only so much writing, waiting, and nail-biting those of us in the querying trenches can do to sustain our passion for the craft. Eventually, one has to turn to daydreaming.

Sometimes I like to daydream about When I've Arrived. What does that look like in my flighty head? For some people, it would be signing a book deal with a Big Six publishing house. Maybe it means having all five-star reviews on Amazon (miraculously.) Maybe hitting the NYT bestseller list.

Know how I'll know When I've Arrived? Fanfiction.

I mean, seriously. All those other factors mean that people want to buy your book. Hopefully the read the whole thing, and you pray they like it. But you really don't know those things, do you? No. Not unless some obsessed fan is writing fanfiction about your story and characters.

It all comes down to the Obsession Factor. Do people close your book and wish there was more? Do they wonder what your main character wore on his first day of school? Do they imagine themselves living in the world you've created?

 And, the sub-factor I want to talk about today - are your supporting characters so awesome and fascinating that your readers can't stop thinking about their stories?

Raise your hand if you loved TWILIGHT. Go ahead, this is a blog, no one can see you. Okay. Now put your hand down if you didn't give two figs about Alice and Jasper or Carlisle and Esme. That's what I thought. You're arm's starting to ache, isn't it?

How about Ron and Hermione? Don't tell me you've never thought about how Ron would propose to her. Or what about Ginny? Did she really go for that last year at Hogwarts? Neville and Luna? They totally got together, right?

I'll tell you, my phenom-of-a-CP Chessie does an awesome job with this. I mean, her main characters are great, blah blah, great story, etc., but know who I really love? Two of the supporting characters. I wish they were in the book more, which says a lot. The boy is so cute and the girl is so kickass and they are so sweetly in love that I just squee every time they show up on the page. (My other CP, Gina, does a bang-up job too.  Mmmm....Jeremy....)

When Chessie drew this picture of them DANCING! Geez. I almost wrote some fanfiction. (But I didn't. I swear.)


Maybe that's because I'm lucky. If I beg Chessie for scenes from future books enough, she gives them to me.  If only that worked for every other story that grabs us with the supporting characters just as much as the main ones (or sometimes more?)

Your turn! What is your favorite book that has the Supporting Characters Obsession Factor?

How Critiquing Has Transformed Me as a Writer

Hi there! If you happen to be Mr. Michael Bourret, agent extraordinaire, please click over here to read all about how your incredible client, Brodi Ashton, gave the unflappable Gina (and me, too!) full-on permission to 'stalk' you. I promise, Gina and her manuscript are worth your while.


 When it was time for betas to look at my work, I have to admit, I felt a little stressed. See, betas, or critique partners, typically trade work. That means each of them spends and hours  (well, good ones, anyway)  reading and brainstorming and nitpicking and scrutinizing work that isn't theirs.

So, on top of the rearranging and compromising and ignoring the housework I ALREADY do in order to write my own darn book, I have to somehow squeeze out *more* time for critiquing someone else's book? In the case of Gina's book, it turned out to be a few hours a week, no small potatoes when you have a day job. Normal critiques - like the one she had to slog through with THE TRAVELERS - probably took much more time.

My husband asked me why me and critique partners were willing to put hours and hours worth of computer time, and agonizing, and franticallly emailing and rewriting and REreading (Gina has read so many versions of the same three things, it makes me crazy for her. In a few ways.) on a book that isn't ours.

I shrugged and said, "That's what we do."
An awesome critique pair is just two people who really understand that writing, and writing good stories well, is essential to the soul. Each wants their work to be torn apart by someone else so that we can build it up to be better.

It took me awhile, though, to realize that while Gina was definitely making me a better writer, but that critiquing Gina's stuff was also doing SO much for improving my subsequent revisions and, ultimately, my new WIP.

Critiquing someone else's work:

• Helped me learn how to plot and pace. With fresh eyes on a new story, one that didn't already exist, perfect, in my own head, I was really able to analyze what happened, when, and how quickly, and recognize when one of my own darlings was slowing down the plot in my own book too much, or just not serving a purpose.
• Got me to fall in love with characters in a different way.  Of course, I didn't write Gina's characters, but I was working so hard to make sure their story was told in the best way possible that I wanted their characterization to be solid. Everything from the way they moved and smiled to the words that came out of their mouths had to fit my ideal vision of them, and taught me to be mindful of whether my characters were doing the same.
• Taught me to look for things like rhythm, sound, feel, and VOICE . Again, since I didn't already have Gina's book in my head, I read a lot of stuff out loud to see how it sounded, how it flowed. Soon after, guess what? I started doing it on my own stuff, now even as I'm drafting.
• Gave me an absolutely ruthless eagle eye for: passive voice, repetitive sentence structure and word choice, purple prose, unclear phrasing, run-on sentences, etc. Not because Gina uses very much of that at ALL, but because it was partly my job to eradicate it, as she so kindly did so many dozens of times for me. Ahem. I mean, hundreds. (Oh, God, sorry Gina.) 
• Showed me that criticism does not equal doom, and in fact, if you have a good CP, it is a gateway to being held up and cheered on. For example: That time Gina made me rewrite and then re-rewrite that scene? Check out the email she sent me when I finally nailed it:

(Yeah, I framed that sucker in scrapbook paper and hung it above my desk)

Last, but most importantly, critiquing made me a cheerleader for another soul who's trying so, so hard to make it in a really tough industry. When you've been through so many ups and downs connected to something so close to your heart, and you know your crit partner truly loves your book (even if she doesn't love Davis) and believes it it almost as much as you do, there's a strange sort of friendship that forms. You know she'll read your query letter twenty times, or cheer you on in contests that she's entered too, or answer the same neurotic email, with slightly different wording, over and over again. It's a friendship that knows that the best gift ever is a book by a real live person who struggled as much as you are now, and a handwritten note of encouragement for your inspiration wall.

(Yes, Gina did write on the inside of the card, but I'm going to hold off on showing you that till we're both published. You're going to die. And then I'll auction it off for charity, because I'm awesome like that.)
(Hey, a girl can dream, right?)

And that? Is worth every. single. hour.

Photo Credit: Mike Stimpson 2010 via Creative Commons License. Thanks, Mike!