Hello all!!
I'm back from vacation, refreshed, and ready to give away these books. So, let's just get to it, shall we?
The winner of PRADA AND PREJUDICE is Kelly!!!
The winner of PARIS PAN TAKES THE DARE is Meg!!!
The winner of THE GREAT CALL OF CHINA is ellie!!!
Congratulations, winners!! Please drop me an email, tabitha at tabithaolson dot com, with your postal address and I'll get those books right out to you.
Don't forget to tune in this saturday to see what's being given away for September. Here's a hint: there will be five, count 'em, FIVE books! From two absolutely amazing authors. And, as usual, there will be interviews with those authors sometime next month.
Thursday, September 03, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Gone fishing...
...well, not really :)But we are going on vacation, which my wonderful husband planned, and then surprised me with it. And yes, I know how lucky I am. :)
We're leaving today and won't be back for a week. So, it's going to be a big quiet around here - and I just realized that this month's book giveaway is supposed to end while I'm gone. Since I won't be here to choose a winner, I'm going to extend the deadline to midnight, Sept 2nd. I'll announce the winner on Sept3rd. Then, the following week, I'll be back to my blogging schedule as usual.
In the mean time, happy reading/writing/etc to everyone!!
Monday, August 24, 2009
Discovering and the Revision Process
I’ve been revising a lot lately, so it’s been on my mind. Because of this, I think I’ve been noticing all the revising stuff that have been coming up in the virtual world lately. It’s funny how the brain takes notice when it sees something relevant, isn’t it? :)
Anyway, a lot of writers are asking about the best way to revise. They’re looking for specific ways of doing this, like cutting X number of words from the first draft, skipping over the first few chapters to where the story supposedly starts, or how to spot spelling and grammatical errors. And, really, it’s great that writers are looking for information. It shows a desire for growth. I just think they’re looking in the wrong place...
First of all, not everyone needs to automatically chop off the first three chapters. Some writers are very good at identifying the story’s true beginning. So if they cut out the first three chapters, they’d be cutting out essential pieces of the story. On that same note, some writers are sparse with words in their first drafts, focusing only on the bare bones of the story. Therefore, setting a goal of cutting words in the next draft is going to hurt rather than help. Instead, that writer needs to add flesh to the bones. Because of this, you need to identify what kind of writer you are before you start taking everyone’s advice.
Next, let’s look at what revision is, as well as what it’s not. Revision is looking at the content of your story to see if it’s telling itself in the best way possible. Once you’ve got that down, *then* you look at your choice of words, sentence structure, and spelling and grammatical stuff. In other words, once you’re finished revising, you polish your manuscript. It doesn’t make sense to polish before, or even during, revision.
So, how do you do this? Well, it’s not easy. And to make things even harder, there’s no formula, or exact way of doing it.
Just like your writing process, your revision process is unique to you – it depends greatly on what kind of writer you are. Do you just sit down and let your words take you on a ride? Do you plan meticulously, knowing every detail before you start writing your story? Somewhere in between?
I’m an in-between kind of writer, probably smack in the middle between ultimate exploration and ultimate planning. I need to know where I’m going, but I don’t want to know the details of how I’m going to get there – except for the beginning. Everything flows downhill, so I have to make sure I’m flowing from the right place, and that I have everything I need. I don’t like to be on a journey, constantly checking my pockets for stuff, and then getting mad when I don’t have it. So, I revise the first chapter heavily before I even move on to the second chapter. After that, I don’t revise much (only big stuff) until I’ve finished the entire draft. I guess you could say I’m sort of a revise-as-I-go kind of writer. With some exceptions.
But what if you’re not that kind of writer? That just means you have a different set of parameters when it comes to revision. Those parameters will be determined by how you wrote your first draft, so it’s impossible to create a comprehensive process that will work for everyone. Fortunately, there are parameters that everyone needs to incorporate in some way, shape, or form. Most are in the revision checklist I wrote last year, but here are two more.
Time.
All writers need distance from their work. Without it, we can’t obtain the necessary objectivity to see our work for what it is. Is it truly the masterpiece we thought when we wrote the first draft? Probably not. But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth fixing. Putting time and distance between you and your manuscript will let you see the areas that need work, as well as the areas that don’t need much work.
Big stuff before the small stuff.
Once you’ve finished a draft, take a good look at the overall story. Does it flow well? Is everything absolutely necessary? Is there enough tension? Does the story have the appropriate shape? Looking at these big pieces before you agonize over word choice will save you down the road. What if you spend weeks perfecting a scene, only to have to cut it in the end? After you’re happy with how the story fits together, then you can work on the smaller pieces.
There are other things you need, of course, and it depends greatly on what kind of writer you are. That said, no matter what kind of writer you are, your revising process is probably going to vary widely depending on your current project. I’ve written and revised four books so far – though it feels more like six, since I’ve rewritten and revised one of those books three times, basically starting from scratch each time. And, with each book, the writing and revision processes have been different. I imagine the same thing will happen with my next book, and the next, and the next, and so on. And, to me, that’s part of what keeps writing so interesting. :)
Anyway, a lot of writers are asking about the best way to revise. They’re looking for specific ways of doing this, like cutting X number of words from the first draft, skipping over the first few chapters to where the story supposedly starts, or how to spot spelling and grammatical errors. And, really, it’s great that writers are looking for information. It shows a desire for growth. I just think they’re looking in the wrong place...
First of all, not everyone needs to automatically chop off the first three chapters. Some writers are very good at identifying the story’s true beginning. So if they cut out the first three chapters, they’d be cutting out essential pieces of the story. On that same note, some writers are sparse with words in their first drafts, focusing only on the bare bones of the story. Therefore, setting a goal of cutting words in the next draft is going to hurt rather than help. Instead, that writer needs to add flesh to the bones. Because of this, you need to identify what kind of writer you are before you start taking everyone’s advice.
Next, let’s look at what revision is, as well as what it’s not. Revision is looking at the content of your story to see if it’s telling itself in the best way possible. Once you’ve got that down, *then* you look at your choice of words, sentence structure, and spelling and grammatical stuff. In other words, once you’re finished revising, you polish your manuscript. It doesn’t make sense to polish before, or even during, revision.
So, how do you do this? Well, it’s not easy. And to make things even harder, there’s no formula, or exact way of doing it.
Just like your writing process, your revision process is unique to you – it depends greatly on what kind of writer you are. Do you just sit down and let your words take you on a ride? Do you plan meticulously, knowing every detail before you start writing your story? Somewhere in between?
I’m an in-between kind of writer, probably smack in the middle between ultimate exploration and ultimate planning. I need to know where I’m going, but I don’t want to know the details of how I’m going to get there – except for the beginning. Everything flows downhill, so I have to make sure I’m flowing from the right place, and that I have everything I need. I don’t like to be on a journey, constantly checking my pockets for stuff, and then getting mad when I don’t have it. So, I revise the first chapter heavily before I even move on to the second chapter. After that, I don’t revise much (only big stuff) until I’ve finished the entire draft. I guess you could say I’m sort of a revise-as-I-go kind of writer. With some exceptions.
But what if you’re not that kind of writer? That just means you have a different set of parameters when it comes to revision. Those parameters will be determined by how you wrote your first draft, so it’s impossible to create a comprehensive process that will work for everyone. Fortunately, there are parameters that everyone needs to incorporate in some way, shape, or form. Most are in the revision checklist I wrote last year, but here are two more.
Time.
All writers need distance from their work. Without it, we can’t obtain the necessary objectivity to see our work for what it is. Is it truly the masterpiece we thought when we wrote the first draft? Probably not. But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth fixing. Putting time and distance between you and your manuscript will let you see the areas that need work, as well as the areas that don’t need much work.
Big stuff before the small stuff.
Once you’ve finished a draft, take a good look at the overall story. Does it flow well? Is everything absolutely necessary? Is there enough tension? Does the story have the appropriate shape? Looking at these big pieces before you agonize over word choice will save you down the road. What if you spend weeks perfecting a scene, only to have to cut it in the end? After you’re happy with how the story fits together, then you can work on the smaller pieces.
There are other things you need, of course, and it depends greatly on what kind of writer you are. That said, no matter what kind of writer you are, your revising process is probably going to vary widely depending on your current project. I’ve written and revised four books so far – though it feels more like six, since I’ve rewritten and revised one of those books three times, basically starting from scratch each time. And, with each book, the writing and revision processes have been different. I imagine the same thing will happen with my next book, and the next, and the next, and so on. And, to me, that’s part of what keeps writing so interesting. :)
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Shadowed Summer by Saundra Mitchell
Plot Summary: Iris is ready for another hot, routine summer in her small Louisiana town, hanging around the Red Stripe grocery with her best friend, Collette, and traipsing through the cemetery telling each other spooky stories and pretending to cast spells. Except this summer, Iris doesn’t have to make up a story. This summer, one falls right in her lap. Years ago, before Iris was born, a local boy named Elijah Landry disappeared. All that remained of him were whispers and hushed gossip in the church pews. Until this summer. A ghost begins to haunt Iris, and she’s certain it’s the ghost of Elijah. What really happened to him? And why, of all people, has he chosen Iris to come back to?This was another book that I picked up because I’d heard about it from multiple sources. I’m not really a ghost story fan, but I wanted to know why other people were talking about it. So I picked up a copy at my library.
This is a great story. The main character, Iris, is fourteen, and is on the cusp of growing up. She’s still playing at fairies and seeking out ghosts with her friend, Collette, and has no interest in boys. Iris’s journey toward growing up is gradual, believable, and incredibly strong. The author captures her teenage difficulties without over-the-top angst, put the two friends through growth strains without anyone getting too catty, and emerged with an Iris who’s ready to move to the next level in life. The confusion of growing up is captured really well.
The author happened to convey this through a ghost story, which I’ve already said is not what I gravitate toward. But I really liked this one. It had enough suspense without too much crazy ‘haunting’ stuff flying everywhere. Even the climax felt realistic, like it’s really possible for someone to be haunted in this way.
Also, the setting is amazing. It's palpable, and actually feels like a character in the story. The characters respond to it as well, with believable Southern speech and nuances. It’s clear this author has an incredible grasp of reality, and conveys it well to the reader. I’m definitely going to read more of her work.
My only complaint was I thought a couple things were missing from the ending, such as...
As with all my book discussions, there are SPOILERS below.
I never got a clear picture as to why Elijah couldn’t rest. I see why he chose Iris, because of the connection to her father, and because of what was hidden in her room. But why wasn’t he able to rest? Given how he died, that confused me a bit. I know it’s hinted that he rose because of the ‘spell’ that Collette and Iris did in the graveyard, but it still felt like something was missing. Maybe that was just me, though.
Also, there needed to be just a little more about Iris’s arrest. It’s not that we need to know exactly how it’s resolved, but we do need to know more of her reaction to it. Especially her thoughts about how she’ll handle the possible outcomes.
Still, this was a great book with fantastic characters. Definitely recommended.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Interview with Cynthea Liu!
Today, we have an interview with Cynthea Liu, the highly energetic author of PARIS PAN TAKES THE DARE, THE GREAT CALL OF CHINA, and WRITING FOR CHILDREN AND TEENS: A CRASH COURSE. Her novels, PARIS PAN and CHINA, both debuted this year. Definitely a unique situation. And Cynthea is going to tell us all about it!What was the inspiration behind each book?
PARIS PAN TAKES THE DARE started from a blank page without an outline or character sketch. Nothing. I had no any idea of what I was going to write.
Then a scene appeared in my head--a girl on her first day at a new school. From there, I found myself writing a lot about my own experiences as a child. My family. The dynamics of attending a small school in the middle of nowhere. And all those things a girl goes through - from first crushes to family crises.
THE GREAT CALL OF CHINA was written for an established series. So in many ways, I already knew what the plot was going to be - a romance, an adventure in a foreign land, a girl dealing with a personal struggle. The idea to write about an adopted teen was hinted at in a series concept letter from my publisher. I took it from there: 16-year-old Cece journeys to China in search of answers to her past. The story's theme was inspired by my own feelings about my heritage and Asian-American identity. The characters? Variations of teens I have met along the way.
WRITING FOR CHIDLREN AND TEENS: A CRASH COURSE was inspired by my intense desire to help other people, and help them avoid reinventing the wheel. After being online for some time, I realized how much misinformation there was out there. How confusing it was for a new writer to sort out all of the info that is out there. So I began freely dispensing the lessons I learned on my website (www.writingforchildrenandteens.com) and now, it's a physical book, too, for those people who can't stand sitting in front of the computer.
Can you tell us how PARIS PAN made it onto the shelves?
The journey to getting my first book published was a tough one! While some writers have the happy joy of whipping off a manuscript and getting it sold in mere weeks, my experience was quite the opposite. For those of you who want to know all the scary, juicy details, you can check out my friend-locked posts on cynthea.livejournal.com. You must be a friend to read them though. I don't just spill my guts to anyone, you know.
But here's the short of it:
PARIS PAN went on three submission rounds with my agent, was rejected 13 times by various editors, was revised FIVE times during the submission process. Rejected twice by the same house that ultimately acquired the book. After all those rejections, I was seriously thinking about getting a different career. But not long after the 5th revision, it went to auction, and I received a two-book-deal. Then THE GREAT CALL OF CHINA sold a couple of weeks after that.
After both books were bought, there was still a lot of work to be done. THE GREAT CALL wasn't finished (it was sold based on three chapters and an outline). Paris Pan still needed more revision. Four rounds, to be exact. And as the book was revised, it grew to 65K words. During the last round, I was asked to cut the manuscript by 20K words with a due date in 10 days. Now I know you all must be thinking, is the editor crazy?! No, I actually like my editor quite a bit and she understood the gravity of what she was asking as well. I saw the need for the cut, too---during the revision rounds, I kept thinking - how are we going to make this shorter? In the end, we worked it out together. And the manuscript came down by 10K. At the same time, I had to cut THE GREAT CALL by 10K. We got it down by 6K.
This isn't the first time I have stories like this from other authors. Large requests. Tight deadlines. So be mentally prepared. Try to keep a positive attitude (though some whining may be justified!)
What's it like to have two books released in the same year? Has it kept you insanely busy with promotion?
Yes, it's total insanity. Before THE GREAT CALL launch was barely over, the PARIS PAN one was about to begin. I don't think most people realize this, but what I do with my books is on the fly and really driven from, "Well, I need to do something! What would I like to do that would be fun?" and then what that turns out to be gets blown to epic proportions. A lot of writers believe what I do is planned way in advance, orchestrated down to the millisecond. But really? I can barely put together a grocery list, much less a promotion plan. Everything I do comes from my heart, not my head. Which is why I can be so passionate (and disorganized) about it!
I think a lot of people call me a marketing genius. Whatever they call it, I say, over and over again, what I do is not about selling books. It's about celebrating my books. Getting them in the hands of the kids they were meant for. Now that's something everyone can be excited about!
How did you get in to writing for kids?
I was working a corporate job in management consulting for about six years. I commuted for long hours. I was getting really snippy at work. To the point I even asked to be laid off when everyone was making cutbacks. They wouldn't lay me off so I quit, knowing that i would never get out of it if I didn't proactively make a change.
I needed to do something different. I had always enjoyed animated films like Toy Story and The Little Mermaid, etc. so I recognized I had a child-like aspect to my personality. I even talked about writing an animal story once when I was in college. After I quit my corporate job, I explored the idea even further and found SCBWI. I picked up a few books on writing, then got to work. I completed my first novel within a month (oh, the joy of not realizing how bad you're writing is!) and read some of it during the SCBWI-LA conference to a critique group (where I knew no one). Based on that experience, I realized that I wasn't as bad as I thought I was. Nor was I the best. And fortunately, for me, I got to know Tammi Sauer, a more senior writer than my sorry newbieness, nd she realized I'm a great critiquer. And I realized that she is great writer. We could learn a thing or two from each other. We became critique partners, and the rest is history!
How often do you write, and how much do you write in one sitting?
When I'm writing, I usually write in 4 hour chunks. After about four hours of really intense writing, everything that comes out after that is usually drivel. Though when I was revising my books for my publisher, I wrote non-stop. Quite frankly, I don't know how I did it - creatively - like how my brain didn't just quit and put up a CLOSED sign. I think adrenaline must have kicked in and taken over for me.
What are you working on now?
Right now I am working on finalizing school visits for this upcoming school year, wrapping up details from my PARIS PAN launch which raised $15,000 for a Title I school in my home state (whoot!). As for books, my next work is a more serious teen novel that I am really excited about!
How much do you read, and what are you reading now?
It's so embarrassing. I haven't even finished reading the final version of my own book yet. There's just no time.
Don't you know what's in your own book?
I do, but not entirely. We made a lot of changes at the end and now I can't remember what we went with. So the book I am reading now is PARIS PAN TAKES THE DARE. How do you like that?
PARIS PAN TAKES THE DARE started from a blank page without an outline or character sketch. Nothing. I had no any idea of what I was going to write.
Then a scene appeared in my head--a girl on her first day at a new school. From there, I found myself writing a lot about my own experiences as a child. My family. The dynamics of attending a small school in the middle of nowhere. And all those things a girl goes through - from first crushes to family crises.
THE GREAT CALL OF CHINA was written for an established series. So in many ways, I already knew what the plot was going to be - a romance, an adventure in a foreign land, a girl dealing with a personal struggle. The idea to write about an adopted teen was hinted at in a series concept letter from my publisher. I took it from there: 16-year-old Cece journeys to China in search of answers to her past. The story's theme was inspired by my own feelings about my heritage and Asian-American identity. The characters? Variations of teens I have met along the way.
WRITING FOR CHIDLREN AND TEENS: A CRASH COURSE was inspired by my intense desire to help other people, and help them avoid reinventing the wheel. After being online for some time, I realized how much misinformation there was out there. How confusing it was for a new writer to sort out all of the info that is out there. So I began freely dispensing the lessons I learned on my website (www.writingforchildrenandteens.com) and now, it's a physical book, too, for those people who can't stand sitting in front of the computer.
Can you tell us how PARIS PAN made it onto the shelves?
The journey to getting my first book published was a tough one! While some writers have the happy joy of whipping off a manuscript and getting it sold in mere weeks, my experience was quite the opposite. For those of you who want to know all the scary, juicy details, you can check out my friend-locked posts on cynthea.livejournal.com. You must be a friend to read them though. I don't just spill my guts to anyone, you know.
But here's the short of it:
PARIS PAN went on three submission rounds with my agent, was rejected 13 times by various editors, was revised FIVE times during the submission process. Rejected twice by the same house that ultimately acquired the book. After all those rejections, I was seriously thinking about getting a different career. But not long after the 5th revision, it went to auction, and I received a two-book-deal. Then THE GREAT CALL OF CHINA sold a couple of weeks after that.
After both books were bought, there was still a lot of work to be done. THE GREAT CALL wasn't finished (it was sold based on three chapters and an outline). Paris Pan still needed more revision. Four rounds, to be exact. And as the book was revised, it grew to 65K words. During the last round, I was asked to cut the manuscript by 20K words with a due date in 10 days. Now I know you all must be thinking, is the editor crazy?! No, I actually like my editor quite a bit and she understood the gravity of what she was asking as well. I saw the need for the cut, too---during the revision rounds, I kept thinking - how are we going to make this shorter? In the end, we worked it out together. And the manuscript came down by 10K. At the same time, I had to cut THE GREAT CALL by 10K. We got it down by 6K.
This isn't the first time I have stories like this from other authors. Large requests. Tight deadlines. So be mentally prepared. Try to keep a positive attitude (though some whining may be justified!)
What's it like to have two books released in the same year? Has it kept you insanely busy with promotion?
Yes, it's total insanity. Before THE GREAT CALL launch was barely over, the PARIS PAN one was about to begin. I don't think most people realize this, but what I do with my books is on the fly and really driven from, "Well, I need to do something! What would I like to do that would be fun?" and then what that turns out to be gets blown to epic proportions. A lot of writers believe what I do is planned way in advance, orchestrated down to the millisecond. But really? I can barely put together a grocery list, much less a promotion plan. Everything I do comes from my heart, not my head. Which is why I can be so passionate (and disorganized) about it!
I think a lot of people call me a marketing genius. Whatever they call it, I say, over and over again, what I do is not about selling books. It's about celebrating my books. Getting them in the hands of the kids they were meant for. Now that's something everyone can be excited about!
How did you get in to writing for kids?
I was working a corporate job in management consulting for about six years. I commuted for long hours. I was getting really snippy at work. To the point I even asked to be laid off when everyone was making cutbacks. They wouldn't lay me off so I quit, knowing that i would never get out of it if I didn't proactively make a change.
I needed to do something different. I had always enjoyed animated films like Toy Story and The Little Mermaid, etc. so I recognized I had a child-like aspect to my personality. I even talked about writing an animal story once when I was in college. After I quit my corporate job, I explored the idea even further and found SCBWI. I picked up a few books on writing, then got to work. I completed my first novel within a month (oh, the joy of not realizing how bad you're writing is!) and read some of it during the SCBWI-LA conference to a critique group (where I knew no one). Based on that experience, I realized that I wasn't as bad as I thought I was. Nor was I the best. And fortunately, for me, I got to know Tammi Sauer, a more senior writer than my sorry newbieness, nd she realized I'm a great critiquer. And I realized that she is great writer. We could learn a thing or two from each other. We became critique partners, and the rest is history!
How often do you write, and how much do you write in one sitting?
When I'm writing, I usually write in 4 hour chunks. After about four hours of really intense writing, everything that comes out after that is usually drivel. Though when I was revising my books for my publisher, I wrote non-stop. Quite frankly, I don't know how I did it - creatively - like how my brain didn't just quit and put up a CLOSED sign. I think adrenaline must have kicked in and taken over for me.
What are you working on now?
Right now I am working on finalizing school visits for this upcoming school year, wrapping up details from my PARIS PAN launch which raised $15,000 for a Title I school in my home state (whoot!). As for books, my next work is a more serious teen novel that I am really excited about!
How much do you read, and what are you reading now?
It's so embarrassing. I haven't even finished reading the final version of my own book yet. There's just no time.
Don't you know what's in your own book?
I do, but not entirely. We made a lot of changes at the end and now I can't remember what we went with. So the book I am reading now is PARIS PAN TAKES THE DARE. How do you like that?
Thanks so much for sharing all this with us!
Thanks for having me, Tabitha!
Thanks for having me, Tabitha!
To see more of what Cynthea is up to, visit her website at CyntheaLiu.com. She would also love to hear from you at her blog, Cynthea.livejournal.com. Or, see what she's doing on WritingForChildrenAndTeens.com. No matter where you go, it'll be interesting. She's always doing something fun. :)
For a chance to win PARIS PAN or GREAT CALL OF CHINA, go here and follow the instructions to enter. The contest ends a week from saturday, so good luck!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Chicago Air and Water Show
Like last year, the planes and jets in the Chicago Air and Water Show flew over our house! Last year, my husband got some great photos with a normal-sized camera and lens. This year, he had a huge telephoto, which got these amazing, up-close-and-personal shots.
I really like this one. You can see the pilot inside the cockpit, and it looks like it's just releasing that smoke, or steam, or whatever, out the back. Though I think it had been going for quite some time.
This was taken over the trees that are taller than our roof. They did some really cool loops, all while staying in formation.
I really like this one. You can see the pilot inside the cockpit, and it looks like it's just releasing that smoke, or steam, or whatever, out the back. Though I think it had been going for quite some time.
This one is my husband's favorite, and I can totally see why. We enlarged this picture on our computer screen at home, and you can see the pilot looking at us! The kids were on the roof waving (and also covering their ears, even though we put cotton in them), so he probably got a kick out of that.
I'm looking forward to next year!
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