Good evening, readers! Today's word of the week, forte is brought to you by Penelope Paige. Someone's forte is his or her strong point. In Italian, forte actually means "strong," so it makes sense (and you pronounce the word the same way in both languages). When the English borrowed the word from the French in the 1700s, it referred to the sharpest/stronger part of the sword's blade in fencing.
Next week I have a very fun post for you on writing horror stories with newly obtained information I received today and yesterday at the I-Con convention, a place where geeks all over the nation gather to discuss awesome things. I'm sorry to say that this week's post will be shorter and less awesome than usual, but I just got home from the 3-day I-Con convention and I'm tired. But next week's post will be awesome, pinky promise (that is, if my parents allowed me online on Easter). Anyway, on to the topic.
Networking! This is something that I also learned a lot about at I-Con. One of the YA authors, Sarah Beth Durst (writer of many fantasy novels, the newest one being "Ice"), spoke to me today about getting connections. There are are many exceptional authors that never get published, and if they do, never get recognized because they don't know the right people. Their work can be sitting at the bottom of the query pile because they don't have the priority. She said that although writing takes skill, getting published is mostly related to luck and knowing someone in the business. The Quill, for example, is a way to network and branch out and I predict it will be a great resource once it really sets off.
However, you can get lucky like Durst did. She went the traditional route to publication: sending out queries to publishers until one of them finally picked her story up. Now she has multiple books out on the market! Luck and networking is the key to publication. Go to different message boards, talk to people at conventions.
One final warning: If a publisher wants YOU to pay THEM, it's a scam. Durst told me that they're just trying to take money from you. The publisher makes money when your book sells, so they'll pay YOU to publish your novel.
Durst also mentioned that it's extremely difficult to live on just your writing, since you don't get that much per book and not many authors have merchandise or anything. Unless you're J.K. Rowling, don't quit your day job.
That's all for tonight, writers! I'm exhausted, but I hope you enjoyed today's post. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at penelopepaige@rocketmail.com. Time to go sharpen that pencil...
Question: Have you ever been published? Do you have any methods of networking?
A writing blog to keep aspiring writers inspired and motivated.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
“The first draft reveals the art, revision reveals the artist” - Michael Lee
Good morning, writers! Penelope here, writing to get you out of bed on this beautiful Sunday morning! Before we get started, this week's word is glower., which basically means "a stare of anger or annoyance." It looks like it would sound like "glow-er" but it really has the vowel sound of "cow." Back in the Middle Ages, it uses to mean "a look of astonishment or amazement" but in the late 1700s, it started using today's meaning concerning anger.
I know when you all saw the title of today's post, you groaned. The truth is, almost all of us hate revisions, but in reality, revisions is what honestly makes the novel. I've been doing revisions on my story lately and I've almost completely changed a character's personality and interactions with one of my major characters. It's not like it's a random change; my minor character has just been misunderstood and I finally see the true side of him after reading over my story. I'm even considering changing the ending after this discovery, as his personality is finally seen fully by the reader at the end. Revisions, although time constraining, really make your novel the best it can be. If we all sent our first drafts to be queried, none of us would ever get published.
So the next time you look at the word "revisions," don't stick your tongue out in disgust. Just nod, because you'll know that although, to me, one of the hardest parts of writing a novel, it's the most rewarding.
That's all for today, writers! Have a good day! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at penelopepaige@rocketmail.com. Time to go sharpen that pencil...
Question: How do you feel about revisions?
I know when you all saw the title of today's post, you groaned. The truth is, almost all of us hate revisions, but in reality, revisions is what honestly makes the novel. I've been doing revisions on my story lately and I've almost completely changed a character's personality and interactions with one of my major characters. It's not like it's a random change; my minor character has just been misunderstood and I finally see the true side of him after reading over my story. I'm even considering changing the ending after this discovery, as his personality is finally seen fully by the reader at the end. Revisions, although time constraining, really make your novel the best it can be. If we all sent our first drafts to be queried, none of us would ever get published.
So the next time you look at the word "revisions," don't stick your tongue out in disgust. Just nod, because you'll know that although, to me, one of the hardest parts of writing a novel, it's the most rewarding.
That's all for today, writers! Have a good day! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at penelopepaige@rocketmail.com. Time to go sharpen that pencil...
Question: How do you feel about revisions?
Sunday, March 14, 2010
I Give This Blog Five Stars!
Well, I would, but my opinion doesn't matter much. But anyway, I'm here to explain this fine afternoon about the art of critiquing others' writing. But first, let's start with the word of the week. This week's word is ominous, an adjective that foreshadows evil and often shows an omen. Back in the day, "ominous" didn't always mean "foreshadowing evil." Its original meaning was "presaging events to come" -- whether good or bad. Okay, onto the post!
A lot of authors who want to publish a novel, or even a small piece of poetry, often get their work critiqued first before sending it to someone in the business. For example, I have a beta working on my current novel right now. She tells me when a sentence sounds awkward or when one of my characters acts in an odd manner. She's awesome. That's what a good critic should do: tell you when something needs work.
If you want to critique someone, here are a few tips:
~Be honest, yet still polite: If something sucks, say so. If my character was turning into a Mary-Sue, I would want my beta to tell me. However, she's always kind with her tips, and sometimes she even makes me laugh. Don't make someone feel like a loser if they make a mistake; it's your job to help them correct the mistake, not mock them,
~Give critiques you wish you would receive: It's back to that "do unto others" theory. If you wish your last beta had told you about how 2-D your characters were, analyze the characters in the story you're critiquing. If you wished you had a thorough description of what the last person thought of your story, give the writer exactly what you thought of their work. Chances are, if you want it, they will want the same. Plus, no one wants harsh, rude criticism, but they want helpful criticism.
~Being a critic actually helps YOU too!: Believe it or not, giving someone else criticism means you know what to look out for in your own work. If you see someone has an underdeveloped plotline, you'll be more aware of your own plot.
But sometimes, getting criticism can be a little tough. Like when Katze, another member considered me taking a few pages out of the beginning to skip to the action, I had been really against it since I worked hard on perfecting the beginning. However, I've been thinking and thinking about it more and more and I think I want to follow her advice. One main thing you have to do when taking criticism is take emotion out of the picture. I didn't want to keep those pages because they were any better than the rest, I just wanted to keep them because I had worked so hard on them and was annoyed that my work was "going to waste." However, I realize that I could still recycle those pages and use them as flashbacks and other useful things. Plus, I learned a lot about my main characters in those pages. No writing is ever wasted.
But, one little thing that always bugs me: say thank you. The beta/critic is taking a lot of time out of his or her busy schedule to help you. They're doing you a favor, just say that you appreciate their time and energy put forth into making your story better. If they did a good job, maybe you'll even want to help them with their work in return.
Make sure to know what you're looking for before the beta starts. If you have something specific you want the beta to look at, like poor description or awkward dialogue, say so. Otherwise, the beta might just pay attention to the work as a whole. It helps you and the beta, so be specific when possible.
That's all for today, writers! Have a good day! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at penelopepaige@rocketmail.com. Time to go sharpen that pencil...
Question: Have you ever critiqued someone's work? What was it like for you?
A lot of authors who want to publish a novel, or even a small piece of poetry, often get their work critiqued first before sending it to someone in the business. For example, I have a beta working on my current novel right now. She tells me when a sentence sounds awkward or when one of my characters acts in an odd manner. She's awesome. That's what a good critic should do: tell you when something needs work.
If you want to critique someone, here are a few tips:
~Be honest, yet still polite: If something sucks, say so. If my character was turning into a Mary-Sue, I would want my beta to tell me. However, she's always kind with her tips, and sometimes she even makes me laugh. Don't make someone feel like a loser if they make a mistake; it's your job to help them correct the mistake, not mock them,
~Give critiques you wish you would receive: It's back to that "do unto others" theory. If you wish your last beta had told you about how 2-D your characters were, analyze the characters in the story you're critiquing. If you wished you had a thorough description of what the last person thought of your story, give the writer exactly what you thought of their work. Chances are, if you want it, they will want the same. Plus, no one wants harsh, rude criticism, but they want helpful criticism.
~Being a critic actually helps YOU too!: Believe it or not, giving someone else criticism means you know what to look out for in your own work. If you see someone has an underdeveloped plotline, you'll be more aware of your own plot.
But sometimes, getting criticism can be a little tough. Like when Katze, another member considered me taking a few pages out of the beginning to skip to the action, I had been really against it since I worked hard on perfecting the beginning. However, I've been thinking and thinking about it more and more and I think I want to follow her advice. One main thing you have to do when taking criticism is take emotion out of the picture. I didn't want to keep those pages because they were any better than the rest, I just wanted to keep them because I had worked so hard on them and was annoyed that my work was "going to waste." However, I realize that I could still recycle those pages and use them as flashbacks and other useful things. Plus, I learned a lot about my main characters in those pages. No writing is ever wasted.
But, one little thing that always bugs me: say thank you. The beta/critic is taking a lot of time out of his or her busy schedule to help you. They're doing you a favor, just say that you appreciate their time and energy put forth into making your story better. If they did a good job, maybe you'll even want to help them with their work in return.
Make sure to know what you're looking for before the beta starts. If you have something specific you want the beta to look at, like poor description or awkward dialogue, say so. Otherwise, the beta might just pay attention to the work as a whole. It helps you and the beta, so be specific when possible.
That's all for today, writers! Have a good day! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at penelopepaige@rocketmail.com. Time to go sharpen that pencil...
Question: Have you ever critiqued someone's work? What was it like for you?
Sunday, March 7, 2010
"Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing." - Benjamin Franklin
Good afternoon, readers! Before I start off on today's topic, I would like to mention that this word of the week is suborn, a verb meaning to induce, persuade, or influence someone secretly to do an unlawful thing. It's often used in sentences about law, like someone being persuaded to committ perjury (that person is being suborned to committ perjury). It comes from a Latin word, ""subornare," which translates to "to secretly furnish or equip." There, wasn't that fun?
So today's topic is chapter titles. You know, those things before a chapter that nobody reads? It's a shame really, but many readers either ignore them because they're boring or just don't notice them at all. However, I love chapter titles. I think that they're fun, insightful ways to see what the upcoming chapter is going to be about. I've seen them done many different ways. Some are long (ex. chapters in the point of view of Jacob Black in Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer), some are short ( like in the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling) Some have only numbers. Some novels don't have chapters at all, but mainly asteriks separating the main scenes (The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger). I've seen novels that only use the name of the character of the point of view it's in (ex. in Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, the chapters simply alternated by "1. Nick" and "2. Norah" and "3. Nick" etc.) However, creative chapter titles is a good way to keep your reader interested. After all, when you spot a captivating chapter title, it makes you want to keep reading. They can get a piblisher interested as well.
Every author does chapters differently, and many novels by a single author can have different styles of chapter titles. But the one main things that many of them (if not all) have in common is that they all relate to a main idea in the chapter. Some of them are broad, one word titles, and some are more specific, but they both relate to important aspects of the chapter.
Here are some hints that I've used or tried out in past chapters:
1. Reptition - Beginning each chapter with the same two words in a pattern can keep chapters entertaining. For example, you can have a novel with each chapter beginning with "Don't Forget to..." and then end with different words each time. It can keep things interesting.
2. Alitteration - Having alliteration in your chapters keeps your chapters flowing nicely, plus keeps them short and sweet. For example, one chapter can be "Daring Diasater" and another can be "Always Arrogant."
3. Clever and Humorous - Witty titles are a great way to catch a reader's attention, especially if it seems to be in the point of view of a witty character in the novel. For example, "How Not to Get Your Way" or "Don't Talk Back to Guys with Big Muscles." Keep it interesting.
4. Poems, Quotes or Song Lyrics - Having a brief quote or song lyric before a chapter is a great way of hinting what's going to happen in the chapter. You're welcome to use common or unrecognizable song titles as a chapter title (ex. Broken) but if you used a song title such as "Boulevarde of Broken Dreams," you might not be able to get away with that if the novel is published. You could also use a small portion of the quote as a title and include the full quote above.
5. Definition - Sometimes using definitions of words as a chapter titles can really work, depending on the story at hand. Or you could do something like, "Love: A 4-letter word that's impossible to define." Play around with it.
6. Language - I've seen novels where all the chapter titles are in a different language. Many of the words you can tell the meaning of in English, simply by how they look and sound, but it just keeps things a little spicy and special.
Remember: you don't have to be consistent! Sometimes changing things up can keep your reader (and you) entertained! Don't be afraid to mix things up!
The best advice I can give you is pay attention to what your story's about, the simple and the abstract things. For example, in Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, she could have titled each chapter with something that the main character wanted to say, but couldn't because she was too scared. The best chapter titles really relate to the story. You know your story better than anyone else; use that power to your advantage.
That's all for today, writers! Have a good night! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at penelopepaige@rocketmail.com. Time to go sharpen that pencil...
Question: Do you have a specific way to name your chapters? If so, what is it? If not, how do you name your chapters? Do you name them at all?
So today's topic is chapter titles. You know, those things before a chapter that nobody reads? It's a shame really, but many readers either ignore them because they're boring or just don't notice them at all. However, I love chapter titles. I think that they're fun, insightful ways to see what the upcoming chapter is going to be about. I've seen them done many different ways. Some are long (ex. chapters in the point of view of Jacob Black in Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer), some are short ( like in the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling) Some have only numbers. Some novels don't have chapters at all, but mainly asteriks separating the main scenes (The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger). I've seen novels that only use the name of the character of the point of view it's in (ex. in Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan, the chapters simply alternated by "1. Nick" and "2. Norah" and "3. Nick" etc.) However, creative chapter titles is a good way to keep your reader interested. After all, when you spot a captivating chapter title, it makes you want to keep reading. They can get a piblisher interested as well.
Every author does chapters differently, and many novels by a single author can have different styles of chapter titles. But the one main things that many of them (if not all) have in common is that they all relate to a main idea in the chapter. Some of them are broad, one word titles, and some are more specific, but they both relate to important aspects of the chapter.
Here are some hints that I've used or tried out in past chapters:
1. Reptition - Beginning each chapter with the same two words in a pattern can keep chapters entertaining. For example, you can have a novel with each chapter beginning with "Don't Forget to..." and then end with different words each time. It can keep things interesting.
2. Alitteration - Having alliteration in your chapters keeps your chapters flowing nicely, plus keeps them short and sweet. For example, one chapter can be "Daring Diasater" and another can be "Always Arrogant."
3. Clever and Humorous - Witty titles are a great way to catch a reader's attention, especially if it seems to be in the point of view of a witty character in the novel. For example, "How Not to Get Your Way" or "Don't Talk Back to Guys with Big Muscles." Keep it interesting.
4. Poems, Quotes or Song Lyrics - Having a brief quote or song lyric before a chapter is a great way of hinting what's going to happen in the chapter. You're welcome to use common or unrecognizable song titles as a chapter title (ex. Broken) but if you used a song title such as "Boulevarde of Broken Dreams," you might not be able to get away with that if the novel is published. You could also use a small portion of the quote as a title and include the full quote above.
5. Definition - Sometimes using definitions of words as a chapter titles can really work, depending on the story at hand. Or you could do something like, "Love: A 4-letter word that's impossible to define." Play around with it.
6. Language - I've seen novels where all the chapter titles are in a different language. Many of the words you can tell the meaning of in English, simply by how they look and sound, but it just keeps things a little spicy and special.
Remember: you don't have to be consistent! Sometimes changing things up can keep your reader (and you) entertained! Don't be afraid to mix things up!
The best advice I can give you is pay attention to what your story's about, the simple and the abstract things. For example, in Laurie Halse Anderson's Speak, she could have titled each chapter with something that the main character wanted to say, but couldn't because she was too scared. The best chapter titles really relate to the story. You know your story better than anyone else; use that power to your advantage.
That's all for today, writers! Have a good night! If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at penelopepaige@rocketmail.com. Time to go sharpen that pencil...
Question: Do you have a specific way to name your chapters? If so, what is it? If not, how do you name your chapters? Do you name them at all?
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