Writing

“When Things Aren’t Perfect”

A long time ago, in this galaxy and not so far away, I was in an English class. My teacher returned my paper and there was a blue ninety-nine scribbled on the top corner. I looked over my work to see where I lost that one point, and found no marks, no grammatical mistakes, no misspelled words. So, of course, I asked about it.

My teacher raised her brows and told me, “Writing can’t be perfect.”

Well. Isn’t that the entire problem right there? If writing is never perfect, when is it good enough?

After working on my debut novel Villain Keeper, I found that it was good enough for the publisher after three content edits, one copy edit, and at least one proof pages pass. And these by no means were the first revisions I’d done.

When my agent first sold the book series to HarperCollins, I’d already revised book one myself over and over again. Also, my critique partners (from here on known as my mom and my sister) had made suggestions and my agent had given me feedback, all of which I’d applied.

What surprised me the most, however, was how much better the book became after listening to each person’s (my mom’s, my sister’s, my agent’s, my editor’s) critiques, reading their comments, and thinking – with as open a mind as possible – about those editorial suggestions.

Somewhere in the midst of all these revisions, my manuscript got in pretty good shape. I was proud of it at least. It still benefited from additional revisions.

This has changed the way I view criticism. Instead of thinking of it as censure, I think of it as analysis. It’s not meant to condemn my work, it’s meant to benefit it.

There is this phrase I see on writing sites sometimes:

Give yourself permission to write badly.

Or, as I prefer it, Give yourself permission to write not good – at least at first.

It helps me when I get stuck. I remind myself it’s alright for things not to be perfect. I’ve got to start somewhere. Write something down. Practice. Revise. Get feedback. Then write some more. I try not to put the pressure of instant perfection on myself. It’s counterproductive. The idea is to first get something written.

Nora Roberts once said, “I can fix a bad page, I can’t fix a blank one.” She’s written over two hundred books in thirty years. That’s an astounding six to seven novels per year.  She’s a NY Times bestselling author. She still has to give herself permission to write bad pages and fix them.

When it comes to fixing pages, I’ve probably applied about ninety percent of feedback I’ve received on my writing. But not all criticisms are equal.

There is another quote, this one attributed to Neil Gaiman, which inspires me when it comes to sorting good criticism from not-so-good criticism. He said, “Remember: when people tell you something’s wrong or doesn’t work for them, they are almost always right. When they tell you exactly what they think is wrong and how to fix it, they are almost always wrong.”

With my mom and sister, my agent, and my editor, the criticism I’ve gotten has been overwhelmingly wonderful. Writing is subjective, though. Occasionally, I don’t agree with them. When that happens, I make myself consider their opinion as carefully as possible. Sometimes, I decide they’re right. Their suggestion is better than what I have. Other times, I decide they’re not, and that’s okay.

When I see the results of applying those analyses and suggestions, I’m wowed. And appreciative. It’s probably important to note, giving good feedback is hard work, too.

I’m also a teacher. I’ve taught some combination of biology, chemistry, and math for the last ten years. Many of my students are like I was. They don’t want a mark of ninety-nine. They want a perfect hundred. They often don’t want to revise, either. And I understand. It’s almost like they think if it needs improvement, it’s a failure. Or, if they think it’s good already, it can’t be improved.

But I think it’s a better idea to think of writing not in terms of ‘good’ and ‘bad’, but it terms of a ‘work-in-progress’.  The goal isn’t to hit perfection. It’s to hone skills. Improve. And criticism and revision are essential. They are part of the process. Once I’ve been over the same piece of work many times, there comes a point where I decide I’m happy with it, and move on to the next thing.

I just finished editing the second book Quest Maker in my series. I went through several rounds of feedback and revisions on it as well. I hope, and believe, my skills keep improving. I’m happy with book two, too.

Besides, there is something wonderful about always having room for improvement, always having something to strive for. Who knows? Maybe that was what my English teacher was trying to tell me way back when with that blue ninety-nine.

Villain Keeper Summary: All his life, Prince Caden has dreamed of slaying a dragon. But before he has the chance, he is ripped from his home in the Great Winterlands of Razzon and finds himself in Asheville, North Carolina—a land with no magic and no dragons.

Or so he thinks. The longer Caden spends in Asheville, the more he comes to realize that there is unexpected and dangerous magic in this strange land. There just may be dragons here, too. But what if Caden’s destiny isn’t to slay a dragon, after all?

Quest Maker (Book 2)
Expected Publication February 2nd, 2016 by HarperCollins

About the Author: Laurie McKay is an author and biology instructor who lives in Durham, NC. When she’s not working, she spends time with her family and her two elderly dogs. Her debut MG fantasy novel, VILLAIN KEEPER (The Last Dragon Charmer #1), is available now, and her second book QUEST MAKER (The Last Dragon Charmer #2) will be available Feb. 2, 2016. To learn more about her or to see pictures of her dogs (and her family) follow her at lauriemckay.net or on Twitter or Facebook. You can find her book at Goodreads, Indiebound, Amazon, BN, and wherever books are sold.

Thank you so much to Laurie for her reflections on revision and critique! Such a great lesson for students (and adult writers!)

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“The Joy of Sharing Literature in A Classroom”

by Miriam Spitzer Franklin

With the push for better standardized test scores, reading workshops have increasingly turned toward focusing on building stamina during independent reading so that students will be able to read multiple passages and answer questions during a test that lasts hours. Helping students build stamina so that they can read longer independently is a worthy goal. But for some students, like my third grade daughter, being expected to read on her own for 45 minutes means she’ll lose her focus after 15 minutes and will spend the rest of the time quietly floundering on her own.

A better strategy is to have shorter independent reading sessions and spend more of the workshop teaching literature in small groups or to the whole class. During the class reading of a high-quality literary work, those students who are unable to sustain focus will be redirected if the material is engaging. Teachers can set expectations for reading, help students make predictions, and check often for understanding. In a group with a wide range of learners, some of the students can read independently while the others have a more structured approach with a combination of read-alouds, short sections of silent reading, and teacher modeling of expressive oral reading.

Literature studies should focus on higher level thinking skills. Teachers should ask questions that lead to divergent answers and deeper discussions. Teachers should choose books that lead students to think about different themes, to help them make connections with the characters, and to encourage questions that lead to better understandings of themselves and how they fit into the world.

In my middle grade novel, Extraordinary, ten-year-old Pansy decides she’s going to become an extraordinary person after her best friend suffers a brain injury. She is sure that the upcoming surgery for seizures will fix her brain, and when that happens, Pansy is going to make up for all the times she’s let her friend down in the past. My novel explores themes of hope, perseverance, self-esteem, friendship, and acceptance. Students can work in partners and small groups to identify character traits, character growth, and interpretations of the themes. Because students are all reading the same book instead of reading independent choices, peer or teacher-led discussions will lead to deeper understanding and analysis of the novel.

If we want students to dig below the surface to find meaning in text, they need to be evaluated through creative projects, written responses, and class discussions, not through a multiple choice test. In this way, students will discover a different purpose for reading; instead of reading to get the right answer, they will read to discover the joy of literature and the way books can transport them to places and situations they have never experienced before.

About the author: Miriam Spitzer Franklin taught elementary and middle school for twenty years, in both public and private school. Currently she teaches homeschooled students, designs curriculum for an online site, and is a writer-in-residence with the Charlotte Arts & Science Council. Other jobs she has held include working as a frazzled and unorganized waitress at a number of restaurants, driving the Zamboni and working the skate counter at the ice skating rink, teaching ice skating lessons, and owning a toy and gift store with her husband, Scott. Miriam lives with her husband, two daughters, and two pampered cats in Charlotte, North Carolina.

www.miriamfranklin.com

About the book: Last spring, Pansy chickened out on going to spring break camp, even though she’d promised her best friend, Anna, she’d go. It was just like when they went to get their hair cut for Locks of Love; only one of them walked out with a new hairstyle, and it wasn’t Pansy. But Pansy never got the chance to make it up to Anna. While at camp, Anna contracted meningitis and a dangerously high fever, and she hasn’t been the same since. Now all Pansy wants is her best friend back—not the silent girl in the wheelchair who has to go to a special school and who can’t do all the things Pansy used to chicken out of doing. So when Pansy discovers that Anna is getting a surgery that might cure her, Pansy realizes this is her chance—she’ll become the friend she always should have been. She’ll become the best friend Anna’s ever had—even if it means taking risks, trying new things (like those scary roller skates), and running herself ragged in the process.

Pansy’s chasing extraordinary, hoping she reaches it in time for her friend’s triumphant return. But what lies at the end of Pansy’s journey might not be exactly what she had expected—or wanted.

Extraordinary is a heartfelt, occasionally funny, coming-of-age middle grade novel by debut author Miriam Spitzer Franklin. It’s sure to appeal to fans of Cynthia Lord’s Rules and will inspire young friends to cherish the times they spend together. Every day should be lived like it’s extraordinary.

From the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: This moving novel is narrated by Pansy, whose best friend Anna has contracted a disease that has impaired her brain. “Losing” a best friend this way can be a tough challenge. North Carolina author Franklin firmly grasps the climate and struggles among kids today. Her crystal-clear writing is filled with rich detail and believable characters. The sensitive story will resonate with young girls wrestling with friendship pains. (Sky Pony Press, ages 8-12)

Thank you to Miriam for her wonderful guest post!

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“How Pre-Writing Made Me a Better Writer”

When I started writing my first book, I was so excited. It was a shiny new story, and the possibilities were endless. The first few chapters were easy to write. After all, I had been thinking about them for several weeks while I created character profiles and sketched out the major plot points. But soon I began to lose steam. Getting words down was difficult, and I started to dread the blank page I had to face each day.

It took me over a year to write the first draft of that book. Sure, on some days it was easy to work, but more often than not I struggled to reach my daily word count goal. The really frustrating part was that I couldn’t figure out why. I knew where I wanted the story to go. So why was it so hard to write certain scenes?

I finally had a breakthrough after reading a book that suggested pre-writing each scene or chapter. Pre-writing sounds like more work, but I found it to be incredibly useful. Before I started writing for the day, I took out a notecard, labeled the chapter number, and I jotted down what was going to happen. I didn’t include many details or use dialogue, I just wrote what I wanted to happen, and I listed what characters would be in the scene. Doing this forced me to clarify my thoughts and really think about what was necessary to move the story forward. After that, writing became so much easier. I could finish each chapter more quickly instead of wasting time trying to figure out what to type. The blank page wasn’t so scary anymore.

Looking back, I should have known that pre-writing would help me. When I was still in school and received writing assignments, I’d usually procrastinate because I didn’t know what to write about. But when I started using an outline as a guide to tell me what information I needed to include in each paragraph, it wasn’t so difficult anymore. I could usually finish a paper in an hour or two, whereas before that it would take me several days.

I know a lot of people don’t like the thought of pre-writing, especially kids. But I like to think of it this way. When you have to travel to someplace new, isn’t it easier to have a guide to show you the way?

About the author: Melissa Hurst lives in the southern US with her husband and three kids. She writes YA science fiction and fantasy, which means she considers watching Star Trek and Firefly as research. She dreams of traveling around the world and maybe finding Atlantis one day. You can usually find her with a book in one hand and a Dr. Pepper in the other. Or consuming lots of chocolate.

The Edge of Forever is her debut novel.

About the book: In 2013: Sixteen-year-old Alora is having blackouts. Each time she wakes up in a different place with no idea of how she got there. The one thing she is certain of? Someone is following her.

In 2146: Seventeen-year-old Bridger is one of a small number of people born with the ability to travel to the past. While on a routine school time trip, he sees the last person he expected—his dead father. The strangest part is that, according to the Department of Temporal Affairs, his father was never assigned to be in that time. Bridger’s even more stunned when he learns that his by-the-book father was there to break the most important rule of time travel—to prevent someone’s murder.

And that someone is named Alora.

Determined to discover why his father wanted to help a “ghost,” Bridger illegally shifts to 2013 and, along with Alora, races to solve the mystery surrounding her past and her connection to his father before the DTA finds him. If he can stop Alora’s death without altering the timeline, maybe he can save his father too.

Thank you to Melissa for her post that I cannot wait to share with students!

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Doing It Over…and Over…and Over Again

“How long does it take to write a book?”

That’s one of the top five questions* I get asked when visiting middle schools. I like that question because it can be answered any number of ways.

My answer is always different, but it always starts with, “It depends…”

I wrote the first draft of Invisible, for example, in five weeks. Even to an eighth grader, that sounds fast.

But wait, there’s more! My first revision of Invisible took eight weeks. My second revision, a month. My editor then had some suggestions, and I took another month to revise it a third time. The final revision went quickly—just two or three weeks.

Total time from first keystroke to final manuscript? Six months of active work, spread out over about a year. That’s by far the fastest I’ve ever written a novel—and 80% of that time was spent on revising.

Eden West, the story of a boy who grows up  on an isolated doomsday cult compound in Montana, took twelve years. During those years of on-and-off writing and revising the setting changed, the number and names of the characters changed, the voice of the main character changed, the ending changed, and the title changed. I made two extended visits to Montana, where the book is set. I read seemingly endless pages of Biblical apocrypha, Mormon texts, and other scripture. The first few chapters I wrote were revised so often and so drastically that they are unrecognizable. Several times I had to set the book aside for a few weeks or months and let my subconscious work on it. Often, I worked on other things and simply let Eden West have a little alone time without me.

Typing a new scene, researching, revising, and dreaming are all parts of writing. Many of my best ideas come while I’m revising.

There may be writers out there who can write a publishable first draft, but I don’t know any. If there are any, I hate them. But the vast majority of us would no more forgo revision than we would eat an uncooked potato, or wear a pair of jeans that hadn’t been stitched together, or live in a home with gaping holes in the roof.

So how long does it take to write a book?

It depends…

P. S. The other four most asked questions are: 1)Where do you get your ideas?; 2) What is your favorite book?; 3) Are you going to write a sequel to (name of book they just read)?; 4) Will (name of book they just read) be made into a movie?

Pete Hautman’s newest book is Eden West published April 14th, 2015 by Candlewick Press. 

About Eden West: Twelve square miles of paradise, surrounded by an eight-foot-high chain-link fence: this is Nodd, the land of the Grace. It is all seventeen-year-old Jacob knows. Beyond the fence lies the World, a wicked, terrible place, doomed to destruction. When the Archangel Zerachiel descends from Heaven, only the Grace will be spared the horrors of the Apocalypse. But something is rotten in paradise. A wolf invades Nodd, slaughtering the Grace’s sheep. A new boy arrives from outside, and his scorn and disdain threaten to tarnish Jacob’s contentment. Then, while patrolling the borders of Nodd, Jacob meets Lynna, a girl from the adjoining ranch, who tempts him to sample the forbidden Worldly pleasures that lie beyond the fence. Jacob’s faith, his devotion, and his grip on reality are tested as his feelings for Lynna blossom into something greater and the End Days grow ever closer. Eden West is the story of two worlds, two hearts, the power of faith, and the resilience of the human spirit.

About Pete Hautman: Pete Hautman is the author of many books for young adults and adults, including the National Book Award–winning Godless and the recent Klaatu Diskos trilogy. He splits his time between Wisconsin and Minnesota. You can learn more about him at petehautman.com.

Visit the other stops on the Eden West blog tour: 

GIVEAWAY!

Candlewick is kindly offering THREE copies of Eden West for giveaway!

Thank you to Pete Hautman for his guest post and Candlewick for having us be part of the Eden West blog tour!

**Thank you to Jamie at Candlewick Press for providing copies for review!**