Reality Check: Investing Where It Matters by Julie

In recent weeks, I’ve been working through a career research unit with my sophomores. Some days I’ve felt FRUSTRATED with how little thought and effort some of the kids seem to put into the possibilities. I worry about them not getting a handle on their own power to choose attitudes and actions—their destinies—so I push.

One day last week, we took a look at a clip from APixar Story, an inspiring documentary about the evolution of the company. We had a discussion about the challenges individuals in the fledgling company faced and what contributed to their successes. 

Mid-chat, I had a doozy of an a-ha moment.

Sometimes the things right in front of me are hard to see.

It struck me that investment is key—not so much the money kind, but the time, effort, perseverance, and belief in what could be (even during the times things look dire) kinds. Success takes real investment. Without it, how can anything really change? It's the difference between the dream of being a doctor, tattoo artist, or writer and actually being one. Of course, I knew that on some level, but now I could feel it.

The a-ha moment had less pleasant second phase (the HA part).It was uncomfortable realizing that in the last couple of years, I've invested so much heart and time and energy into being a teacher--and it’s surely meaningful--BUT it’s not all that is important and meaningful to me. My writing hasn't seen the same tangible investment and that's stressful--an emotional debt.

One of my college classes. I can't show sophomores. ;)

 What If I don’t diversify my investments, don’t get “a handle on my own power to choose attitudes and action” –the exact stuff I’m worried about for my students? I don't want to find out.

So how can I make my investment in writing more a reflection of what it means to me, without defaulting on work or family?

Step one: I’m going public with my goals for investment and productivity.

If you’re struggling with productivity, too, maybe you’ll find Gregory Ciotti’s post on “The Psychology of Productivity: A Proven Way to Get More Done (in Less Time)” as interesting as I did. There’s even a two minute video breakdown of the ideas for the truly time crunched called “The Science of Productivity” over on YouTube at ASAPscience. You should head over and check both out.

The plan?

I need SYSTEMS. Ciotti explains how scientific research suggests it’s not willpower so much as systems I need to stay on track. I need to schedule stretches of time to work on my story and make that time sacred. The hours have a way of filling to the brim with family and school tasks if left open, so I need some strict boundaries there. My goal is to set twenty hours a week aside purely for writing. I’ve blocked out time on my phone calendar and have alarms set to remind me to drop the laundry and get to writing.

I need to CHUNK.  I felt relieved reading Ciotti’s description of how our brains tend to sabotage us when we stand at the base of a pretty immense task. A daily to-do list planned the evening before and achieving the mini-goals of those set writing times create that much needed sense of accomplishment.

I need ACCOUNTABILITY.  Besides  weekly goals, I need a slightly bigger, scarier deadline. So, Monkeys, I’ll put my draft in whatever state it’s in the Dropbox file June 30^th. Gifts for any who dare open it.

I need FOCUS.  Research suggests I need to not multi-task (no Internet, noise cancelling headphones, hand each child a cheese stick and a drink before settling into my chair?) and I should give it my all for 90 minutes at a time and then break for 15 or 20 minutes. We're talking full butt in chair and not half-butt.

I'd love to know what you think! Do you feel like your actual investment reflects how much you value writing or illustrating? What could you do or have you done to bring the two more in line? 

Monkey #1s: The One Thing You Wish You'd Known When You Were Just Starting Out

Amy:  I wish I’d worked harder at studying the craft when I first started (and not just spewed words onto a page.) You do learn by writing, but it’s a trial-and-error sort of learning.

Craig:  That YA should be in first person.

Ellen:  I wish rejection letters had not had such an impact on my early writing, and that I should persevere.

Hazel:  I wish I’d started earlier.

Julie:  Do it entirely for love of it, for the writing itself. That's the only thing (besides the friendships) that will keep you going.

Kristen:  There's no such thing as a day off when you're a writer.

Marilyn:  I wish I had known that writing would take lots of guts, determination, and manufactured confidence

Sarah:  (I heard it but I didn't believe it.) It's going to take a while. It's going to take time to be half as good as I'd like to be. It's going to take a while to become familiar with the industry. But more than that, it's okay if it takes that much time. Lots of good stuff happens along the way, if you have the courage and sense of adventure to stick it out.

Concept, Concept and more Concept...

Gracious good day my fellow Turbo Monkeys, 

Last time I wrote about how important it is to start with a great concept before you begin writing word one, 
but what is a great concept?

Because of my film background you might think I’m talking about “high concept”...but a high concept is not necessarily a blue print for a great story.

“What happens when a bored married couple's "Date Night" goes wrong?” Wacky fun!  

“Snakes on a Plane"  More wacky fun?  No...(although it might have been better as a comedy)

Both high concepts and yet considered flops.

So, high concept is not a guarantee of commercial success, but it does aid in the sell-ability of your story, and really this is why publishers and agents are in business.  

Buffy the Vampire Slayer  = “What if a cheerleader hunted vampires?”
Jaws                               =  “What if a shark stalked humans?”
Toy Story                      = “What if your kid’s toys had secret lives?”

Perfect examples of high concept stories with universal appeal, short concise pitches and a promise of potential.

A high concept is a great formula to streamline your premise, it helps, but it’s not always the indicator of success. For example...

Star Trek
Star Wars
When Harry Met Sally

Are all great concepts but not exactly “High Concept.”

A great concept, does not necessarily have to be a high concept but it should have what I call the UP UP elements.  

1. Universal appeal - Is your theme understood by many?
1. A primal theme of survival?
2. A romantic theme of finding love?
3. A nobel theme of saving a loved one?
2. Poses a question - “What if...” “Who is...”  “Why did...”
1. "What if your reality was just a computer game?" = Matrix
2. "Who is Forrest Gump?" = Forrest Gump
3. "Why did Schindler save the Jewish workers?" = Schindler's List
3. Unique - Original or a spin on something familiar.  
1. Human girl falls in love with glowing vampire = Twilight
2. Ex lovers chase tornados = Twister
3. Man is castaway on a boat with a tiger = Life of Pi
4. Promises Potential - Potential of laughter, drama, fear, romance or $$$

The promise of potential is a bit subjective but it should be as obvious as one eastbound train and one westbound train on the same track.  

A great concept is generally pitch driven.  Three sentences or less that paint a picture in the reader’s head, states your theme, poses a question, promises potential and most of all causes “Cha Ching” to ring in their ears.

I hope this helps you form a great concept and gets your writing to a new level.

Digging Deeper . . .

by Ellen

 

For my blog post this week, I’ll be talking about rewriting. Not surface revision, but deep, down digging . . .      

So let me share with you some new avenues that I have discovered this time around while rewriting my novel, Justus.

  STORY AND SCENE STRUCTURE:  

Books are important for research and bettering one’s craft. For this rewrite, I read books on craft that I had not read before, and as I read, I took notes and applied these to bettering my story.

Below are two books I highly recommend.        

Wired for Story by Lisa Cron.   This book is amazing. Every chapter is filled with practical information. For example, the first chapter is called, How to Hook a Reader. Cognitive Secret: We think in story, which allows us to envision the future. Story Secret: From the very first sentence, the reader must want to know what happens next.  Later chapters unfold explaining how our brains react to story, and what compels us to want to turn the pages from one chapter to the next.    

 Make a Scene, Creating a Powerful Story One Scene at a Time by Jordan E. Rosenfeld. My last blog post was on this book. The author explains throughout the book how important compelling characters are, and how well-written scenes make us believe we are there, in real time.  

SETTING:

Archaeological blogs and sites: My story takes place in Carnuntum and the surrounding mountains of Germania. In ancient times, Carnuntum was Roman occupied. For my rewrite, I found an amazing site, Carnuntum Archaeological Park . Most everything I needed for creating a more believable ancient world along the Danube River was found here . . . but it’s in German, which I’m a little rusty at. The park archaeologists do reply in English! For example, I needed to know what sort of bridge crossed the Danube near Carnuntum, stone or pontoon.  Answer, pontoon. Also, during my rewrite, I wanted my barbarian character, Roland, to fight in the arena as a gladiator. As I dug deeper into the Carnuntum site, I discovered that a coliseum second to that in Rome and Pompeii was located in Carnuntum. Problem solved. This site also provided YouTube videos of re-enactments and the history of the area.

A good site to direct you to other archaeological websites and blogs is Archaeology, Trowels and Tools.  

CHARACTER SOURCES:

 In my rewrite, my main character changed dramatically. He grew externally and internally through the new scenes I created. His old name no longer fit, so I decided he needed a new one, a more solid name . . . an actual name of a Roman soldier. I searched the roster of the Gemina XIV, a legion stationed where my story begins, in Carnuntum. I found a soldier with a name that fit my character, Gaius Antonius Justus. My character became Justus.

Toxic Parents by Susan Forward, Ph.D.  This is a New York Times Bestseller on dysfunctional parents. My main character, Justus, has a toxic parent, his father, who riddles him with guilt and self-doubt. With Toxic Parent, I was able to develop this conflict between father and son on a higher level with true-life examples. I’ve found that books on psychology are great sources for developing characters.

“HOW DO I FIND THAT OUT?”

If you are stumped by something historical, here are two ways to discover the answer.

Write to a university professor: In my rewrite, Justus is given a sword by Roland, the German warrior chief. I needed a special sword, one that was revered by the warriors of this time. I came across a professor in Germany who is an expert on swords made from a blue-like steel with ripple-like watermarks, called Damascus steel. I emailed him my question . . .  Were there swords like these among the German barbarians? He replied yes, and shared more information with me. Needless to say, I was very happy.

YouTube: My book needed new chapters on sword fighting and wrestling. Before the rewrite, I had fallen into the old trap of “telling and not showing.” So how do you learn sword fighting, like a legionnaire or a German warrior, or wrestling, or shooting a bow and arrow properly? You watch YouTube.  I took notes, studying Viking and Roman reenactments over and over, not to mention all the clips on martial arts. YouTube is a great resource for authors!

CRITIQUE GROUP: 

A critique group can make any story stronger. Other sets of eyes evaluate and see things that you may have not. The Monkeys have helped me numerous times, picking up on funky sentence structure, scenes that don’t work, and unnecessary description, which I have a tendency to add. Just one member saying “I don’t get this” makes me take a more critical look at my work, digging deeper and deeper into my story.    

So, I hope if you are “digging deeper” into your story, the ending will be a beautiful book!

And remember, as Roald Dahl said, Good Writing is Essentially Rewriting   

Fear and Writing

by Amy

When my son was five, his kindergarten teacher planned a beautiful graduation ceremony, where each child stood up and told the assembled parents what they wanted to be when they grew up. Standing with his classmates in the school gym, my son suddenly realized he did not like being in front of a crowd, no sir, he did not! As his turn to speak drew near, he retreated—first by pulling his shirt collar above his face. Then by turning his back to the audience. When he finally crawled under his chair, bottom facing the audience, we rescued him to the playground.
 

Fear. We’ve all felt it. On more than one occasion I myself have wanted to crawl under a chair, butt facing the planning and zoning commission. And I was nearly paralyzed with fear when I took my son, alone, for a week vacation to a remote village in Mexico where I barely spoke the language. Fear can be good—reminding us to be careful—but it can also be crippling. It can even affect our writing.

It keeps us from joining a critique group, from attending conferences, from submitting to agents or editors. It might even keep us from ever putting pen to paper in the first place. So how do we deal with it?

 

"...when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.” --Rosa Parks

Mrs. Parks was right. It seems awfully simplistic, but I’ve found that setting clear goals for my writing is the best thing for staving off fear. Every step we take in our lives involves a decision. Decisions are hard and the longer we fret over them, the more painful and scary they become.

Decisions = Fear

My dad used to say, “You don’t want to have one foot on the boat and one foot on the dock.” After years of standing blank-faced in front of him, imagining some poor soul spread-eagled over a lake, I realized what that means. The worst thing you can do with a decision is not make it. Get in the boat. Or stay on the dock. Either choice will most likely be fine, so long as you pour one-hundred percent of your energy into it. Just make the decision. Don’t wait too long. Don’t look back.

So when it comes to your writing, decide what you want and plot a course.:

     -If you're just trying your hand at a book, write it. If it doesn't turn out like you'd hoped, you don’t have to show anyone.
     -Does it simply give you pleasure to write stories, maybe to share with your kids or grandkids? Great—you don’t have to chase publication for that, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
     -If you’d like to be published, there are ways to pursue that. Read, study, hone your craft, write, revise, submit, repeat. Those are the steps. They’re laid out for us. We don't have to figure them out; we just have to follow them. And following directions isn't scary at all.


Sure, there might be some niggles of fear when our cursor hovers over that ‘send’ button, launching our first submittal to Dream Agent Extraordinaire. I still get them…over four million ‘sends’ later. But that’s okay.

The beautiful thing about fear is that overcoming it helps us grow. Sometimes we realize what scared us isn’t so scary after all. My son is now an aspiring Improv actor who’s been on stage in front of hundreds of people. Other times, overcoming fear helps us expand our comfort zone--or at least, define it. I probably won’t take my son to another isolated area alone, but I’d definitely consider Europe. Oh, heck yes I would! Who wants to go with us? Don't be afraid!

"Because fear kills everything," Mo had once told her. "Your mind, your heart, your imagination."--Cornelia Funke, Inkheart

Be brave, Monkeys!

Building a Fantasy World

by Sarah 

I'm mostly-kind-of-almost finished with VALIANT, a YA retelling of a The Brave Little Tailor. For the past year, I've been living in– and creating!– a fantasy world that I hope readers will want to enter. I want it to be so real, so vivid, that someone will feel homesick once the story's finished. 

I'm still learning this worldbuilding thing, but I did gather a few tools along the way. There are tons of websites with worksheets that help you expand your world's culture(s). (Google 'worldbuilding.') However, I found I needed the most help with naming and visualizing my world. So I'd to share what I used for: 

Character names

See Kristen's excellent post! (Or ask Craig. I wrote a few weeks before giving my MC a name– and it was finally Craig who suggested Saville.) 

Place Names

Wikipedia is your friend! It wasn't until I'd gotten through most of the story that I realized the river in VALIANT felt like the Krivija, a river I loved in Bosnia. But I also based the river on the Danube. So I looked up the Danube in Wikipedia. The article provided a ton of place names that I could adjust and use. I can't tell you how many times I've sifted through Wikipedia for place– or character– names. 

The process reminds me of looking through a thesaurus. You may not know what you're looking for, but you'll know it when you see it. 

Fantasy Language 

VALIANT needed a few words in the giants' language. I felt completely overwhelmed until I found Definitions. I'd type in a word like 'little' or 'traitor,' click 'Translations' on the right, and then see the word translated into about twenty different languages. (I LOVE this website!) Often, I'd find a word that sounded almost right. Then I'd play with sounds and syllables it was just what it should be. 

A word of caution: be sure to keep the sound or feel similar. You probably wouldn't want to claim that Hindi and German-sounding words come from the same language. 

Music

It isn't easy finding a playlist for a fantasy. But never fear! Use Pandora. For those of you who aren't familiar with the website, you can create a station by suggesting songs that you like and then rating songs that the website plays. It takes a little time, but it's worth it. And it has access to movie soundtracks, which was perfect. After a little tweaking I created a station of soundtracks and composers that matched the feel of VALIANT. (It's a combo of Lord of the Rings, Last of the Mohicans, Gladiator, Braveheart, etc...)

Rambling ahead:

May I add that while I don't daydream about Oprah mentioning my book, I DO fantasize about Peter Jackson making it into a film? Two reasons: 1) He'd film it in New Zealand, and I'd have to visit at least once to squeal over the sets, and 2) I want to hear what Howard Shore would do with the giants' songs. I don't know how they sound– just how they make the listeners feel. But I bet Shore could figure that out.... 

Annnnd... back to our regularly scheduled programing:

Faces
After a while, I needed faces for my main characters. I knew roughly what they looked like, but I wanted pictures. And I knew Lord Verras did NOT resemble any member of One Direction. I needed more than a Google Image search. So I went to London's National Gallery website and searched the paintings by century. It was like searching a crowd for a friend's face. 

I thought about sharing the portraits here, but I don't think they'd work. For me, the search was as much about the emotion in the portrait as the face itself. Still, I discovered such interesting things about my people! For instance, I knew one character was chubby but I didn't know he was swarthy until I saw his portrait. 

I know there are a million other resources out there. I'd love to hear from you: What have you used as you write fantasy? 

YA Girl: Episode 1

by Kristen Crowley Held

Greetings Monkey Tribe!

A non-writer asked me recently if my characters talk to me, which inspired me to create YA Girl: A Behind the Scenes Look at the Life of a YA Writer.

Today I give you Episode 1:

YA Girl Episode One
by: tenheld


So, um, anyone else have an MC who talks to them?