Revision how-to: Taking your novel to the mat Scriva Style

by Amber Keyser
Published on: April 16, 2012
Categories: Craft, Other Topics
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I now have critiques on my completed YA novel from eight Scrivas.  We met and discussed the whole book.  I have pages of notes from those conversations as well as 1-2 pages critique written by each Scriva plus line edits in eight copies of the manuscript.

Now what?

I’ve posted about this before, but I thought you might be interested in the specifics of this revision.  The Angel Punk novel is 95K words (~375 pages) and 53 chapters as of the end of the current draft.  It’s told from five different points of view.

Step 1:  Read through all the notes and summary critiques from Scrivas.

Step 2:  Make a list of major issues (7 in all), consistency issues between the book and the movie and comics (3), list of medium priority issues (12 in all), and minor issues (lots)

Step 3:  Biggest issues to deal with include (a) MCs motivations, (b) her history with the other characters, (c) timing of the introduction of world-building back story.

Analysis Plan: Read through novel and note when/where every bit of backstory occurs.

Attack Plan: Move up the backstory even if this involves rearranging/combining chapters.  Use this opportunity to include more of what the MC is thinking and feeling about her past and the people around her.

Step 4:  Repeat for other major issues followed by medium ones.

Step 5:  Go through and incorporate line edits from Scrivas.

Step 6:  Read all chapters for the same POV character in sequence.  Fix voice and plot consistency.

Step 7:  Read through all and add sensory details whenever possible.

Step 8:  Use “find” function to search for words/phrases that I know I overuse.

 

…  And do it all in the next two weeks.  Wish me luck!

 

 

Blunt Advice If You Want to Be a Writer from Cathy Lamb

by Amber Keyser
Published on: March 14, 2012
Categories: Challenges
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I wish I could carry copies of Cathy Lamb’s post around in my pocket to give out whenever anyone tells me that they’re thinking of writing a book.

Blunt Advice If You Want to Be a Writer

by Cathy Lamb

I go to a lot of book groups/give speeches and I am often asked about advice I would give to people who want to become writers.

Here are a few thoughts, some of them are quite blunt. Blame it on my being up until 430 in the morning two nights ago working so I am feeling particularly edgy.

First off, ask yourself if you REALLY want to be a writer. This is important. If you simply like to write, you like your journals, scribbling out scenes or characters or starting stories and you have some vague and whispy notion that it would be fun to be a published writer some day with a cool writing cottage on an island, you will – and yes, scream at me now –  probably never publish.

Why?  Because you have to work hard to be a published writer. You always have to work hard and the competition is unbelievably stiff.  Agents and publishing houses are buried in manuscripts. Buried. Many feet high. And there are many talented writers who are in the midst of that stack.

Even published writers lose contracts every single day. You have to come up with something new that publishers believe will sell. It’s a business and they need to make money off your work or they have no business.

Dig deep. Are you willing and able at this time to work hard? Are you willing to sweat this whole thing out? Are you truly willing to commit?

Do you want to be a writer more than you, professionally, want to be anything else? Will you feel unfufilled and unsuccessful if you don’t become a writer? If yes, then carry on. If no…well, I think you have some more thinking to do about your plans. “Wanting to be a writer,” and “working to be a writer,” are two totally different things. There is nothing wrong with writing all the time for pleasure, for laughter, as a creative outlet, and for self growth.  Nothing. It’s a gift, in fact.

I personally would rather lose my left leg than not be a writer. I have felt like that since I was sixteen years old. That’s how bad I have always wanted to write. I lived off 6 – 6.5 hours of sleep for many, many years. In fact, it’s really only since the END of 2011 that I have started sleeping more like a normal person on a regular basis. I wrote late, late at night, that’s when I had the time.

If you believe you want to be a writer more than anything but you use the excuse, “I don’t have time to write,” you are essentially saying that you don’t want to become a writer that bad. And that’s perfectly fine. I’m not critcizing it. I’m simply saying that that excuse doesn’t work.

Read the rest here.  (Trust me: read the rest!)

Scriva Amber to speak at the Write to Publish conference sponsored by Ooligan Press

by Amber Keyser
Published on: March 5, 2012
Categories: Events
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Book launch for Scriva Ruth’s new YA historical fantasy BLUE THREAD!

by Amber Keyser
Published on: February 13, 2012
Categories: Events
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Blue Thread

Ooligan Press invites you to celebrate
the launch of our newest book, Blue Thread.

Please join us in the Miller Pavilion
at the Oregon Historical Society
for light refreshments and a reading
by Ruth Tenzer Feldman.
Monday, February 27th, 5–7 p.m.
1200 SW Park Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97205
RSVP to rsvp@ooliganpress.pdx.edu
by February 21st

At South Coast Writer’s Conference, Scriva Amber covers graphic novels & reading for writers

by Amber Keyser
Published on: February 11, 2012
Categories: Events
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Scriva Amber will be teaching two workshops on Saturday:

Learning to Read for Writers & Illustrators - Amber Keyser

One of the first pieces of advice given to new writers and illustrators is “read what you want to write or draw.” What does that really mean? In this talk, I’ll dissect this cryptic (and overwhelming) suggestion into a series of activities that will help you get a handle on current books in your genre. These activities will help you spot trends, understand what works in children’s literature, and identify publishing houses that might be interested in your work. Plus, you’ll discover some gems for your bookshelf. Click here for a flow chart to guide your research efforts.

Graphic Novels: Get a Grip on a Rising Genre – Amber Keyser

There’s currently a lot of hype about graphic novels for kids. What’s it all about? In this talk, I’ll introduce the genre and discuss the ways in which graphic novels do things differently (and often better) than traditional prose. I’ll share how writing graphic novels has improved and enhanced the way I write my other books. You’ll leave excited about this growing phenomenon in children’s literature.

Make your writers group a place of inspiration and hope in addition to a workshop of craft

by Amber Keyser
Published on: January 30, 2012
Categories: Celebrations, Challenges, Inspiration
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Every year, the Viva Scrivas hold a goal setting meeting.  Scriva Addie usually leads us in a series of activities designed to reflect upon the last year and create a plan for the new year. In the past, we’ve prioritized projects to work on, analyzed work-life balance, or identified strengths and weaknesses in our writer=small business owner activities.

This year, we ended up more like group therapy. There is discouragement among us.  The economic downturn has been hard on many of us – lost day jobs, fewer book sales, fewer school visits, glacially-slow acquisitions.  Many of us have had personal struggles.  We needed to vent, to share, to cry, and to re-focus on why we write when it is hard and hardly pays.

To start us out, Addie handed us each nine little slips of paper with the following words:

I really admire/am inspired by the way you…

The word(s) that come to mind first when I think about your writing are…

If I could wish anything for your writing life this year, it would be…

She asked us to fill one out for each member of our group including ourselves.  We put the slips of paper into envelopes and took them home to read later.

Wow!  Between our conversation yesterday and these slips of paper, I came away more focused, less troubled, and ready to take on the challenges of building a sustainable (both emotionally and financially) writing life.

I thought I’d share the list of words my Scrivas used to describe my writing.  I hope some of them will share their lists as well.

inspirational, on, more, razor-sharp, relevant, precise, powerful, strong, amazing VOICE, empowering, exciting, cutting-edge, passionate, intense, thought-provoking, cinematic, soulful, gut-wrenching (in a good way), visceral, brash, fast-paced, adventurous, edgy, creative, punchy, tight, interesting

 It’s important to remember why we do this AND that we can do it well.  Remember!

 

Interview with Michaela MacColl, author of PROMISE THE NIGHT

by Amber Keyser
Published on: January 20, 2012
Categories: Other Topics
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I am thrilled to welcome Michaela MacColl to VivaScriva!  Her book PROMISE THE NIGHT tells the story of young Beryl Markham, who grew up to be a record-breaking aviatrix, an adventurer, a nonconformist, and a writer.  

Read an excerpt here.

Below you’ll find the conversation we shared about her lovely book.

***

The VivaScriva.com blog focuses on critique and the writing process so let’s start there.  Do you have a critique group?  What role did critique play in PROMISE THE NIGHT?

I have a lovely critique group. We’ve met weekly for six or seven years now. Most of us are published, but we didn’t start out that way. I have to admit that my group saved the world from a very bad biography of Beryl Markham.

When I first decided to write about her, I found that the only kids’ biographies were very dated. Aha! I thought. (And I can’t believe I even said this) How hard can it be to write a biography? Apparently it is really hard. I couldn’t get away from the fictionalized story I wanted to tell. Finally my group metaphorically shook me and said “Just write a novel!” They were right and so supportive.

When I’m writing nonfiction, I find that the book falls into place when I discover the right format for the story.  In PROMISE THE NIGHT, you alternate eleven-year-old Beryl’s narrative with grown-up Beryl’s flight across the Atlantic.  How did you decide on this structure?

One of my greatest challenges was how to write a story about Beryl the child, when Beryl the adult is the one who did something famous (she was the first to cross the Atlantic East to West solo).  At first I wrote the flight as an epilogue, but it felt too tacked on. I had to find a way to show how Beryl’s adventures as a child enabled her to break flying records as an adult. It was complicated because I wanted to relate each adult vignette to a childhood chapter – but after many outlines and a ridiculous number of post-its, I came up with a structure that worked.

I loved Beryl Markham’s own book WEST WITH THE NIGHT.  How did her writing influence yours?

On the one hand, it’s a gift to have her own words in front of me. I learned so much about her personality from the way she described her childhood. On the other hand, it’s pretty daunting since the memoir is so good.  Ultimately, I tried to channel her spare prose into mine. I ruthlessly trimmed (and then my editor got started) until I told the story in as few words as possible. Beryl wouldn’t have wasted words, neither should I!

Of course this was such a departure from my first book, Prisoners in the Palace about Princess Victoria. There the language is ornate, layered and thick.

You had to deal with some tough (and very adult) topics—male circumcision, the Captain’s relationship with Emma, his concerns over Beryl’s interactions with Kibii and Mehru.  Some might have said it couldn’t be done in a middle grade novel, yet you pulled it off.  Can you tell us how you found your way in this area?

I’m pretty squeamish, so I didn’t want to make people squirm. I’m also the parent of two teenage daughters and it’s important to me that kids can read my books without feeling too uncomfortable. Ultimately the answer to dealing with these issues was to plant my narration firmly in Beryl’s point of view. She’s not shocked so why should the reader be?

Beryl Markham chafed against the rigid social and gender roles of her time.  How do you think she would have responded to the opportunity and freedoms girls have today?

I’ve wondered about that. Thoroughbred racing and flying were inherently exciting and a natural destination for a risk-seeker no matter how inappropriate they were for a girl to do. But I think if she were alive today, she would be taking even greater risks. Ultimately though, Beryl didn’t think of herself as a girl breaking gender barriers, she was just doing what she wanted to do.  The first page in Promise the Night is a quotation from Beryl where she says she wants to fly the Atlantic not as a society girl but as pilot. No gender specified. 

I’ve always been fascinated by the heros of the Golden Age of Exploration like Beryl Markham, Ernest Shackleton and Edmund Hillary.  What do you think drove them to take such risks in their quests to be first?

They say that thoroughbred stallions are bred to win.  They run fast to achieve dominance over their peers (so to speak). I think the explorers and the pioneers are all trying to win the acclaim of the other explorers and pioneers. But there is also a financial consideration. The person who breaks the record is the one who gets the sponsorship deals, the speaking engagements, even the movie gig.

Are there any new frontiers for girls today? 

The first thing that comes to mind is President of the United States… And if that’s the last frontier, then girls are doing well!

True confessions—my daughter is named Beryl and my son is Shackleton.  Do you think I’m crazy?

Yes!  (I had to talk my husband out of naming our first daughter Cassandra. Can you imagine a more ill-omened name?)

What is the most interesting thing that you learned about Beryl Markham but couldn’t include in the book—and why couldn’t you?

Beryl’s childhood is full of instances when she challenges the societal norms and does purely as she likes.  When she continued to do this as an adult, the stakes get higher. The most fascinating thing I found out about Beryl involved her love life. She married Lord Markham in her late 20’s, but at the same time, she also had a very public affair with the Duke of Gloucester (the brother of the Prince of Wales) when he visited Africa on safari. Her husband got fed up and threatened to name the Duke in the divorce. Needless to say Buckingham Palace had a strong opinion about this; Markham was told in no uncertain terms to involve the Duke.  He replied that he wasn’t going to support her. So until the day she died, Beryl received a pension from Buckingham Palace.  It’s a great story, right? So inappropriate for middle grade!

PROMISE THE NIGHT focuses on a narrow window of Beryl Markham’s extraordinary life.  Were you ready to let go?

I wouldn’t mind going back and writing about her life as a racehorse trainer. I grew up on the Black Stallion novels and I would love to write about racing. Otherwise, on to the next novel!

 

 

Don’t Fear the Critiquer – words of advice from @HelenLandalf

by Amber Keyser
Published on: January 11, 2012
Categories: Critique Process
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Great post, Helen!

Don’t fear the critiquer

I’ve had my writing critiqued too many times to count over the course of my writing career. In addition to my twice-monthly meetings with my critique group, I’ve gotten feedback on my work from editors and agents at conferences and from professional authors through theWestern Washington chapter of SCBWI. I’ve even paid freelance editors to critique my writing.

In the early years, all I wanted from a critique was to hear that my work was fantastic, that, at most, all I needed to do was delete a comma here and add a quotation mark there. Honestly, critiques frightened me. I wore my ego on my sleeve, and honest criticism of my work could send me spiraling into depression for days.

Now, I welcome constructive criticism.

READ MORE… HERE

Sometimes I’m distracted by the reused paper my critique manuscript comes back on

by Amber Keyser
Published on: January 7, 2012
Categories: Humor
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Revision is hard for me so I’m easily sucked into the crazy reused paper that my crit group prints my mss on…

A science experiment.

People on the beach meditating.

Character sketches.

 

2012 Challenge: REVISE like a pro – Scriva secrets for applying critique to your mss

by Amber Keyser
Published on: January 1, 2012
Categories: Craft
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My notes from Scriva meeting

You might expect me to start the New Year off with a motivational post.

But you’d be wrong.  Dead wrong!

I’m rolling up my sleeves and commanding you to get dirty.  In other words: REVISE.  Say you’ve formed a great critique group and you’ve been submitting manuscripts.  You’ll come home with something like this: eight copies of your manuscript hacked up by eight different writers.  You might also come home with a panic attack.  What are you going to do with all those comments?

Here’s what I do.

I take detailed notes during Scriva meetings, which I organize by Scriva.  At the end, I’ll have several sheets of notepaper where I have listed the big picture comments that the Scrivas felt were important enough to say out-loud (as opposed to leaving for me to review on my own).  Often this list mirrors the summary comments some Scrivas include with my manuscript.  I begin with these big picture comments.  I read through all of them and look for common threads.  If several Scrivas mention a lag in pacing in Chapter 5 or a completely confusing battle scene or a lapse in voice in Chapter 6, I know those are things I need to look at.  I make a list of issues with the hardest, biggest ones at the TOP.

Summary comments from Addie and Michelle

It’s tempting to go through and make the little picky changes first (word choice, punctation, rearrangement of clauses), but DON’T!  You will be wasting your time.  Many of these issues with change or vanish with major revision.  You’ve got to take on the big stuff first.  Trust me!

OK, so say I’m going to attack Chapter 5.  Scrivas mentioned a lag in pacing and a several sections where I fall out of POV (for example).  I will take a pass through the chapter ONLY thinking about POV.  I want to examine every sentence to make sure it keeps the correct POV.  I won’t refer back to the written comments from the Scrivas, but mentally I maintain a laser focus on POV.  Then I go back through Chapter 5 with the single purpose of speeding things up.  Can I replace description with dialogue?  Can I cut unnecessary or rambling sentences?  Can I make my sentences shorter and punchier?  All of this will help pacing.

Now, I take the printed manuscripts annotated with more specific comments and turn all of them to the first page of Chapter 5.  I go through page by page, collating and applying the comments from all the Scrivas to each page of the chapter.  Not all will still be relevant because of the way I addressed major issues in the first few passes through the chapter, but there will still be work to do.

A collection of critiqued copies of my mss

I’ll repeat this with each chapter, taking a single pass through for every area of concern before I go on to the next chapter.  Your brain might be able to revise for three things at once, but mine can’t.  I’d rather go through each one five times — or whatever it takes.  When I think I’m done, I go through the list of big picture comments again and check things off.   I don’t make all the changes the Scrivas suggest but I always consider each one carefully.

So here’s my 2012 challenge to you: Don’t be afraid of those critique comments.  Turn each one into a knife that will cut to the core of your story with deft precision.  And take it slow – one comment at a time.

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Welcome , May 18, 2012