Archive for the 'Writer Moment' Category

July 27, 2010 | "Whoa whoa I gotta go...back to schoooool...again",3rd Semester,A Whole Latte Trouble,Book Two,Creative Writing II,Draven Atreides,Draven Atreides, Teenage Informant Series,Life in General,Prescott College,Revision Hell,School Daze,Summer 2010,The 4-1-1 on Me,Writer Moment,Writing Movements

Missed two days of writing last week, but I still got 16 handwritten pages in. The rest of it was previously written material. Not too bad. Not sure how many typewritten pages that turned out to be, but I was able to submit the 1st 30 pages for my CWII class. Here’s hoping I have better movement this week

July 15, 2010 | A Whole Latte Trouble,Book Two,Draven Atreides,Draven Atreides, Teenage Informant Series,Revision Hell,The 4-1-1 on Me,Writer Moment,Writing Movements

Still stuck in Chapter One. But I was able to crank out 5 pages. It’s 12 pages long, but probably won’t type up like that. And I’ll still be using already-written stuff.

Today was definitely a good day.

July 14, 2010 | "Whoa whoa I gotta go...back to schoooool...again",3rd Semester,A Whole Latte Trouble,Book Two,Creative Writing II,Draven Atreides,Draven Atreides, Teenage Informant Series,Life in General,Prescott College,Revision Report,School Daze,Summer 2010,The 4-1-1 on Me,Writer Moment,Writing Movements

I’ve started the revision process for Book 2 yesterday for my CWII class. 4 pages yesterday, 3 pages today. I don’t consider that bad. My goal, whenever I’m in Writing Mode, is to write at least a page.

Normally, I would be doing this on my breaks and at lunch. But since I have two other classes, I’m writing during my hr lunch. Not so much at home. Yet.

The 1st 30 pages are due next Thursday. Hoping to have a better day tomorrow.

June 16, 2010 | Dance Jam Productions,Road Trip Wednesday,The 4-1-1 on Me,Writer Moment

Road Trip Wednesday is a “Blog Carnival”, where YA Highway‘s contributors post a weekly writing or reading-related question and answer it in on our own blogs. You can hop from destination to destination and get everybody’s unique take on the topic.

You’re more than welcome to participate! Just answer the question on your own blog, and leave a link to it in their comments.

Topic #33: When/why did you start writing?

I started writing in the 7th grade. Me and a friend had just eaten lunch and were bored, so she suggested we write stories. I agreed. I don’t remember if she finished her story or not, but I didn’t want to stop. I wanted to keep going, so I did. By the time I reached high school, I knew my target audience was going to be teens. Back then, I was a bookworm, never rocked the boat at home, and crushed from afar. I lived vicariously through my friends. And boy, were their lives like soap operas. LOL. “You better watch out or you’re going to end up in one of my books” became an ongoing joke between us. And, actually, my best friend did end up in my second book, so I guess I really wasn’t kidding about that. LOL. The cool thing about this writing gig is that for all the people who’ve done you wrong, can now end up in your books as the victim. And all the guys you crushed on from afar, who never even knew you existed, can be the love interest.

Truthfully, I think I was destined to be a writer even before 7th grade. I didn’t have imaginary friends, but I did talk to myself when I was younger. A lot. If I was playing a game with a friend and it required me to be on the phone or something, I would have the best conversations. Seriously. Or if I was playing by myself, I’d have long, drawn out conversations in which I would play both parts. LOL. To this day I still talk to myself, but it’s more of a “figuring things out aloud” type of situation than when I was a child. When it starts that young, I think it’s a sign of creativity. Don’t you think?

Technorati Tags: Road Trip Wednesday, YA Highway

June 10, 2010 | "Whoa whoa I gotta go...back to schoooool...again",3rd Semester,A Whole Latte Trouble,Book Two,Creative Writing II,Life in General,Mentors,Movie Queue,Prescott College,School Daze,Summer 2010,The 4-1-1 on Me,Writer Moment

It’s the second week of school and I got feedback from my mentor regarding the first 100 pages of Book 2 earlier this week.

The story lacks focus. You say your main plot is about the investigation into this fellow yet from what I can nearly 100 pages in, Draven has does very little to show the reader that she is this awesome, kick-ass informant. We see much more of her at school or with her friends just talking about “stuff” that is arguably sub-plot and fails to move the main plot along.

I see very little tension at all in the book. I assume as a reader that a book which focuses on a sleuth will have elements of tension, danger not only from the investigation itself but from Draven’s cover being blown. I also assume that in her role, she will make enemies. So, that also adds to the danger/tension. But I see none here. In fact, she is just hanging out like nothing is going on at all.

So, that is the plot, sub-plot and story-telling side.

There are some issues with redundancy and consistency. I’ve highlighted them in some cases and made comments on others.

There are cases when I feel the dialogue is forced. Some pages of dialogue go on for too long and fail to move the story to the next level.

Also it is hard in some places to know who’s talking in your dialogue exchanges. Watch for it.

Consider your pop-culture references and how they might date you as an author and how a reader may take that reference. There are many. While they may be funny to you, your readers are teens today.

Consider your use of stereo-typical representation of Hispanic youth. “Chica, Chiquita, etc.” Just make sure that you are 100% comfortable with these references and they are genuine.

There’s a scene in CLUELESS where Brittany Murphy’s character said something hurtful to Alicia Silverstone and Alicia responded with, “That’s way harsh, TY.” That line was running through my head after reading this. LOL.

But I have to remember that it’s a first draft. The novel, not the feedback.

It’s not going to be good the first time. Nor is it going to be good the second, third, or fourth time.

It’s a story that I completed some time last year and then promptly put away because I didn’t want to look at it anymore. It was a hard write. Then I pulled it out—I don’t remember when—and started editing it. I got midway through Chapter 8 before putting it away to start Book 3 (NaNoWriMo 2009 Fail).

I wish this was the only class I was taking this summer, because I won’t be as focused on the process as I normally would be. The revisions won’t be as good as I want them to be, or should be. Yeah, I know it was my bright idea to create a book revision college course, but even though my concentration is going to be pulled in three different directions, I still expect this to be a learning experience I can carry through to future books.

Technorati Tags: CLUELESS, Brittany Murphy, Alicia Silverstone