Finished!

I just now turned in the final edits for my 2017 MG novel SEE YOU ON A STARRY NIGHT. This book took a long time in the beginning to get the premise just right. I tried one thing and my editor said, "That's not going to work and here's why." Tried another thing and this time it still wasn't quite right. I rewrote the first fifty pages or so three or four times over the course of like six months. (I was hoping to sell on the synopsis plus some pages).

Were there times I wanted to give up? Yes. Were there times I wondered if I didn't have it in me to figure it out? Yes. But now, on the other side of all of that, I'm so glad I didn't give up. So glad I didn't believe the negative voices that told me I couldn't do it instead of believing in what I've learned during all of these years doing this - that sometimes things simply take time. It's okay to be frustrated. To walk around for days with a notebook jotting every little possible idea down and to trust that the right one will eventually come. In today's world where everything feels instantaneous, creativity doesn't work that way. It needs room to breathe. To expand. I am reminded today of how important it is to do that. Because with time and space, the right thing did eventually find its way into the story. And I couldn't be prouder of how it turned out. Yay - a new book in 2018!!!! I'll have more to share with you in the coming months about this book. 

In the meantime, if you haven't checked out KEY TO THE CITY, please do. It could use all of the help it can get.

As for the new book, hopefully I'll have a cover to share soon!

When writing is hard, do it anyway

I like to show this photo at my school visits.

Because kids don't always think of all of the hard work that goes into the writing of the book. They see the finished product and go - wow, cool! That looks like fun!! You can hold a beautiful, finished book and do jazz hands at the same time, yay!

But those books didn't just magically appear out of nowhere. I mean, kind of, because they suddenly land on my front porch in a box from my publisher when all I sent them was a manuscript. But you know what I mean. Writing is often like any other kind of work. Sure, some days I'm excited to get to it and see what my characters want to tell me, but just as often, I don't feel like doing it. I might be worried I have no plot or the one I do have is completely unbelievable. I may worry that my characters are too one-dimensional. Is my dialogue realistic? Is the pacing too slow or too fast? I could go on and on here, but I'll stop because our job is to quiet the doubt and writing regardless. Trying to get everything right is really, really hard. And during a first draft, pretty much impossible. And many days, simply getting any words down at all is not easy.

But I've said it before and I'll say it again - in the end, it comes down to perseverance. Day after day I make myself hit my word count goal whether I feel like it or not because that is how the book gets written.

Here are some things that help, if you're struggling lately.

Before your writing begins for the day, write out what you plan to write. When you know WHAT to write, the actual writing will be a lot easier
Download the self-control app and block yourself from social media sites that you know to be your biggest distractions.
Try listening to soft, soothing music.
Have a cue that says - it's now time to write. It might be sitting down with your favorite hot beverage. It might be turning on that soft, soothing music. It might be yelling into the universe, "I'm going to write 1,000 words now and nothing is going to stop me!"
Set a time and write for 30 minutes and then reward yourself for the work, with a sticker or a quarter in a jar, or something. Anything!

Sometimes I don't feel like going to the gym, but I know I will be glad once I've gone. The same is true of writing. As the word count inches upward, so does my pride. I'm doing it, I'll think to myself. I'm writing this book.

The key is to write and write and write, on the good days and the not-so-good days, until the very end. And then, of course, you get to start over and revise all of those beautiful words. But we'll worry about that another day.

The most important thing a writer must learn to do

That probably reads like a click bait headline. Oh well. I'm keeping it. I like it. And I completely one hundred percent believe what I'm about to tell you IS the most important thing a writer must learn to do.

 I wonder, right now, what do you *think* it is?

Write every day, even when you don't want to? No way. I don't believe that.

Develop a thick skin? Not this either, although of course this is true, but you've heard it a million times.

Write a FANTASTIC story in order to get it published? Nope. Because I'm not even talking about writing to get published.

I'm talking about writing wherever you are on the path of being a writer. Maybe you're just playing around right now. Writing to see how it feels. See what it looks like for you. Or maybe you are one that's been doing this for a while, and you're thinking about querying agents soon. Maybe you're like me and you've published some books, had some successes and some failures, and you're wondering - what's next?

There's one thing you have to do and keep doing no matter if you've never published a book or published a hundred books.

You have to learn to write with doubt. 

I feel like I could make a rhyme about that.

Figure it out,
all writers learn to write with doubt.

I did an author visit at a middle school one time and I LOVED this wall of poetry they made in honor of my visit. Do you think those students worried about me reading the poem they had written and that would be hanging on the wall in the room where I'd be speaking? Of course. Do you think any of them were afraid I might not like what they'd written? Absolutely. But you know what? They somehow managed to DO IT ANYWAY.

Every time I start a new book, I have doubts. I am scared. I am worried it won't be good enough. But I understand it is part of being a writer. It shows I care about the work I'm doing, and that's not a bad thing. The difficulty is in learning how to manage the fear.

In her book BIG MAGIC, Liz Gilbert tells us to tell Fear it is welcome to come along with us, but it does not get to drive the car. No, if it wants to come along, it has to sit in the backseat and be quiet.

I think I've always thought of Doubt as this pesky little thing on my shoulder that won't go away. It really likes my shoulder, and so it sits there. And when it starts whispering ugly things in my ear, I have a choice as to whether I listen or not. It's completely up to me. I have the power - Doubt does NOT have the power. It simply has messages, messages that often times aren't even true.

Often, Doubt is loudest when I sit down to start my work for the day. Opening the document is often the hardest part, yes? But once you just do it, and you let your characters talk to you, Doubt tends to quiet down.

I get so many notes and emails from kids and teens asking me - how do I write when I'm scared? Scared it won't be good enough? Scared I don't know what I'm doing? Scared people will say bad things if I even manage to somehow show it to someone?

I wish I could say there is a magic trick writers use to make the fear and doubt go away, but there isn't. The truth is, every writer who has finished a book managed to figure out how to send it to the back seat or to write with it sitting on their shoulder.

You can't avoid it. You simply have to figure out for yourself how to write with it.

Happy March - hope you have a great month!

On beginnings and the awesomeness of Kate DiCamillo

Recently I substituted in the library of an elementary school. At this school, each class has about 25 minutes in the library, so the Media Assistant reads a picture book or two and then lets the class loose to pick out books.

Right before my last class of the day, second graders, the technology teacher told me she had to cover another class and so I would have the class of 28 kids for 45 minutes instead of the usual 25. For a moment, I panicked. How could I possibly entertain them for that long?

"I need a good book," I thought.

So I went over to the D section to see what might be available in the Kate DiCamillo section. Lucky for me, there was one copy of BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE checked in.

I hadn't read it in a while, even though it is one of my favorites. But I have faith in Kate. At least I thought I did until I had those 28 faces looking up at me from the carpet where they sat.

See, second graders are in this kind of weird stage when it comes to reading and books. I remember with my two sons, second grade was a really challenging time. They're often not quite ready for middle grade novels, even though they want to be.

"Do you think you guys will be okay with a book that doesn't have any pictures?" I asked. Some of them nodded. Some of them shook their heads. "I bet you can do it. It's fun to use your imagination,  right?"

And so, with a wish and a prayer, I opened the book and began reading. As I read those first pages, immediately drawn in to when Opal walks into that grocery store and sees everyone fussing over a dog (a stinky, ugly dog), I was reminded of what is so magical about this book. We are rooting for Winn-Dixie. And we are rooting for Opal. I read two chapters to those kids, and for fifteen minutes, they were completely captivated. The author does an amazing job of dropping in bits and pieces of background information here and there rather than a big info. dump. This is so important with younger kids, because it can really pull you away from what you care about - the situation at hand. In this case, Opal finding a dog, taking it home, and wondering if her father (the preacher, as she calls him) will let her keep him.

The other thing I noticed is what a master DiCamillo is at speaking kid-language. I mean, look at this great passage - we get a wonderful image of what Winn-Dixie looks like.

"Once we were outside, I checked him over real careful and he didn't look that good. He was big but skinny; you could see his ribs. And there were bald patches all over him, places where he didn't have any fur at all. Mostly, he looked like a big piece of old brown carpet that had been left out in the rain."

So I'm jotting mental notes to myself as I'm reading: create suspense/tension right off the bat, create characters you can't help but root for as quickly as possible, keep background information to a minimum, and watch the language and rhythm of the story, using details kids can easily pick up on. Yes, I've heard these all before, but it's so powerful when you actually see it in action.

I'm actually thankful I had that class for a longer period of time. It was a good lesson for me in what holds kids' attention. And now I've decided I'm going to keep reading this gem of a book. Two chapters was all it took to remind me of how much I love it. I can't wait to revisit the other characters Opal will get to meet in the coming pages.

So once again I just have to say - hooray for Kate DiCamillo! She has a new book coming out in April, 2016 called RAYMIE NIGHTINGALE, and I am so, SO excited!

What does it take to finish a book?

When you start writing a book, it's really fun.

"Ooooh, I get to pick out names!"
"What cool setting should I choose?"
"OMG, my characters can be intelligent and witty and everything else I wish I could be!"

So you go along for a while, having fun, and then, you realize, you don't know what happens next. Your once chatty characters are suddenly silent as a sea bass.

You nudge and prod.

Nothing.

You write, delete, write, delete, and then stare out the window a while. You get up and do laundry, because of course, it needs to be done RIGHT NOW.

When you come back, you stare out the window some more. The tree in the front yard tells you that maybe what you need is a beautiful notebook to scribble ideas in, and surely that will help. Four hours later, and seven notebooks purchased from Etsy, because it's hard to choose and maybe you'll be so inspired you'll need more than one or two or three, you turn back to your document and stare at it.

"Snacks!" you think. "I just need a snack."

The carrots and hummus don't quite cut it, so you bring the bag of chocolate covered pretzels to your desk and as you eat one, two, three, twenty-three, thirty-nine, the characters are still not telling you what you need to know, dammit.

"I picked the wrong names," you think. So you go back to the baby name site and skip around for a couple of hours, and end up deciding to stick with the ones you originally picked.

And now the day is done and so you close the document and decide tomorrow is a new day and surely the words will come.

Except they don't.

But when the notebooks arrive, then you open one of them and scribble some thoughts and ideas, and you jar things a little bit, thankfully, and you're able to squeak out a couple of paragraphs. The only thing is, they suck. So you delete them. And then you read back through the pages you wrote when were all excited, and you decide those suck too, and as you throw the stupid notebooks across the room, you decide you are not cut out for a writer, and who the heck were you to think otherwise?

Writing a book is fun until it isn't. And then it just becomes work like so many other things in life. There is one thing above all else you must have to be a writer. I would argue it's more important than imagination or talent or a hundred other qualities it's great to have.

And that thing is grit.

They talked about grit at my son's college orientation this past week. That when it comes down to it, a student has to have sheer grit to get up, go to class, write the papers, study for exams and hang in there term after term after term.

And the same could be said about writing page after page after page. Yes, you need a plot. And yes, you should have an understanding of story structure as you write. Your characters should be interesting and three-dimensional. Your dialogue should be realistic (basically, nothing like season 2 of True Detective). But a lot of that you could fix during revisions if you need to as long as you get the bare bones of the story down. And in order for *that* to happen, we are back to grit.

Don't understand grit? How about determination? Or maybe stick-to-itness.

In other words, don't give up!

Every book I write, there comes a point, sometimes more than once, when I think the idea is the worst idea in the history of the world, a third grader could do a better job writing than I could, and I want to throw my notebooks across the room and eat my weight in chocolate covered pretzels. So I might take a break. Go for a walk. Watch a movie. Take a bath. Breathe. Tell myself it's okay and the only way out is through.

Honestly, for me, I hate *not* finishing so much, that that thing alone is pretty much what keeps me going. Once I've started and I have an idea that really does seem like a good one, I want to see it through. I want to see where the story takes me. Again and again I remind myself, it doesn't matter what anyone else thinks as I write the first draft. It's not for anyone else but ME. This takes some of the pressure off, and that's really, really important.

Yes, I love notebooks. And I love good snacks. And I do think staring out the window is crucial to the creative process. But at the end of the day, what gets the words written? You have to be tenacious about it. You can't let your fears, your insecurities, your desire to clean and organize your pantry get the best of you.

I'm about to start writing a new book. I'm excited. A teensy bit terrified. But one thing I've learned that really helps to see it through it so keep a list of all of the things that excite me about the project. A love list, if you will. My love list for ALL WE HAVE IS NOW looks like this:

wishes
dreams
the city of Portland
a kiss at sunrise
the power of love
twin girls and a sweet dog
the Enchanted Forest

So make your list. In fancy notebooks or not. Then write. Eat snacks, but not too many. And write some more. All the way to the end.

That's how you finish a book.

Write what you want to know

Probably most of you have heard the old adage, "Write what you know."

Over the years, authors have argued it's actually not the best strategy. What might be better is to say something like, "Write what you want to know." In other words, go where your imagination and curiosity take you.

I can't lie, I'm pretty envious of the authors who (seem to me anyway) have huge imaginations. Authors like Laini Taylor, Holly Black, Kate DiCamillo, Maggie Stiefvater, Rick Riordan, etc. etc. They think big. Imagine big. Write cool stories about cool things.

If I've learned one thing over the course of my career these past eight years, it is this: do not underestimate the power of cool things.

What do I mean by cool? I don't even know if I can pin it down. It's something that makes people sit up and take notice. It's something that large groups of people love. It's unique, in a good way, to stories, and yet as a whole, it's not too unique.

I recently read the Printz honor book The Carnival at Bray, a young adult novel (ages 13+), and goodness gracious, that book is just SO COOL. I don't want to give anything away, but something happens part way through the book that made me shout out loud because I loved where the book was going so much. That's amazing, when you think about it.

I've recently realized that I have done a much better job at thinking about the "cool factor" when writing my middle grade books than writing my young adult books. I don't know why. And I don't know why I only noticed this recently, but now that I have, it's something I'm taking into consideration a lot more before I start in a new story. This writing thing, there is always SO MUCH to learn, it's kind of crazy.

So this is the week MY SECRET GUIDE TO PARIS comes out.

It's a story for people ages eight and up, and has received really nice reviews from all of the trade publishers. When I began writing it, I went into it knowing there were a lot of kids, girls specifically, who would go crazy for a story set in Paris. Like cupcakes, Paris is one of those things that is just fun. I know girls who have their bedrooms decorated with all-things Paris. Paris, in a lot of kids minds, is cool. And when I wrote the book, I knew there were hardly any books for the middle-grade crowd set there. But that wasn't even the best part -- I knew I would have fun writing a book set in Paris, because it's been a dream of mine for a long, long time to visit that incredible city.

MY SECRET GUIDE TO PARIS is definitely a book where I wrote what I wanted to know. Where I wrote about something I love to think about. Dream about. And I'm so incredibly excited for people across the country to discover this book and to go on an adventure with Nora around the City of Light.

I only wish I could provide everyone with french pastries to eat as they read!

My dog is always teaching me things

This is my dog, Stormy.

Yes, we took her to the tulip farm with us last month and took pictures of her since we don't have little kids anymore to do that with. Red is her color, don't you think?

So, Stormy gets allergies in the spring and summer that cause her to scratch a lot, and they got so bad last year we decided to put her on some medication to help stop the itchiness. For a while, I could put the (large!) pill in a pill pocket and she'd take it no problem. Then one day she figured out that something was in there, and she'd spit it out and just eat the stinky pocket thing. So I'd make a little sandwich with bread and peanut butter, and that worked for a while until it didn't. Same with cheese. You get the point.

Eventually, nothing worked. I couldn't hide the pill in food anymore. I had to figure out how to get the thing down her throat a different way.

The first few times I pried her jaws open and shoved the thing into her mouth were not pretty. She fought me, I cussed a lot, until eventually she finally took it. I rewarded her heavily with some lunch meat. Next time, same thing. And again, same thing.

But somewhere along the way, things changed. Today I noticed how easy it is now. We have our routine. I get the pill out of its packaging and the turkey slices out of the fridge. Stormy sees what's happening and comes over and gets in her spot. I kneel down, give her some love, then open her mouth and stick the pill back in her throat. She doesn't fight me, and actually LETS me do this. She swallows it, and she gets her treat.

With every book I start, I'm nervous. Scared things won't go well. As I try to find my way into a story, it can feel like I'm trying to open the jaws of a dog who is trying to back away, while shaking her head. It's difficult. I struggle. I fret and fret some more.

But what I've learned is that doesn't mean it's going to *always* be that way. It gets easier. I find the voice. I find my way into the story. Every day that I sit down to write, there is a bit less of a struggle. That's not to say that every day is easy. Some days the words flow and some days they don't as much, but the main thing is to show up, day in, day out. I often tell myself when the words are done, I can read a book. Or go for a walk. Or watch a movie. Or have chocolate. Whatever. Just like with dogs, rewards work. A lot of authors have calendars and stickers and give themselves a sticker when they've done a certain word count. I'm participating in a 30 day challenge with some other authors, and we have a spreadsheet where we are to share our progress every day with each other. It works, man. It really works.

I've been writing a long time. But every book is new. Different. Scary. I wonder sometimes if aspiring authors realize this. Just like my dog and that stupid pill, I tell myself giving up is not an option. I just have to keep trying until I find my way to where it's not so scary. Not such a struggle. Maybe even easy.

And what do you know. The pill gets swallowed. And the book gets written.

Lisa Schroeder's top 10 things to do if you want to write a novel

10. You already know this, but it’s worth repeating --- read, read, read. Read books in the same genre as the one you want to write, and while you read, think about what makes the character(s) come alive, what makes the pacing work, what are the major and minor plot points, etc. Every time you read a book, you are learning something about writing, even if you don’t realize it. Reading is NOT wasted time. If only we could say the same about cupcake baking.

9. I also think it can be helpful to read some books on craft. Most teens who write to me seem surprised that you can get books at the book store or the library about writing a novel. Here are just a few that I’ve found helpful:

HOW TO WRITE A DAMN GOOD NOVEL by James N. Frey
WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL by Donald Maas
SAVE THE CAT by Blake Snyder (a screenwriting book, but I find it immensely helpful)

8. Before you start writing, try to get the premise of your novel into a short paragraph. If you can get it down to one sentence, even better. Yes, I do realize this is not at all easy. Too bad, says the evil author with a sly grin. This exercise helps you to cement in your mind what your book is really about. A couple of examples of descriptions I came up with in the early days of writing these novels.

The Bridge from Me to You (forthcoming w/ Scholastic, 7/29/14): In this small town story of learning to follow your heart, newcomer Lauren meets star football player Colby and, despite the obstacles in their way, help each other through a tense few months.

I Heart You, You Haunt Me (Simon Pulse, 2008): Fifteen-year-old Ava is heartbroken over the death of her boyfriend, Jackson. But it isn’t long after his funeral when she discovers while he may be dead, he definitely isn’t gone. 

7. It can be very helpful to have a road map of some kind so you know where you’re going in your story. You don’t have to do an outline, necessarily, as I realize outlining a novel can seem like an arduous task. But without some kind of road map, you are likely to get lost. Some people enjoy this - venturing out with no plan and figuring it out as you go. The longer I do this, however, the more I see the real benefit to having *something* to help you as you go.

You might find a 9-step plotting tool helpful, which you can read about here. Or maybe you decide to write a one-page synopsis. Or perhaps you use note cards and jot down your plot points in a more casual way. There are lots of options here - play around and find something that works for you. 

6. Your main character will be the heart of your story, so get to know him/her before you start writing. Write down what you know about your MC --- likes, dislikes, fears, background information that might be useful but won’t make it into the story. Think about how your past has made you the person you are today. This will be true of your characters as well. Some authors like to interview their main character, or fill out a character sheet, which you can find by doing an internet search.

5. Eventually, you must begin. You must start writing. This is the hardest part for many. The fear of doing it wrong wins out, and so nothing is done at all. Here is the most important thing to remember --- write the story for YOURSELF. Don’t think about anyone else. Write the story because YOU want to know what happens. No one else is reading at this point. This draft is for your eyes only. 

4. Don’t be afraid to play around in those early pages with voice, tense, format, etc. Pretend you are in a sandbox and you’re trying to figure out what you want to do. This is your book. There is no right or wrong way to write it. When it feels right, you’ll know!

3. Some pages will flow like water and others will only come with a lot of sweat and tears. That’s how it is. Writing a book is not easy. If it were, everyone would be doing it. The best thing you can do is make a goal to write something every day. 100 words, 500 words, 1,000 words --- it doesn’t matter. But set a goal and stick to it. This goal makes you open the document and dive back in, and that’s half the battle!

2. When you get stuck, and you will get stuck, backtrack and see if you took a wrong turn somewhere. As you write, there are places you make choices --- either this happens or that happens. Sometimes you write your character into a corner. It’s okay! Pages might have to be deleted, and yes it’s a little sad, but if it’s the best thing for your story, you have to do it. One step forward, two steps back is better than no steps at all! Another reason you might get stuck is because you have no idea what happens next. If you haven't done any plotting up to this point, now might be the time. 

1. Finally, remember this --- a first draft is NOT going to be perfect. I know, it's so unfair. But it will be far, far, FAR from perfect. It’s a draft. It’s you getting the bones of the story down on paper. Give yourself permission to write badly. Just write. Almost every book on your bookshelf started as a badly written first draft. Keep writing and try to enjoy the process. When the draft is done, you will have to revise. A lot. No one said this was going to be easy, right?

Surprises and unique story elements

I've been thinking a lot about surprises and unique story elements, mostly because I've discovered how much I love it as a reader when something surprises me, in a good way.

I'm reading a contemporary novel for adults right now, Nowhere But Home, and I was enjoying it just fine and then... surprise! Something different. Unique. Something that made me go - wow, I haven't seen that in a book before. Suddenly my desire to get back to this book has increased tenfold. I'm dying to see where this new plot thread goes. I'm SO intrigued by it (I'm not going to tell you what it is, in case you want to read it).

But here's an example that might illustrate what I mean, because I realize "surprises" can mean lots of different things. One of the things I really loved about The Silver Linings Playbook is that I wasn't expecting the dance-thing. At all. It took me completely by surprise, and it kind of turned the story on its head and made it so much more fun.

In my YA novel Falling For You, I added a fun element, a surprise, in the way of secret notes to give the reader a bit of a break from what is a pretty dark story at times. I've read a few other books where secret notes or "clues" (that lead the character places) play a part, and I can specifically remember how much I loved that part of the story.

I really believe readers want to be surprised one way or another, and it is our job, as writers, to figure out how to do that.

One of the things I've started doing when I'm writing a book is to brainstorm "fun" things in my notebook. It's usually a list of random things that make me smile and that I might like to put in a book some day. Not all the things get put in *that* book and sometimes I come across an idea I save for a book all its own.

Another example of this comes via this drawing, which a reader sent to me after she read the first two "Cupcake" books and wanted to give me ideas for the third book.

Along with this picture she drew (which I love by the way), she gave me a description of every girl in the band and what she wore. It made me realize (and remember my hairbrush singing days) that most girls this age love music and probably do imagine from time to time what it would be like to be on stage, singing or playing music. This led me to putting Lily, the main character in Frosting and Friendship, in a band with a few of her friends, since she loves to sing. The girls are new at this band thing, trying to find their way with playing music and writing songs, as they would be at the ages of twelve and thirteen. But I love how this part of the story played out and how it came to be a part of the main plot.

Another way to look at this comes via my friend and NYT bestselling author Laini Taylor. She's said on her blog a few different times that one of her favorite questions to ask while she's writing is this: "What is the coolest way this plot thing might happen?"

Cool. Fun. Unique. 

Keep these words in mind, and find ways to bring the cool, the fun, the unique to your story and surprise the reader. You'll be glad you did. And so will your readers!!

A Hang in There kind of post

The past twelve months have been a bit... strange.

I don't want to go into specifics, but those of you who are published authors will understand when I say that this business is not for wimps.

I hike a lot with my family, and it reminds me of the hikes that have steep hills to climb and as you go along, you wonder if there will be anything up ahead that will make the hard work worth it. You tell yourself to enjoy the here and now, to not focus on what's ahead, but that's easier said than done sometimes, especially when the hill just goes on and on and on. You wonder if it will ever end. You sit down, take a rest, and it's then when it's easy to become discouraged.

You wonder if you should just give up and go home. You start to feel like maybe you don't belong. Like maybe only the best hikers belong here, and you are certainly not one of the best.

There have been a few times over the past twelve months where I've felt pretty discouraged. One disappointment can be hard, but when you have a string of them, it can be especially so. And yes, once or twice, I was so discouraged, I thought about giving up. But I kept telling myself it's always darkest before dawn. And sitting on the couch, feeling sorry for myself, wasn't really going to solve anything.

I also kept telling myself that maybe things happen for a reason and maybe I just needed to trust that everything would work out in the end, if I just hung in there. I've certainly seen it happen before. Right after I quit my full-time job a few years ago, I had a full manuscript rejected along with some proposals, and I seriously began to think I had just made the biggest mistake of my life.

And then, inspired by P!nk's "Glitter in the Air,"  I wrote THE DAY BEFORE. That book saved me. Those characters, Amber and Cade, and their magical day at the beach, became my escape from all of my worries. Every day, when I opened that document, I got to escape to the beach too. I have never loved writing a book as much as I loved writing that one, because it was exactly what I needed at the time.

So this time, I reminded myself of Cade and Amber and THE DAY BEFORE, and I told myself what I needed to do was to find a story I cared about. Characters who could help me escape the worry and heartache, and let me be me, in the best way possible.

So I kept writing.

Seven or eight months ago, I felt like this:

Now, I pretty much feel like this:

taken 4/28/13 at Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm

So, in case there is anyone out there right now who is in that dark, discouraging place, I just want to say - hang in there. This business is HARD. The set-backs and disappointments can get inside your head and mess with your confidence in the worst way.

I know. I understand. I have been there, more than once.

Find a story only you can tell. Create characters you can fall in love with. Don't worry about whether others will love the story. That's not the most important thing when things are looking dark - the most important thing is that YOU love the story.

Find a story and let it save you.

The Intent to Win

I am a big fan of Michael Jordan. Did you ever watch him play? That guy never gave up. His team could be down 20 points with one minute left, and he went out there with the intent to win.

Think about that.

THE INTENT TO WIN.

Where are thoughts go, our energy flows. 

That's why it was so fun watching him. He played to win. ALL the time.

When Michael Jordan was in the tenth grade, he was cut from the varsity basketball game. But this only pushed him to work harder at perfecting his game. As he later said on his Web site, "I think that not making the Varsity team drove me to really work at my game, and also taught me that if you set goals, and work hard to achieve them—the hard work can pay off."

Why do some people get up and work harder when they fall down, while others don't?

I think it's all about how you react to those obstacles. It's about your attitude and what you're visualizing for yourself. It's about knowing that you can get better if you try and you just have to get up each day and keep trying. 

Do you intend to win, whatever "winning" means for you? Finishing a manuscript? Finding an agent? Having an editor say, "I love this book?" 

This intention to win is most important, I think, when we're writing or revising. I believe that's why nanowrimo works so well for a lot of people. They go in with an intention to win - 50,000 words in 30 days. They have a goal, they have a timeframe, and they want to succeed really, really badly. They want that winner's certificate at the end of the month. I've never participated in nanowrimo because I try to have an intent to win with every manuscript I start and believe in. No matter how hard it gets, no matter how awful I fear the manuscript is at times, I wake up each day with a word count or page count goal and I work until I meet that goal. 

I want to finish that manuscript! In other words, I want to win. But it's even more than that. It's never doubting that I *will* win.

Michael Jordan understood that when he went on the court, it didn't matter what had happened the past three quarters. What mattered is what he did in that moment, and his attitude about it. 

So, why not play to win? See what happens!?

No regrets

I was listening to a radio program the other night as I drove into downtown Portland to pick up my son, and the radio host talked about a survey that had been done asking people at the end of their lives about their regrets.

He said most people replied that they wished they'd taken more risks, but not in the sky diving way. They wished they'd done more to see if they could make their dreams come true.

It reminded me of one of my favorite quotes:

"Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars." ~ Les Brown

I know it can be scary putting yourself out there, and doing things where you might fail. On a twitter chat last night, one writer said she was afraid to put her heart and soul into writing a novel only to have it suck.

But see, you can't go into it afraid to fail, you have to go into it knowing you probably will fail, and that's okay. Because it's not like it's a one-shot thing. I told her, so you write another book and another one after that, and with each one you get better. And at least you've tried, so you know you did something about getting closer to that dream. If you don't try, won't you always wonder?

Another author pointed out that an Olympic gold-medalist gymnast didn't simply walk onto the balance beam and win, just like that. There are years and years of practices and competitions, and do you think she won every single one? No. Of course not.

I still write novels that don't get published. Yes, it's disappointing sometimes, but I also feel so blessed to be doing what I love and learning something new every day. You win some, you lose some, and you keep on going because you love the life you're living and the journey you're on.

Anyway, I googled to see if I could find something that talked about the survey more, and I found THIS ARTICLE, titled "The Top Five Regrets of the Dying" published in "The Guardian" back in January. So, click on over if you want to know a little bit more about what people said about regrets. 

Wishing you the courage to live the life you want to live with no regrets!

Motivational Monday - Step off that bank

We went to Maui in June and I've been going through our photos and even managed to organize some and get a photo book ordered.

When I talk with my family about our time there, one experience stands out in each of our minds. It was a hike through a bamboo forest and across a river to get to a waterfall.

It wasn't an easy hike, and when we had to cross a river, I wasn't sure I wanted to do it. It was like a real-life choose-your-own-adventure. Do I want to get wet? Do I want to try and walk across the slippery rocks? Do I want to go at all?

I didn't want to regret staying back while my family went ahead without me. So even though I was scared, I went. I made my way across the rocks and when there were no more rocks, I got in and got wet.

Here's our reward for our efforts:

I have often felt the same as I ventured in to a new writing project. Standing there, on the bank, wondering if I can make it across, doubt filling me up and my ego wanting me to continue to stand there, because standing still is most certainly better than failing. Or so it thinks.

Yes, it is scary, to take that first step, and then another, and to continue across, wondering what challenges lie ahead for you.

And of course, there will be challenges. But I also have come to learn that it's these experiences that also push us toward something extraordinary.

Staying on that bank would have been easy. But I would have missed out on so much. And so it is with our writing.

So today I say - step out. Go for it. Who knows what amazing waterfall awaits you!!

Monday Motivation: thinking about word-of-mouth

I think about it often. What makes a person tell a friend, "You HAVE to read this book."

We all know word-of-mouth is the best promotion there is. So what makes people talk about a book? I read many books - so what is it that makes ME talk about a book? 

I don't think it's necessarily one thing. I think it's a number of things mixed together with a little magic sprinkled on top that create a fantastic reading experience.  

Here's my list of things:

1) A gripping story. I think it is usually a story we haven't heard a hundred times before. A story that pulls us in, and it's hard to put the book down once you start reading. It is a unique reading experience, and the story is one you are excited to hear. Examples I can think of: WATER FOR ELEPHANTS by Sara Gruen and MATCHED by Ally Condie

2) A character or characters we admire. Maybe they make us cheer. Maybe they make us laugh. Maybe they make us feel things we haven't felt in a long time, if ever. Maybe they open up a hidden space inside of us we didn't even know existed! Maybe their strength and determination or their steadfast love and devotion to someone makes us cry. Whatever it is, I think the character(s) have to think and/or act in a way that makes us go WOW. It's not enough to just like a character. To really make a reader grip the book at the end and scream to the world, I LOVE this book, the characters connect with us on a deep, personal level. Possible examples: THE HELP by Kathryn Stockett and THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE by Audrey Niffenegger

3) Good writing. Some will argue this is not necessary. Certainly there have been books that have been popular where the writing was less than stellar. But often, it IS a key ingredient in the books that become huge hits by word-of-mouth. THE SKY IS EVERYWHERE by Jandy Nelson is one I'm thinking of as well as BEFORE I FALL by Lauren Oliver. I've read books where the premise was fabulous, but in the end, I was let down by the writing. Stilted dialogue or inconsistencies in how the characters talk or act will take a book down a few notches for me. And those kinds of things will often keep me from recommending a book.

4) We can see ourselves there. Some books do an incredible job at making us feel as if we are there. Maybe we want to be, maybe we don't, depending on the story, but regardless, it is easy to picture the setting, the characters, the world, and once we are immersed in it, it is hard to leave. BETWEEN SHADES OF GRAY by Ruta Sepetys was like this for me. It is a tragic story and yet, it was so REAL and I could not set that book down, as hard as it was at times to read.

5) It elicits strong emotions. I often don't remember details in books, because I have a terrible memory, but I can tell you I DO remember how a book made me feel. Sometimes I feel like I'm leaving treasured friends behind as I turn the last page, as it was with ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS by Stephanie Perkins. Sometimes I feel changed in how I view life, as it was with THE BOOK THIEF by Marcus Zusack. Sometimes I feel I've read something that is a once-in-a-lifetime reading experience, as it was with LOOKING FOR ALASKA by John Green.

I do think there is a bit of magic that happens in a book where everything comes together and it becomes the book everyone talks about. It isn't a formula or an equation - a little of this plus a lot of that times a sprinkling of that will get you word of mouth. If it was, someone would have developed it by now and we'd be able to buy it on every corner. 

I'm curious - do you think about these things as you write? Do you try to write a book that people will read and be so touched/amazed/shocked/whatever that they HAVE to tell everyone about it? I admit, the longer I'm at this, the more I think about the word-of-mouth factor. Lots of people write good books. Some people write amazing books. And a select few people write books that people read and talk about for years. I say, go for the gold. What have we got to lose, right?

Monday Motivation - Keep revising or shelve it?

Good decisions come from experience, and experience comes from bad decisions.  ~Author Unknown

Let's say you write a novel. You spend months, maybe even years, writing page after page after page. For the most part, it's fun. You love spending time with your characters. Once in a while, you wonder whether you can do it, whether you can really finish the thing, and some days you have to bribe yourself to simply open the document. But you keep telling yourself to just get the story down. Just write, even if it's bad and doesn't make sense, just keep writing.

So you do. Day after day after day, you write. And then one day, something wonderful happens. You finish that novel! HOORAY! 

After that, you let it rest, like you're supposed to. You spend time away from it so you can come back with fresh eyes and do what needs to be done - rip it to shreds (ha).

When you've done everything you know how to do, you then seek feedback from other writers. Because you know it's hard to see the forest for the trees.  They help you identify plot holes, flat characters, unrealistic dialogue, pacing problems - the list goes on and on.

There is a lot of work to be done. Suddenly, you have doubts. Big doubts. Will this story ever be good enough? Can you make it good enough? 

One of the hardest decisions writers have to make, I think, is deciding between continuing on with a work-in-progress or putting it away and starting over with something new.

When I wrote my first novel, a middle-grade, years ago, I revised it and then took it to a conference for feedback. I got mixed reviews on the first pages - some liked it, some didn't. One editor did ask me to send her the manuscript, which I did. She ended up rejecting it, as did a few agents I queried. 

I didn't exhaust my list of agents with that book. It only took a few rejections for me to know it was time to stick it away and try writing something else. How did I come to that conclusion? I think it was a combination of things, but I remember hearing editors and authors speak at the conference, and something resonated with me. Your story has to be one others will be *excited* to read. Your premise has to make someone sit up and say - oh, that sounds GOOD! And then, when they are excited, you have to be able to deliver in a big way. 

My first novel didn't have that. My second novel might have had it, but then there were plot problems. I took it into weird territory, and I could never figure out how to fix it. My third novel was better, but still... I just couldn't get things to come together quite right. 

I've always said, I don't view those early novels I wrote as a waste of time. I view them as my schooling. With each one, I learned things. And still today, when I write, I'm learning things. After all, there is a LOT to learn! 

I think these are the questions you should ask yourself as you evaluate whether to keep going with a manuscript:

1) Is your premise unique? 

2) Can you describe what your book is about in one sentence? What are people's reaction when you share that sentence with them? Be honest here.

3) Is there lots of tension in your story? Does your main character go through some difficult stuff? If not, are you up to the task of adding in tension? 

Donald Maass, literary agent, says this, in The Breakout Novelist (which I'll be reviewing here soon): "Beginning novelists tend to tell their stories in strict sequential order, following the protagonist through her every day from sunrise to sleep, over and over again, until the novel is completed. That can make for some dull reading. The essence of story is conflict. That principle is so well understood, so often espoused, and so universally taught, it is easily the underlying and fundamental component of plot. Why, then, do so many manuscripts ration out conflict the way water is rationed on a desert trek?"

4) Are your characters memorable? Do they have qualities about them that will make a reader remember them long after they've turned the last page? They can't just be characters we meet everyday in life. They need to be special somehow. A little bit extraordinary. 

If we look at Isabel in the middle-grade novel, It's Raining Cupcakes, at first glance, she may seem like just an ordinary girl. She doesn't always get along with her mom, like many girls. She is sometimes a little bit envious of her best friend, like many girls. She rides her bike, she collects turtles, she likes to bake. All ordinary things. But she has a dream. A *big* dream. And through the book, she chases that dream, and what makes it so hard is one of the biggest obstacles of Isabel getting her dream is her very own mother. I know lots of people don't like Isabel's mom. They don't like how Isabel takes on more than a 12-year-old girl should have to take on in regards to her mother. But you see, THAT IS THE POINT. That's what makes Isabel memorable - she keeps going in spite of her mother. And that's what makes the reader route for Isabel all the more.

5) And finally, is this a story you can see people getting excited about, and passing around to other people after they've read it? WHY will they be excited? If there is one element of the story you say - yes, this is exciting stuff, you need to make sure THAT element is the major element of the plot. Move things around so that exciting thing is pulling the reader through the story. 

If you go through these questions and you feel deflated after reading them, not energized, then it may be time to put the current manuscript away and start working on something new. If you choose to do this, please understand, it's okay! It doesn't make you a failure! I know I wouldn't have four published novels and three more on the way if I hadn't been brave enough to shelve projects that just weren't cutting it and start in on something new.

Writers write. They keep moving forward. Sometimes that will be in making a manuscript the best it will be. And other times, that will be starting fresh with a new manuscript and saying, "I can do better. I will do better this time."

Noah Lukeman, literary agent and author of The First Five Pages, says at the end of the book, "The ultimate message of this book, though, is not that you should strive for publication, but that you should become devoted to the craft of writing, for its own sake."

If you think of it that way, there really is no right or wrong in relation to the work-in-progress. Get quiet, listen to your gut, and do that. Our instincts usually aren't wrong.