NaNo Prep!

As I've mentioned, I will be writing for NaNoWriMo again this year, my fourth year in a row. I'm very excited, but also a little terrified (I get this way every year, and try to keep telling myself how normal it is.) If you want to track me down on the NaNo site (www.nanowrimo.org) I'm on there under denisej


Tuesday I received a pretty cool email from a reporter at ABCnews.com. They wanted to interview me about NaNo and my successes and process. Well, I did the interview, and now I'm feeling extra-committed (which means...extra-terrified!)


I've been working on a loose outline for this book, and as I've been brainstorming, I've come up with a few preparation tips that have helped me and I hope they'll help you too. Feel free to take these and share them around if you like any of them. After all, we're in this together, right?


1. Brainstorm story ideas. You may have already done this. Or you may be thinking that a brilliant idea will just come to you on November first. I'm of the opinion that you should at least start with a seed of an idea. If you don't have any ideas yet, think of some of your favorite moments of conflict in some of your favorite movies or books. What did you love about that conflict? Was it romantic tension? A power struggle? A loud screaming match of a climax? Or a smart character that talks their way out of a situation with smart-talk? There are a zillion other things it could be too, but the plan is to think of what you like and why you like it. You don't want to be stuck writing fifty thousand words about something you don't even like!


When you read the paper or watch a movie, or even when you're just talking to a friend, allow your mind to ask "what if" questions. Start with what you hear or see or read, and let your mind go to..."what if it went this way..." Those can make great story ideas.


2. Brainstorm character names. This, for me, is the fun part. Pick up a baby name book from the library and look up the meanings of some names. That can help you if you just don't know where to start with characters.


3. Once you've settled on one or two characters, try journaling as them, just to get their voice. This will (probably) not be anything that will make it to the novel, but just fun stuff to get to know them.  Here's some thoughts to get you started:

As your character -


- Write five statements starting with, "I remember..."
- Write five statements that start with, "I want..."
- Write five statements that start with, "I cant wait until..."


Think you know your characters now? Great! Here's a little character interview I do with my characters when I'm so sure I know them (and I'm usually totally wrong!)

Character Interview:

The Basics

Full Name:
Male or Female:
Age:
Education:
Job:
Likes:
Dislikes:
Strong or weak:
Outgoing or shy:
Short or tall:
Detailed physical description:

Go a little deeper:

How does my character feel about him or herself? Will this be different at the beginning of my book than at the end?

How does my character feel about their father?
Their mother?

Does my character have any pets?
How do they feel about their pets?

What does my character want most in the world?
 
What do they hope to avoid, above all else?
 
What are five adjectives that would describe my character?

What does my character do with their spare time?
Do they have any hobbies?

Does my character have special talents?

Where does my character fall on the intelligence scale?
Where do they think they fall on the intelligence scale?

What was my character’s most embarrassing moment?
Most proud moment?
Most hurtful moment?

What is my character’s favorite movie?
What’s their favorite music?

Does my character have any bad habits?
Any habits that annoy others?

Who’s their best friend?
Their worst enemy?

What’s their dream job?
Their dream vacation?

Not so hard, right? Well, it is for me. Every time. But it's good to spend time thinking about our characters. I'm definitely more driven by my characters and knowledge of them (as you can probably tell) while I know others are driven more by plot. I'd be interested to see if anyone has more plot-based jump-starting tips for NaNo.


I'll leave you with one more character/voice exercise that I love to do:
Come up with a wise-ass/or smart/or unique reply in your character's voice to these statements:


Someone tells them, "You don't belong here."
Or someone tells them to, "Get a life."


And finally, figure out how your character would take a compliment. Say someone tells them, "Wow, you're gorgeous." or "Wow, you're so talented!" or "Wow, you're so smart." Don't just let them be shy - make them speak to these things!


I'd love to hear if any of these things work for you or don't, or if you have other favorite tips to get into your stories and characters' heads! 

Meet FIVE of @TheTenners This Weekend!

Don't know who The Tenners are? We are a force of 2010 debut authors, over ninety of us in all! Five of us will be coming together at:

Uppercase Books

Snohomish, Washington

Saturday, October 30th, for a 3:00 p.m. signing

The five 2010 debut authors are: 

Karen Kincy, author of OTHER

Mindi Scott, author of FREEFALL

Kimberley Derting, author of THE BODY FINDER

Chelsea Campbell, author of THE RISE OF RENEGADE X

and me, Denise Jaden, author of LOSING FAITH

There really is something for everyone! If you're in the Washington area, I hope you'll come out and say hello. It's rare that authors are organized enough to set up group signings like this (thanks Karen!) and I'm sure it will be a ton of fun.

I'm still working on putting together some Nano Prep Tips, and I should be back with those either tomorrow or Friday.

Teen Author Tuesday Presents Cindy Callaghan and Just Add Magic Giveaway!

Read to the bottom to find out how you can win a copy of Cindy Callaghan's JUST ADD MAGIC!

Today I get the pleasure of welcoming another fellow Tenner, Cindy Callaghan! Cindy's debut novel, JUST ADD MAGIC was just released on October 10th from Simon & Schuster’s Aladdin Mix. It's middle-grade fiction, for ages 8-13.

Welcome, Cindy. Can you tell me about your book in seven words or less.

Cookbooks, annoying little brothers, mean girls, good friends, magic!, soccer, chili, recipes, cute boys…Sorry, eight words, but I couldn’t leave out the cute boys.

Sounds great! Other than your main character, who's a favorite character of yours in your debut novel and why?

Darbie is a wonderful secondary character who upon first-glimpse is the most immature of her gang because she is mis-matched, clumsy, hungry, ignorant to boys, and just plain silly. But, the more I got to know her and the more I think about her, I actually think she is the most self-confident. She doesn’t have to put on “shows” for anyone. She just likes being herself!

Can you tell my readers a little about yourself?

I could talk about myself all day…I won’t, but I’m just saying. First I am a mom. Being with my kids is and the most important thing to me. Luckily they like my writing, so it’s a great second-job (I say “second” job because I have a regular corporate job too) because they can be involved in it, and they really enjoy it. I am also the busiest person in the world. I have to be extremely well-organized and multi-task a lot to get everything done. And because I am so frantically busy most of the time, I am also the sleepiest person you’ll ever meet. I can sleep anywhere, anytime. 

What's been the most surprising thing about your path to publication so far?

How much everyone cares about it. I’m touched by how interested people are in by writing and publication. People have so many questions and they’re so excited. Everyone is willing to help from friends delivering bookmarks to another jazzing up my school presentation for me. 

What's one piece of writing advice you would give to aspiring authors?

On this I quote the great Greco-Roman philosopher, Nike. JUST DO IT!

Are you swept up with promotion for your debut book right now or can you give us a sentence or two about something new you're working on?

Promotion has been huge, you’re right. But, I am excited about my newest project: THE HAUNTING OF SYDNEY MCKENZIE. Like JUST ADD MAGIC, it’s a middle-grade fiction. In seven words, it’s California-Delaware, spooky, hot-chocolate, ghosts, not-fitting-in, Ouija-boards, and cute boys. I’d love to say more, but I don’t want to jinx anything. 

Gotta have them cute boys! It sounds great, Cindy. What did you write when you were a teen? Did you journal? Write poetry? Write overly literary or emotional stories? Or avoid writing altogether?

All of the above.

What's the last book you read that you really loved?
I loved Lindsay Leavitt’s Princess For Hire.

If readers want to find out more about you and your writing, where should they look?

My website: www.cindycallaghan.com

Thanks so much for visiting today, Cindy, and all the very best with your debut novel!

And for my readers, since I'm so enamored by Cindy's abundance of cute boys in her novels, let's do this... if you'd like to win a copy of JUST ADD MAGIC tell me the name and book of one swoon-worthy cute fictional boy. Open to U.S. and Canada only, ages 13 and older.

Good luck!

#SIWC2010 Notes - 3

This is my third and final set of notes from the Surrey International Writer's Conference. All my other notes I took by hand, and don't have time to transcribe at the moment. But I must say, these are some of the best notes from the conference anyway.

I don't recall what this workshop was called, but it was by the fabulous James Scott Bell and basically outlined his revision process. If you're looking for a good book on craft, specifically on plot and structure, James Scott Bell is your guy. He has a real gift in teaching this area, and I know he has at least a couple of books out on craft.

Here are a few interesting points from his workshop:



Drafting:
Push limits in your first draft.
Revise previous days pages and then move forward.
At the 25k mark, check – are all the elements in the plot engine working? Are all those things solid, because need to be ready to push on for rest of novel.

First Read Through:
First – cool off. Put it away, don’t think about it for at least two weeks.
Print out a hard copy.
Intention is to come back to it as a reader.
He prepares a cover for his book. He wants it to be like a real reading experience.
He has fun – gives himself a blurb on the cover - LOL.
Read like a reader – resist the inclination of stopping to take notes – minimal notes.
James uses 4 main symbols:
Check mark – story is dragging
Parenthesis – incomprehensible sentences
Circle – when stuff needs to be expanded. (fill in the circle)
? – why did I write that? Why is this character doing that? Whatever questions arise.

Systematic Revision Process:
Does the story make sense?
Do the characters act like real people? Would someone really act like that?
Consciously look at story from every character’s POV and get them to make the best decisions that they can for them. Every character must have an agenda.
Are the stakes high enough?
Can the problem have a higher reach?
Does the main character jump off the page?  Needs to be different when they first appear. Plots have all been done, but characters haven't.
Ray Bradbury likes to give every character an obsession.
No wimps! We want active characters.
Use the voice journal – write as fast as you can, trying to get the subconscious mind going.
Inner conflict is one of the great keys. No one should be absolutely sure about what they’re doing.
Hitchcock’s Axiom – a great story is life with the dull parts taken out.
Where is there no conflict, tension, or worry in the characters. Every scene needs to have that feeling.
Is there enough of a worry factor?
At what point could an editor put my book aside and decide not to come back to it? Consider cutting that part.
Raymond Chandler’s advice – bring in a guy with a gun.

Write a summary – 2000-3000 words about your story, not of what it is, but of what it could be.
Do this more than once. Keep working on it over a couple of weeks or more. Keep making the premise and structure stronger.
Change what you need in order to make the story more compelling. Next draft gets done according to the new summary.

Major areas to watch for;
Weak opposition – does you opposition have the power to kill your lead? Crush your lead’s professional pursuits? Crush your lead’s spirit? Opposition needs to be stronger than your lead character.
Slow openings – happy people in happy land. Need some kind of disturbance or ripple. That’s when your story begins.
Too much backstory – you think the reader needs to understand. But readers will wait a long time to understand as long as the disturbance is engaging. Pepper in a little bit of backstory to help bond the reader with the main character. Koontz and King do this well.
Don’t open with weather and dreams.
Characters alone with their feelings. Need to see characters interacting, something happening. (ex. A woman’s husband has just left. Don’t care because we don’t know her. Even if it's just her being served divorce paper’s, at least it’s interaction so we can feel more for her.) Need to see a character doing something and talking. Dialogue helps us know the character quicker. This also forces you to write a more active scene.
So much dialogue is not done well, so show early on that you can do it well.

Chapter 2 switcheroo. Start with second chapter instead, because that’s often where things kick in a bit more. Withhold info from chapter one and pepper it in.
Start deeper. Can you start your scene further in? Check this with every scene.
Action scene – viewpoint character has an agenda and is being opposed. Action or reaction?
What each character wants in every scene, and how are they being opposed? At least one character in every scene must have this.
If the character’s not worried about something, the reader won’t be either.
Action/ Emotion mirror – impending doom – lots of emotion there.
Dialogue – fastest way to improve a manuscript. A compression or extension of action. If characters are saying something, it’s because they want something or are resisting something. Flows from one character to another without extra explanation. Cut boring dialogue. Need tension always.
Great dialogue begins with orchestration – are they all different so there’s potential for conflict? Do they all sound different?
3 acts – 1 memorable line of dialogue in each to elevate it for the reader.
Write out a vanilla line and then play with it.
Use silence and action responses, not always dialogue.

End of revision process – what is a possible theme? – how to find – imagine character 20 years later. Why did they have to go through the story – ask them. What would character say. Have the character make an argument about that very lesson early in the story.
Wizard of Oz – says to Toto she wants to get away from home. Ends with no place like home.
Polish – concentrate on scene openings and endings. Sometimes you can turn around the descriptive passages at beginning – move description later.
Chapter endings – try cutting last paragraph, see if it works. Don’t write scenes to their full logical completion.
Compress dialogue. Final pass through dialogue, cut entire lines, words within, put in silences. Gives a real sense of tightening.
Dial up or down 25% - try to overwrite emotion, you can always bring it down later.


See, amazing, right? The more I learn, the more I realize I need to learn. I hope you got something out of this, and if so, I'd love to hear what you find most interesting/enlightening here.

I'll be back tomorrow with Teen Author Tuesday, and then later in the week with some NaNo Prep Tips!

#SIWC2010 Notes - 2

I chose some great workshops yesterday! Unfortunately, the Internet has been dicey, so it's been difficult to get any notes up and posted. I didn't make it to the social media workshop yesterday, but I heard that they put twitter up on the overhead projector. While exploring hashtags, they looked up #siwc2010 (by the way, if you haven't been watching this hashtag, you should! Lots of interesting little bits from the conference there.) Anyway, while looking up #siwc2010, my blog post happened to have been the latest tweet up on the screen, and KC Dyer clicked on the link to my blog! I'm very sad that I missed out on seeing this, but not completely sad, because I was at another AWESOME workshop.

What’s So Funny?
by Senior vice-president of theatrical production at MGM, Luke Ryan!

Too cool, right? Luke started as a screenwriter, so he had plenty of insight on the writing, and some wonderfully funny things to say about humor. I don't want to give away all of his notes here, but I'll pass along a few highlights. If you ever get the opportunity to hear him speak, I highly recommend it!

Out of the top 50 movies of all time, only 6 were comedies. It costs much less to make comedy than action/fantasy/adventure.

Luke asked the group in the workshop what’s funny to them, and this is what they came up with: the unexpected, slapstick, sarcasm, black humor- making fun of something nobody would normally make fun of. The joke you can feel coming, exaggerated personalities, absurdity.



But Luke brought it down to three main points:
1.    Pain
2.    Awkwardness
3.    Discomfort

Develop character we care about and then beat the snot out of them. (One of my favorite lines of the class!)

It's easy to have a good comedy idea, hard to come up with good comic writing.

Two types of Diminishment
1.    Physical – bathroom humor, bonked on head humor, can’t control himself
2.    Emotional- over-reactive/under-reactive – character responds with more or less emotion than expected. Witty banter/dialogue.

Everybody loves it when a fat guy falls down. Jim Carrey.
Over-reactive – Will Ferrell, Chris Farley.
Under-reactive  - Bob Newhart, Chevy Chase
Bill Murray/Steve Martin – can do both.
2 or more people – usually one over and one under reactive.
Beat - unit of narrative measurement that expresses a specific idea or action
Single beat jokes – no set up, and seldom very effective. Incidental comedy.
Two-beat jokes – set up to prepare jokes, follows with a payoff. The beats can come right next to each other or separated.
Resonance – like two old friends that show a joke over time.
Multi-beat jokes – still starts with a set-up, ends with a payoff but inserts anticipation beats in between to heighten interest and add information. Rule of 3.
The longer of setup and anticipation beats, the greater the payoff.

Make a comedic spine to run over the course of the movie.

Luke also gave us 21 things that are always funny. Here are a few highlights:
1.    I’m not going to… - character swears he won’t do something, cut to where he does.
2.    Physical comedy – head bonks, contorting in impossible way, falling down, impossible physical challenges. He showed a clip/montage from Dumb and Dumber – tongue stuck to pole in winter, carrot on snowman, throwing snowball too hard, tackle girl he likes. Over-reactive comedy.
5.    Gross-out Humor – bodily functions and secretions. Always have to outdo last, but can’t go too far. Comic suspense starts in Dumb and Dumber scene when Lloyd Christmas gives Harry Turbo-Lax. Then we wait for the payoff. Waiting to laugh. We don’t see what’s so gross (that would be too much). Embarrassment sets in when he cracks the window, Invasion of Privacy when Mary knocks.
10.    Doing exactly what he’s told (instead of the implied).
11.    Playing To/ Playing against – well-known stereotypes. Race or gender things work well here.
13.    Comic Reveal – reveals a hidden truth to audience that character doesn’t know.
16.    Defining the Underdog – we find humor in what’s expected and what they’ll actually be able to do. (My Cousin Vinnie – unskilled lawyer, failed Bar 6 times, needs to get them out of jail).
19.    Vulgarity
20.    Comic Repetition – use it until it’s not funny anymore, then digging it up and using it to a greater degree until it’s funny again.
21.    Obsessive Drive – can’t control himself and tries everything to complete goal, may actually bring him further from his goal.

I hope that's helpful! Do you have any favorite types of comedy or favorite comic movies? What about comic novels? I've been reading AUDREY WAIT! by Robin Benway, and it's hilarious! It's a nice change of pace to be reading something funny after a lot of darker reads. I'd love to hear if you have any recommendations!

#SIWC2010 Notes - 1

I decided to attempt taking my notes in an open blog post today. These are by no means comprehensive, but hopefully will give an overview. I'll be typing quickly, so forgive me for what will likely be many, many typos, and bits that don't make sense. But if you're a write who wishes they could be at a conference learning about craft, you might get something out of this...


Creating Characters That Jump Off the Page by James Scott Bell

Favorite books and movies of class members: Pay it Forward, To Kill a Mockingbird, Tombstone, Matrix, Quiet Man, Crash.

Interaction between two main characters (Quiet Man). So many levels, but all about characters with intersections (Crash).

We connect our stories through characters.

Showed scene from Casablanca. (Characters drawn in subtle tones that have a real meaning in the film). Rick is not intimidated and won't be pushed around. He uses humor as evasion. He was subtlely challenging. Defiant. He had attitude.

Lead characters must have attitude. Memorable. Dynamic. Different.

The key to originality of stories is the characters you put into those stories.

Plot without character is like action without engagement.

Great characters without plot = a relative that overstays their welcome.

Plot = the record of how a character deals with death (physical, professional, or psychological). What event can you bring in that would immediately make your character deal with one of those deaths. Stakes need to matter to the character for a reader to get involved.

True character revealed only in crisis.

Main character - reader must want them to succeed.

Anti-hero - doesn't care about the world around him (Rick in Casablanca). May have been cast out of society. Gets dragged into controversy. By the end, they either must be redeemed or go back into isolation.

Character creation:
Step 1 - Need to know 2 things - Noun of vocation and an adjective of manner. Adjective goes first.
ex. - clumsy waitress

Step 2 - voice journal - write in the character's voice. Prompt with questions. Begin sentences with, "I remember..." Don't be wedded to any one thing as you write. Get their distinctive voice.

You want to get away from the rational to find characters that jump off the page.

Step 3 - need a visual - clip pictures, or in your mind. James uses Google Images. Put the pictures in a circle and then look for relationships between these people.

This is how he sets his cast list.

Deepening your characters:
Great characters who jump off the page start inside YOU. You have to feel the characters to make them memorable.

Step 1 - Make a list of nouns from your past. The smoke. The fire. The carnival. etc.Words that talk to your subconscious. Something you remember that moves you.

Stetp 2 - Make a list of passions - things that make you mad, sad, or glad. Translate them over to your lead characters, not so much in story, but in emotion.

Step 3 - Get physical. When you write about characters, try to find a physical positioning that enables you to feel what the character is feeling. Do this for every character. Move your hands and face so that it's more than just in your head. You want to be emotional when you write your scenes.

Exercises:
Opposite Exercise - think of a scene of high intensity involving your main character. Take that scene and now imagine if your character did the exact opposite of what they're doing now.

Outside the book exercise - imagine a scene not in your book at a social gathering. Someone that person trusts walks up and throws a drink in your character's face. How does that play out?

What would make your character throw a chair out the window.

Find false self vs. true self - from mask to authenticity. Character will have a moment of self-realization (the face of my enemy). 

If a novel doesn't grab a reader, for some reason that lead character introduction doesn't grab them/is not strong enough/motivations are not clear enough.


Let me know what you think! Do you agree with any of these points? Disagree? Find anything really interesting or revelatory?

 

GCC Tour Stops

I'm having a great time at the Surrey International Writer's Conference! I'll be back next week with an update, but in the meantime, Girlfriend's Cyber Circuit has been touring me, and I'm so excited about all the great girlfriends who have been hosting me the last few days:


http://www.kaycassiday.com/blog (interview + giveaway)

http://writerstephanie.livejournal.com/98248.html (interview)

http://kristinaspringer.blogspot.com/2010/10/girlfriends-cyber-circuit-denise-jaden.html (interview + giveaway)

http://sarahantz.com/blog/ (interview)

http://www.melissacwalker.com/blog/ (giveaway)

http://amandaashby.blogspot.com/2010/10/gcc-presents-denise-jaden.html (interview)

http://jenniferechols.livejournal.com/143340.html (interview)

http://jessicabrody.blogspot.com/2010/10/guest-star-denise-jaden.html (interview)


http://mybignose.blogspot.com/2010/10/relationship-advice-from-denise-jaden.html (interview and giveaway)


http://caridadferrer.com/2010/10/22/gcc/ (interview)


http://lindagerber.blogspot.com/2010/10/ff-losing-faith-by-denise-jaden.html (interview and giveaway)

If you have the time, there are some very fun and unique questions in some of these interviews. And of course lots of fresh chances to win a copy of Losing Faith! Unless otherwise stated, all contests are for U.S. only, as my publisher is providing the copies.