But yesterday, in the library, the geek in me was offered a tantalizing prize of proportions that went way beyond temptation, and I couldn’t keep in the squee–

I was introduced to NC LIVE.

Do you know what a treasure this is?  With the wave of my library bar code, I can watch all the PBS documentaries I want.  Right now, that’s American history brought to life, broken out by decade or major event and free at my fingertips!  Can you blame me for throwing coolness to the wind?  For babbling my gratitude to the dear reference librarian who brought me enlightenment?  I know that it will take a great deal of effort to regain my lost ground on that slippery slope of all things cool, but I really don’t see how it could be helped.  Besides, maybe the librarian won’t tell–in fact, I’m pretty sure she understands.  How do I know this?  Well…

She’s a librarian, but for just a minute there–she forgot to be quiet.

One of my places is the North Carolina outerbanks, and–I know this is gonna sound crazy–but I like the banks of a hundred years ago even better.  But, since I can’t visit them physically, I’ve decided to do it vicariously through my characters.  The banks of those days were untamed, filled with sun and sea and a hefty dose of danger.  What more could a writer want?

Well, how about a dash of steampunk, an apocolypse, seven girls marked by fate, and a pirate or two?  For those of you who follow this blog, you know what that means–I’m back to work on my Seven Seals books, and loving it!  Right now it’s mostly research.  I’ve picked up a few books on place:

• The Pirates of North Carolina
• The Outer Banks of North Carolina
• Solving the Mystery of the Lost Colony
• The Inner Islands
• The Coasts of Carolina

Plus three books on Ocracoke I’ve already read.  I’ve also got a smattering of books to help with the time period and general mood I’m going for:

• Sherlock Holmes
• The Temple and the Lodge
• Secret Societies
• Victorian Days
• Queen Victoria

Plus of course, any steampunk novels I can get my hands on!  Today I picked up Gail Carriger’s Soulless from the library.  I had to put in a hold for it and wait a couple weeks, so I’m excited for my reading feast tonight!  Clearly I’ve got enough books lined up to keep me busy for at least a day or two, but if you have any suggestions of nonfiction, period fiction or steampunk I should pick up, give me a yell in the comments!

Then here, as my gift to you, is a list of my most beloved books on the craft of writing!

The life-alteringly good books:

• Who Dares Wins by Bob Mayer–this was one of those books that really blows the mind wide open.  The Green Beret/Warrior approach to writing really worked for me, and the exercises were great.  This book helped me delve deeper into my psyche, then clean up on the inhibitions lurking there.  What power my writing has must be credited at least in part to the tools taught in this book.
• Character and Viewpoint by Orson Scott Card–the first time I read this book I whipped through it, nodded thoughtfully, and passed it on to a writing friend.  The second time I went slowly and highlighted.  The third time my study was guided by Scott while I was in attendance at his literary bootcamp, and believe it or not, I still found unexplored gems.  I’m looking forward to the fourth time.
• Save the Cat by Blake Snyder–I tend to write at a break-neck speed, and my plots reflect that.  I knew I needed to provide some structural support to hold up all that adrenaline, but it wasn’t ’til I read Save the Cat that I could find a structure book that made sense to me.  I imagine this was the kind of how doctors felt when they discovered x-ray machines.  Suddenly, no one had to be cut open when you wanted to look at the skeleton!

The books that plugged in my lightbulb:

• Finding Your Voice by Les Edgerton–this one I’m still working through, but it’s already had quite the impact.  Voice tends to be one of the most poorly explained writing subjects, and yet is of utmost importance for a writer to master.  This book does the best of any I’ve found at explaining voice so you feel enlightened after the explanation.
• Writing a Romance Novel for Dummies by Leslie Wainger–I know, I know, you’ve heard (or said) that ‘romance novels are trash.  It doesn’t take skill to write a romance.’  Well, that’s nonsense of course, and every writer will benefit from exploring the trade secrets employed by bestselling romance writers.
• 20 Master Plots by Ronald Tobias–back in the yonder years when I first wrote a novel, I had no idea plot was even needed.  You just started off with a story idea, and wandered around til it went somewhere or died, right?  Uhm, no.  At least, not if you have 20 Master Plots on your bookshelf.  For the beginning writer out there still trying to get the story past chapter four or five, this book will feel like a life preserver.
• On Writing by Stephen King–sometimes we need a little nudge, or a cheer, to get us of on the path to bravery.  This book was that nudge for me.  It’s a fascinating look into Stephen King’s life, but most importantly it demonstrates that a writer’s personal demons can be put to work earning the writer’s bread.
• Plot and Structure by James Scott Bell–did I mention I’ve had a bit of a structure problem?  Well, sometimes it takes a second book to get the message across.  Sometimes it takes three!  This was my first book on structure, and can take a large chunk of credit that I ever finished my first novel.

The books that I’m reading now (besides the voice book, mentioned above):

• Description by Monica Wood
• Beginnings, Middles, and Ends by Nancy Kress
• Conflict, Action and Suspense by William Noble
• Scene and Structure by Jack Bickham

You’ll notice that out of these last four, three are books from the Element of Fiction Writing series, as is Character and Viewpoint, mentioned above.  This isn’t a fluke.  If you’re heading to the bookstore to buy yourself or your dear one a writing book and somehow commit the gross oversight of leaving home my list, go with this series and odds are good the book will hit the spot.

After setting aside the books I’ve listed above, I still have seventeen writing books beside me.  Plus more I couldn’t lay my hands on right now.  That’s a lot of books!  I think, come January, I’ll report on on the writing books I’m reading now and also list the books I have on freelancing as a writer.  Just in case any of y’all are broke from buying writing books and looking to earn some cash!

Plus, I’ll always have proof that no matter how bad the kitchen looks, it could always be worse.  Because, you know, I like to keep it positive!

I thought about sharing the pic, but decided to shield your tender eyes–and my dignity.  Besides, the dishes are looking up.  After another round tonight, they’ll look even better.  By the time we leave tomorrow, the kitchen will probably have reached the transcendent state of semi-presentable.  Which is, you should know, my highest aspiration.  I learned a long time ago, back in the way beyond days when my house used to enjoy a state of spotlessness, that I could keep a clean house and be a Super Housekeeper complete with the Super Housekeeper badge and trophy…or I could be a great mom, a busy writer, and happy lady.  And when I really, really just gotta have a badge or spiffy-sized trophy?  I can make one for myself, out of cardboard and crayons, and stack them all in a row.

So, what will I be doing this weekend?  Straightening up, vacuuming, washing dishes, catching up laundry?  Ha!  I’ll be at SCBWI Carolinas writing conference, along with my hubby and kids, and loving every minute of it.  Let those dishes leer–they don’t scare me!

Here’s another clue:

Yep, we got those guinea keets I was debating about–and they’re so cute!  And so sweet!  And so much trouble!  Lol.  We bought twenty from two (mostly) local hobbyists, ranging in age from about a week to a few hours old.  You can see how much variation there is in the bunch, and we’re super excited to see what color they grow up to be.  Guinea fowl genetics can be a bit complicated, but we’ve got a good group of blue, brown, and recessive genes represented in this group.  We’re hoping for a rainbow flock!

I’ve also spent some time like this:

Which is a highly productive way to get lots of reading in, I’ve found.  And in doing so, I discovered the thrilling stories of my fellow Hillsborough writer John Claude Bemis.  Tall tales, magic, coming of age and discovery–what a great read!  The Clockwork Dark is one series that you’ll want to clear your calender and settle in with, so be forewarned!

In writing news, I’m back down to three fulls of 13 Demon Days out with agents, but still feel hopeful as the misses are very close calls.  I’ve also this week discarded a half dozen beginnings to my new YA novel, Siren’s Scream, and tossed around characters ’til they’re dizzy.  I’m feeling really excited about this novel, and the story that’s growing in my mind as I work through the early kinks.  Yay for inspiration and the right doses of perspiration!  Now if only I can harness the flighty energy of my new guinea keets while keeping a steady hand on the creative spark, I’ll be full-steam ahead!

I picked Friday partly ’cause I will be home all day–the first time in two weeks! 

Eight states, seven YA books (including Summer of the Traveling Pants, which just seemed appropriate!), three swimming pools, one lovely old abbey, and countless desserts later, I feel ready to wave the kids off to school and dive into my new project.  Seven apocalyptic seals, a group of girls marked by fate and a cursed island.  I can’t wait!

Answer:  They’re all inspiration for characters in the new series I’m working on.  They’re also all proof you should think carefully before inspiring a writer.  People often get excited when they meet a writer–they love the idea of having a character based on their very own self and being made famous in fiction.  But in my fiction at least, they’re more likely to be infamous!

Take the traffic cop, for example.  I’ve known lots of great cops–I’m even related to a few.  And in a general sort of way, these law enforcement officers will make it into my books.  But, good guy characters quickly take on a life of their own and become a whole person in the book, seperate from the real-life person that was their jumping off point.  Villains will change, too, but often don’t need to change as much.  This is probably because the person that inspired the villain wasn’t someone I knew well and yet is someone I can readily associate a lot of emotion with.

Emotion is a writer’s best friend.  And who doesn’t feel emotions of one kind or another when looking at this?

The emotion I feel is outrage, and I associate it with the cop who will be immortalized as one of my new villains.  When I looked into my rearview mirror as he walked away, the emotion was strong.  I knew he had speculated my speed based on my having passed a slow moving trailer.  He drove behind the trailer for awhile to see how fast it was going, then figured how fast I must have been going when I passed it.  Except the trailer had slowed down and pulled half off the road when I passed it, asking me to pass, so the cop was wrong.  And he didn’t care.  He didn’t even pretend he’d actually clocked me going the speed he ‘wrote me down for.’  But outrage is a great emotion to pull from when developing a character, so I’m grateful to the cop for providing me such an easy building base for my next villain.  He’ll make a good one.

I don’t have as much emotion to pull from when thinking of the tent-camp manager.  For the sake of brevity, let’s just say that if an entire campground is bedding down for the night and the children are trying to sleep–after all, it was midnight–the manager really shouldn’t join the one rowdy group that won’t shut up and turn down the radio.  Not the best thing for business.  But, while he was thoughtless, and bumbling, he’ll only make rude-guy or henchmen status.  As for the shark?  He’s inspired a whole new race of shark-men hybrids that can come out of the water, and he’ll be immortalized as a truly scary cold-blooded killer with the desire to annihilate.  I hope he doesn’t mind.

I’ve heard that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, with the expectation of getting different results.  I’d say that’s the definition of of querying, too.  Can the fact that the two share an identical definition be coincidence?  Nope!  So, what is one to do when bit by the querying bug?  There are several options.  The first, as we’ve just established, is to go crazy.  Let me provide a few tips on that:

• Use a magnifying glass if you’re trying to tell if that paper rejection letter has been hand signed.  The ink will blur and bleed into the paper and appear uneven when compared to printed letters.
• If the letter seems so courteous as to be almost encouraging and you’re sure it’s personalized, check query tracker.  You’ll probably find someone else who’s posted the letter–hoping it’s a personal rejection!
• If you’re still not sure and can’t rest ’til you know, simply make up a fake novel (preferably with a really bad premise) and a pseudonym, and query the agent again.  If you get the same encouraging letter, you know it’s a form.  If you get a request to see pages, start writing.  Fast.
• A rejection letter with the title of your book mentioned has been slightly personalized, but doesn’t have the same rejection clout as a letter which mentions your characters by name.  The first can be pulled off with a merging program (or so I understand) while the second requires an overworked assistant or exhausted intern to actually glance at your pages.  This is real rejection currency, my friends.  Use it wisely.
• The highest form of rejection letter is of course a letter which suggests editorial changes in case you’re inclined to do a rewrite.  However, this most worthy of all rejection letters is closely followed by a one-line note from the actual (real live!) agent that’s been added underneath the standard form rejection.  Rejection letters like this are good for a batch of home-baked brownies, or maybe even a carefully casual brag at your next writing group meet up.

Another course of action when out on submission (or, if you’re like me, an option to pursue in and around the crazies) is to try your hand at actual writing.  You know, the thing we do when we’re not critiquing, blogging, networking, guest posting, mentoring, organizing writing get togethers, editing, reading books on writing, researching, reading fiction (to keep up with the genre!), perusing publisher’s marketplace, researching agents, writing query letters, obsessing over rejection letters and fantasizing over bestsellerdom.  Here’s a handy scale to put this writing project in perspective:

1. The worst writing project is something like a short story.  You finish it too fast, and will have to come up with a new project.  What’s more, if you send it out on submission you’ll just add to your rejection woes.
2. The second worst project is the sequel to the book out on submission.  You will either discover that you don’t really have anything more to say and catch a deathly fear of series, or you will find yourself even more invested in the sequel than the first book, and each rejection letter will sound a double death knoll to your beloved books.
3. A medium level project is a companion novel set in the same universe/place as your submitted novel, but not dependent on it.  This will allow you to pretend you’re not obsessing, while enjoying the writerly euphoria of developing back story and creating a world building encyclopedia.
4. One of the best projects you could work on is a new, standalone novel that is independent of your submitted book but still works well with the ‘brand’ you’ll establish when (note my optimism!) you get the first book published.
5. An almost ideal best project is one you can kid yourself into believing needs to be completed before agents get back to you on the submitted book.  For example, that lovely (but impractical) story you promised your nieces you’d write.  Once you’re ‘real’ book is under contract/agented, you won’t have time for fun projects, so you’d better get it done now while you have the time.  If you can make yourself really believe this logic, you can make the time waiting to hear back on those Fulls really fly.
6. The ideal project is one which combines  4 and 5, so you’re not only working productively, but believe you have a compelling need to finish this project before the agents get back to you.  And this must be done without falling into the sequel trap of project 3.  Good luck with that!

The third way of dealing with the submission willies is to cultivate optimism.  You are going to get an agent, it’s only a matter of time.  Since the deal is as good as inked, there’s no reason to feel anxiety or lose any sleep.  You can spend your time doing sensible things and enjoy the contented feeling of knowing that your agent is out there–they just haven’t found you yet.

Of course, if you master that last, uber-optimistic method, odds are good you fit nicely into the definition we started with–crazy!

Just a quick note to say I posted on the cabinet, a discussion about plot pacing.  And different paces of pacing.  Because apparently I’m still living up to my childhood nickname of Speedy Gonzales,

Only now it’s in my writing!

If only I hadn’t been two days tardy, we’d share the same day–but I guess my special-wattage will have to make do with what I got.  Dr. Seuss’s books are like chocolate–always welcome, and always a pick-me-up.

Today we’re off for a whirlwind stay out on Oracoke Island.  I can’t wait!  Lots of pics to be posted when we get home, and hopefully some new writing in the works.  Summer is a great time to restore the creative well, and I intend to embrace it!