Our July spotlight pick for Best of the Month in Teens is Seraphina, Rachel Hartman’s brilliant debut fantasy novel that takes place in a world of dragons and humans, narrated by a young woman who is both.  Even for readers who don’t typically gravitate towards books with dragons, this is the book to make an exception for. Seraphina is detailed and complex without becoming dense or cumbersome–I absolutely loved it, and so have other readers in the office.  Seraphina has received starred reviews and praise from best-selling authors like Christopher Paolini and Tamora Pierce who wrote an exclusive guest review for the book that you can only find here (or here).  At the end of the post we’ve also got a short book trailer that’s pretty awesome.  If you already love books with dragons, which one is your favorite so far?

Tamora Pierce is a best-selling author of fantasy books for teenagers. Her books, known for their teenaged girl warriors and wizards, have received critical acclaim and a strong fanbase. Her newest book, Mastiff, is the third book in The Legend of Beka Cooper series. 

In Seraphina’s world, coldly intellectual dragons can take on the shapes–and feelings–of human beings. Sometimes this results in a surprise. Seraphina’s father married a beautiful musician, and discovered too late that she was a dragon. She died, leaving him with a daughter who confuses him and his new wife and children.

Now the half-dragon Seraphina is the assistant to the cranky royal music master. She is in charge of Princess Glisselda’s music lessons; she books performers for the 40-year celebration of the peace treaty between dragons and humans, and she rehearses the rowdy court musicians. She has to hide the scales on her arm and around her waist, and she can never let anyone find out that Orma, her music teacher, is actually a dragon.

When she plays the solo for the funeral of the realm’s murdered prince, Seraphina is suddenly raised into entirely new, visible levels of peril. People she always avoided are noticing her. She has to attend social functions, where she is caught up in court politics, between those who support the treaty and those who want to destroy it. She runs afoul of conspirators who want to start the war again–one of them may be her own grandfather. She even discovers that Prince Lucian, who is betrothed to Princess Glisselda, is not only very sharp-eyed but also very agreeable to be around. He appreciates her insights on intrigue at court and in the city and uses her as an unofficial investigator into the ongoing unrest.

The plot thickens. A new religious order plots riots and revolution. Exiled knights return to report an unregulated dragon flying near where the old prince was murdered. The dragons are trying to send Orma for corrective surgery–they think he’s gotten too human and they want to cut those parts out of his brain. Seraphina fears that if she tells the prince and the princess what she is, they’ll hate her forever, but their work to preserve the treaty celebrations is bringing them closer together. And all of them are terrified that the dragons will decide that humans are not worth the trouble, and will destroy them at last.

I loved this book even more the second time I read it than I did the first. The characters are interesting and engaging, and I love the new look at dragons. For all that she’s half-dragon, Seraphina is a very believable human being, caught between different loyalties and just trying to keep everyone she loves alive. But don’t take my word for it–read it yourself!

–Tamora Pierce

The number one most important thing about your hero isn’t that she can wield two swords with equal grace, or that she was abandoned as a child on the doorstep of a house of assassins, or even that her eyes hold the promise of a storm-tossed sea. What is most important about your hero is her personality. That is what will make people love her. That is what will annoy the crap out of her comrades. And that is what will be central to her story.

This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t flesh out her likes and dislikes, friends and enemies, and her rich and complicated history. All that’s important too! But the secret to a character’s actions, reactions, and pursuit of happiness is her personality. And the sooner you figure out that personality, the sooner you’ll be able to climb inside her head and figure out her voice.

Ideally, the key to her personality should be simple and easy to grasp. Because, let’s be honest: it’s not like you’re making just one character. You have a whole cast of characters to dictate around the page and plot! And coming up with distinct personalities for each and every one of them is essential for a strong, character-driven novel.

But how to reduce something as complex as a personality to a mere outline? And for so many characters! Well, there are probably a hundred different answers to that, ranging from Jung-Myers-Briggs typing all your characters to answering hundreds of questions about each of them. But here’s one simple, at-a-glance method I’ve found helpful for quickly pinning down the hearts of all your characters.

List Six of Your Core Values

The things that tug at a reader’s heartstrings, that make him willing to follow a hero to the gates of hell, are those things that most clearly express his own core values. And by core values, I mean things like Honesty, Loyalty, Kindness, and Bravery. Ideals that, when well expressed, can pull tears from a reader’s eyes—making him wish the world was that cool. But often, an author will write with the values he has seen assigned to heroes in other people’s art, rather than harnessing the power of the values that speak to him. And aping another’s values will never be as powerful as expressing your own.

Central to the actions of each character is the value she holds most dear. This is not to say that she does not also think other values are important. It’s just identifying the one value that defines her at her core. Her adherence to this one core value will inform whether she feels good or guilty, how she feels about others, and how she overcomes obstacles. Each core value should build a distinctly different character. If a character holds the value of Honesty most dear, for instance, she will react differently to a situation than a character who values Kindness, and their differing opinions will put them at odds. Add in a character who finds Loyalty most important, and you’ve got a real conflict brewing.

So what values do you hold most dear? Try to use the most descriptive words you can—words that, when said, give you an immediate picture. You’ll want to come up with at least six, and try to make sure they don’t overlap too much, so that they’ll each build the core to a very different character. Here are a few of mine: Honesty, Loyalty, Bravery, Generosity, Kindness, and Idealism.

List Twelve Flaws

And by flaws, I don’t mean Greed, Pride, Lust, or any of those other demons that seem to nibble at everyone’s toes. I mean the little, nagging things that affect your interactions with people. The words you might use to describe an acquaintance, like Shy, Vain, or Cocky. None of these words should mean your character is a bad person—so you don’t want words like “sociopathic killer” or “backstabbing cake-eater.” In fact, many of the kinds of flaws I’m talking about could even be considered endearing—if aggravating if you have to live with them. They’re certainly humanizing. And they’re not all-the-time flaws or, heaven-forefend, the only flaws the character possesses. It’s more just that when your character goes wrong, for whatever reason, this is how they tend to go wrong. And we all have things like that!

These things, outside of the core value of your character, help shape how your character reacts. Say you have a Loyalty-core character, for instance. Loyalty is the heart of her, and her challenges and triumphs will center around her Loyalty. But, aside from being loyal, she is also Cocky—a trait which pairs well with Lazy. She will be there for her friends, but she is also overconfident of her abilities, a bit of a braggart, waits to the last minute, and takes too many risks, because of her supreme confidence in her abilities.

For this area, you’ll want to try to come up with at least twelve words, as each character will get two primary flaws. I like to use words like: Shy, Aggressive, Lazy, Rude, Headstrong, and Insecure

List Eighteen Personality Traits

If the core value forms the shape of your character, and the flaws are the shading that make her pop out in 3d, then her personality traits give her color. These traits can be flashy. They may actually define acquaintances entirely, before you get to know them. For example, you may know an acquaintance as Athletic or Studious or Stylish. But, while highly visible, these traits have far less impact on a character’s decision making and reactions than her core value and her flaws. A character may have a strong emotional attachment to being Athletic, and may fight for the right to be assigned that trait. But realistically, if she for some reason became less Athletic, she’d still be the same person with the same personality and the same bundle of flaws and values.

For example, let’s take our Loyalty-core character who is also Cocky and Lazy. When it comes time to pick her personality traits, you can pick anything you want, but it is often helpful to pick things that put a story behind the flaws. So, what is our character Cocky about? Perhaps she is very Athletic, which with Cocky leads her to be Competitive and Adventurous as well. Now you have a pretty good idea about her character arcs—what you would value in her as a friend, and how she would get on your last nerve.

For this area, the words you pick should not be words you associate with good or evil—you should be able to apply them equally to villains or heroes. Try to pick at least eighteen, as each character will have three primary personality traits. Some of the words I use are: Graceful, Competitive, Practical, Studious, Social, and Adventurous.

Chart It Out

And you’re almost done! Now you just have to put them all in a chart. If you’d prefer, you can also use my example chart at the top of the page. Make a copy for each character. Then, circle one core value, two flaws, and three personality traits for each. And that’s it! Your character outline is now complete. From there, you can go on to build a fully realized character, with a rich back story, goals, enemies, and friends.

Remember, this is only intended to be a baseline for your characters—an at-a-glance personality chart to help get you started that you can touch base on when you want to make sure each character is acting in accordance with his or her nature. It is hardly a fully realized back story! And, as strong back stories make strong novels, I highly recommend spending some love on fleshing out your shiny new outlines. Your characters—and your Future Self—will thank you.

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Happy Writing!

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Our Best of the Year So Far store launched earlier this week with editors’ picks across many subject categories and an overall Top 20, and the Comics and Graphic Novels selections highlight what’s made 2012 an already fantastic and diverse year for the medium.

1. Darth Vader and Son by Jeffrey Brown
2. Are You My Mother?: A Comic Drama by Alison Bechdel
3. Wonder Woman Vol. 1: Blood by Brian Azzarello and Cliff Chiang
4. King City by Brandon Graham
5. Avengers: The Children's Crusade by Allan Heinberg and Jim Cheung
6. Jim Henson's Tale of Sand by Jim Henson, Jerry Juhl, and Ramon Perez
7. The Graphic Canon, Vol. 1: From the Epic of Gilgamesh to Shakespeare to Dangerous Liaisons by Russ Kick
8. Harvey Pekar's Cleveland by Harvey Pekar and Joseph Remnant
9. The Art of Daniel Clowes: Modern Cartoonist by Alvin Buenaventura
10. Mr. Twee Deedle: Raggedy Ann's Sprightly Cousin: The Forgotten Fantasy Masterpieces of Johnny Gruelle by Johnny Gruelle and Rick Marschall

With the success of Joss Whedon’s film, The Avengers, and the impending releases of The Dark Knight Rises and The Amazing Spider-Man, superheroes are still the most public-facing comic characters. If you are looking for actual comics to supplement that blockbuster rush, then the revamped Wonder Woman and the next generation of Avengers (see also our Omni spotlight) should be at the top of your summer reading list.

If your tastes run more literary and autobiographical, Alison Bechdel’s Are you My Mother: A Comic Drama is filled with enough familial anxiety to satisfy readers until the annual holiday get-togethers begin, and Harvey Pekar’s Cleveland offers one last sardonic look at life through the eyes of the departed Pekar. On the academic front, the first volume in editor Russ Kick’s ambitious Graphic Canon series showcases historic literary moments, from The Odyssey to Shakespeare, told through the medium of comics.  

Then there are the books that defy easy classification: King City by Brandon Graham is a sci-fi comic about a boy and his pet cat (who is also a weapon), aliens, magic, gangsters, and Xombie Wars (see our interview with Graham for more); Jim Henson’s Take of Sand (Omni spotlight here), is based on a lost film script by Henson, adapted by artist Ramon Perez—and it reads like one long, gorgeous, stream-of-consciousness chase scene; and Jeffrey Brown’s Darth Vader and Son is a Lucasfilm-approved series of “What If?” moments between toddler Luke Skywalker and his helmeted father, Darth Vader.

What about the artwork? Look no further than The Art of Daniel Clowes: Modern Cartoonist, a celebratory collection of the best-of and least-seen pieces in his extensive career. It’s a must-own for Clowes’ fans, and it will soon convert those not yet in the know. Publisher Fantagraphics and editor and comics historian Rick Marschall cut no corners in the production of Mr. Twee Deedle, an epic re-presentation of a masterpiece in classic comics storytelling. It’s gigantic in scale, showcasing artist Johnny Gruelle’s never-before-reprinted strips from the early 1900s—at this size, Mr. Twee Deedle is one to behold and hold.

And we’re only halfway through the year! What did we miss on this list, Omni readers, and what are you looking forward to in the remainder of 2012?

–Alex

You know that guy who ends every sentences in three exclamation points? What speaks louder to you: the content of his missive, or the fact that he screams everything he says? That, my friend, is the power of punctuation.

We talk a lot about words when discussing writing—from the sounds of words to the myriad of ways to arrange those words. But writing isn’t just composed of words. There are also spaces, italics, bold text, all caps, small caps, and a whole legion of punctuation. And I’m not just talking about your use of the serial comma, or whether you put one or two spaces after a period! I’m talking about a host of hard-hitting exclamation points, question marks, ellipses, em-dashes, semi-colons, and other unassuming characters that add bursts of personality your manuscript—whether you like it or not.

Just like the music in a movie, punctuation can drastically alter mood and interpretation. That same sob scene will read differently if it’s backed by the world’s tiniest violin squeaking unsympathetically, the hellfire and brimstone of Carmina Burana, or banjos. But overdosing on strong punctuation is like setting your make-up gun to “nightmare circus”—leaving the face of your manuscript a riot of screaming colors.

As a rule, the reader should never come away with a stronger impression of your punctuation than your story. So how to wrangle these textual divas into enhancing your prose—rather than distracting from your intent? Here I’ve outlined the many personalities of punctuation, along with tips on how to—and more importantly, how not to—use them.

Exclamation Points Try Too Hard
Example: I love you!!!

Exclamation points are like party hats for your sentences. Like a literary laugh track, they are excited and want to let you know that you should be excited too!!!–even if there's nothing to be excited about! Some people use exclamation points like smiley faces—to show that they’re enthusiastic. And a lot of people use them for everything in children’s books, because they want kids to be excited about what they’re writing, and probably because they get the sense that they should talk to kids in a very energetic voice. But I dare you—just once, try reading a book written entirely in exclamation points aloud. It begins to sound a lot like screaming.

Now don’t get me wrong—as anyone who reads Writers Don’t Cry regularly can tell, I love exclamation points! They definitely have their place. But tragically, that place isn’t every sentence. In fact, in a book with a lot of exclamation points, I tend to read at least half of them as sarcastic, even if they weren’t intended to be so. But we see so many of them these days, especially in email, that we have become exclamation point blind—to the extent that when someone doesn’t use them, we may wonder if they secretly hate us or something. So, to help yourself see them again, try putting every sentence that ends in an exclamation point in bold text or all caps. Then, if it reads too loud, cut it!

Question Marks Are a Little Lost
Example: I love you?

What does it mean when you use a question mark? Does it mean the character is uncertain of the answer? Or perhaps that the character is actually asking a question? Or do you just want to imply the tone goes up? Are you using it to show that your character is not an idiot and is considering multiple options? Or to show that your character is uncertain? Is your character a bad character for thinking in all question marks?

Question marks are like helium balloons—they can be cute, descriptive, or make you sound funny. And while a few questions can prove thoughtful, too many questions marks makes the story feel like it boggles even the author’s mind—which is never a good sign.

I’ve always felt that question marks give you a glimpse of the author’s thought process. A number of authors pepper their zero drafts with question marks—and there’s nothing wrong with that! Their prose is brimming with questions, just like the author. And it’s good to be thoughtful at that stage in the game. The trick is, when you go through in the first draft or even the second draft, to look at those questions and to smooth it out to make sure they say what you really want them to say.

Ellipses Are Micromanagement
Example: I . . . love you.

Ellipses are ultra dramatic. They know how to make an entrance . . . and they’re even better at memorable exits. They know the power of the pregnant pause and they wield a mighty raised eyebrow. With three little dots, they can express sarcasm or disbelief, be patronizing or thoughtful, or just show a theatrical sense of timing. They can even put on an affected display of searching for a word of the . . . less insulting variety. But using too many ellipses can make reading . . . interesting. As can all the sarcastic side-stepping they tend to attract.

Overdosing on ellipses is usually the result of a desperate desire for the reader to experience your story exactly as it is in your head. But this micromanaging can make it feel like the author is breathing down your neck as you read, commanding you to feel exactly what they want you to feel, and generally, distracting you from the story proper. And as tempting as it can be to make sure readers don’t miss a thing, you have to remember: trust your reader. Sure, it won’t be exactly as it is in your head, but that’s the beauty of it. Every reader brings something different to their experience of a story—and that’s all theirs. Don’t take that away from them, or they may never get into your story enough to enjoy it.

Try treating ellipses like unusual words, and give yourself a limit. Alternatively, make it the mark of a particular character, and make sure other characters react to it. To help raise your awareness of ellipses, try highlighting all the ellipses in your manuscript. (Hint: if the page yellow, that’s too many.)

Em-Dashes Can’t Get Enough of Themselves
Example: I—love—you.

Em-dashes are smart, sarcastic, and brimming with witty insights and snide asides. They are the ones who sit next to you in class and give you a running commentary—alternately cynical and hilarious—to everything the teacher says. And I have to admit, this is my personal—and most beloved—weakness. When I first discovered em-dashes, I littered every sentence with em-dashes. I used them in place of commas, ellipses, and semi-colons. I used them for dramatic effect, for snippy asides, and to add additional layers of meaning. I used them just to use them, because they look so pretty on the page. Like little literary eyebrows.

But, it turns out, the place for em-dashes isn’t everywhere. Too many em-dashes can make your sentence twisted and confusing, and the original meaning of your sentence can be lost in the flood of snark. Just try reading something full of em-dashes aloud! The number of tonal shifts required to keep the parts of the sentence straight alone will boggle your tongue. It bears remembering that the witty aside is only witty when cast in relief to the straight shooter. All on its own, it gets to looking a bit silly. Like a man talking to his hand.

The Number One Trick: Read It Aloud

Reading aloud is the perfect vetting device for punctuation. Make sure you read every sentence as affected by the punctuation. The screaming of exclamation points, rising tones of question marks, pregnant pauses of ellipses, and tone shifts of em-dashes will be abruptly apparent. Then try reading it without the more exotic punctuation marks. Does it change your interpretation? Lastly, to keep yourself honest (since, honestly, you’re likely pretty close to your manuscript at this point) have someone else read problem sections with and without the less common punctuation. If anything sounds weird or fails to change between the two versions, cut it. But if the punctuation enhances—by all means, exclaim, question, and pause away!

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Happy Writing!

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This week’s featured Summer Reading for Kids & Teens author is one of my personal favorites, Rick Riordan.His latest book, The Serpent’s Shadow, is one of our Editors’ Picks for summer reading and I’m looking forward to spending a lazy August day reading the short stories and and insider info on his characters in The Demigod Diaries (available August 14). 

Recently the title and cover of the third book in the Heroes of Olympus series, The Mark of Athena, were revealed and of course I can’t wait to see what will happen next. Luckily, when we sent Riordan some questions from our Facebook fans and Omni readers one of them asked for a sneak peek at The Mark of Athena.  You’ll find his answer (and yes, he gives a sneak peek!) to this and other questions in the exclusive video below.

Divergent, the first book in Veronica Roth's trilogy, has been especially popular with Hunger Games readers–a tough act to follow, I know, but Divergent really is that good.  Also like The Hunger Games, once you read the first book you must get your hands on the next, and at last, book two, Insurgent, has arrived.  No disappointments here, we even picked Insurgent as one of our Best Young Adult Books of May–only I will tell you that after you've powered through this one it's going to be a while before we see book three… Luckily there are lots of other great reads to tide you over. 

We asked Roth if she had a musical score for her writing time, or if she prefers the sound of silence–not only did she share her playlist, but she also gave us some specific lyrics that are meaningful to her.

Veronica Roth's Playlist for Insurgent

I always listen to music while I write, and the music selection process can be tricky, because if I can't find the right song, sometimes it's hard for me to work, which is not ideal! I don't pay attention to genre at all—only to what kind of scene it makes me see. Here are a few of the songs I listened to while writing and revising INSURGENT:

1. “Timshel” by Mumford & Sons

Death is at your doorstep
And it will steal your innocence
But it will not steal your substance.

 I don't think anyone could describe Tris as “innocent” after the things she's done and seen, but I do think of her as a person of substance, so these lyrics struck me.

 2. “Giants” by Now, Now

There isn't really a specific part of this song that applies to the book, but I listened to it during quite a few action sequences while writing the book, so the general feeling is right.

3. “Hysteria” by Muse

I'm not breaking down
I'm breaking out
Last chance to lose control

I believe this qualifies as a Dauntless-on-the-verge-of-war song.

4. “The Catalyst” by Linkin Park

God bless us every one,
We're a broken people living under loaded gun,
And it can't be outfought,
It can't be outdone,
It can't be outmatched,
It can't be outrun.

This one sort of surprised me, because I heard it randomly one day and just stopped in the middle of what I was doing, because it captured the situation of Insurgent so perfectly—a group of people who Tris calls “creatures of loss,” facing an enemy they don't feel strong enough to defeat.

5. “Under the Waves” by Pendulum

I am deep in a river
Waves above my head
Held with no spirit
We descend
We reach the end.

There are a lot of moments in INSURGENT in which Tris feels overwhelmed. This song is good for that sort of thing.

The hands-down scariest moment of writing is when you first hand the fruits of your labor to a reader. And for good reason! You bared your soul and poured your heart into your manuscript. Lost sleep over it. Cried tears of frustration, sweat, and blood over it. And the moment it leaves your hands—it’s no longer under your control. It’s in the hands of someone who hasn’t the barest inkling of how important it is to you. Someone for whom your manuscript is just a stumbling block on the path to LOLcats, or an actual block to set their computer monitor on. Or worse: something to be read aloud and mocked to all their friends—to everyone on the internet!—using funny voices and puppets, reducing all your hard work to a moment’s conversation fodder and leaving everyone laughing at the paucity of your heart and soul.

No one can imagine the possibilities like a creative writer. But really, the reader isn’t the enemy—and good first readers aren’t either. They are, in fact, your first line of defense against being puppetified. A good reader sees the dream behind your manuscript and helps you achieve it. They point out where things are confusing, and where things could be even better. They see the awesome potential in characters and plots and show it to you so you can take advantage of it. And they also let you know when your darlings are showing, or when you have toilet paper stuck to your shoe.

In short, a good first reader is a Writer’s BFF. But critiques, often the first step before seeing a professional editor, are a two-way street! And if you’re going to find a good WBFF, you need to be a good WBFF. Which means learning how to give an insightful, actionable critique without turning into the unfeeling, puppetifying demon you first imagined your reader to be. Developing solid critiquing skills is a lot of work—but being on both sides of the red pen has real advantages. First of all, learning to critique means you know what to look for in a WBFF. Secondly, developing a relationship with someone you can trust to give you honest feedback sucks the fear out of first reads, and will help your writing improve by leaps and bounds. And, aside from all that, having empathy for the other side of the red pen will help you put what feedback you receive to the best use. There's nothing like practice to hone that skill. That being said, here are five cardinal rules to critiquing to get you started.

Play Nice

Remember all that fear you had about showing someone else your work? You are not alone. So don’t justify that fear! Instead, remember that even if it’s not to your taste, they worked damn hard on it, and it took a great deal of courage and determination for them to show you their manuscript.

That means, when you see something you don’t like, don’t just tell them “this sucks”—even if it does. Instead, look for a place that same thing is done well elsewhere in the book, and point that out. Then recommend they fashion the thing you didn’t fancy after the thing you did. Another option is to figure out who their writing is most similar to, and recommend they try some of the techniques that author used.

Don’t Blow Smoke

Don’t tell someone their cow pie is really double-fudge—otherwise, they and everyone they serve up steaming slice will be shocked and horrified to discover your sweet betrayal. Instead: be honest. If something doesn’t work for you, point it out—and if something does work for you, point that out too. Obviously, don’t be a jerk about it. But it’s just as jerky to tell a naked emperor he’s wearing clothes as it is to point and laugh.

Be Specific

Saying you love or hate someone’s book can make or break their day—but being specific can make or break their book. So instead of offering (un-) pleasantries, try telling them exactly what worked or didn’t work for you, how it made you feel, why you think it made you feel that way, and some ideas for how they could change it to make you feel differently. Circle words if you can, underlining the exact moment things went astray. That way, even if you misunderstand their aim, the writer can use your feedback to understand where, how, and why their intentions succeeded—or failed to translate onto the page. Either way, your feedback is actionable and valuable in a way vagaries will never be.

Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff

This is no place for commas, young lady! Unless the irregular use of commas has you rolling your eyes in your head, unable to understand a word that’s on the page, check your CMS at the door. Likewise, don’t bother with spelling errors, and grammar goofs, and other cosmetic errors. Chances are, if this is a first draft, all that’s going to be rewritten at some point anyway.

This is the place to think big. Think about the overall plot: are there holes, or any parts that drag, or feel out of place? Think about the characters: do you relate to them, find them compelling, and do they have clear goals and character development? How was the tone, flow, and voice?

Tell Them What You Loved

It’s a proven fact that telling people when they do something you like is the most effective way to get more of what you like–even if it’s not perfect. If you take a shine an otherwise unlikeable character’s sense of humor, point that out! Have them pull that humor to the forefront. Most people spend their whole lives being told what sucks in their writing—and don’t have a clue what worked. Which means they’re just as likely to throw out the good stuff as the bad, unless you let them know what parts are keepers.

Questions to Ask Before Critiquing

1. What genre is your piece?

2. What is your target audience?

3. What stage is your manuscript in?

4. What do you want to get out of this critique?

5. What are your goals for your manuscript?

6. Do you have any special concerns with this manuscript?

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Happy Writing!

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You know what I’m talking about. We’ve all been there. You’re immersed, in the zone, and totally engaged. You can feel the damp stone, taste the stale air, hear the “drums, drums in the deep” . . . When suddenly, something banana yellow and comically out of place rips you out of the story and ruins it. You grimace, and try to start again, squinting to ignore that one part, struggling to not even think about it. But once there, the insidious mood killer gets under your skin. You keep waiting for it to reappear.  It’s like a stain on the whole book.

One of the main mistakes writers make here is assuming a captive audience. But readers aren’t captive—they’re captivated. And that is a state much easier lost than gained. Of course, it’s your book—you can do whatever you want. But think of the characters. And the readers. And the sound your book will make as it smashes against a wall and slides slowly to the floor, never to be picked up again . . .

It is a horrible sound. Trust me, you don’t want to hear it. So, what are these mood killers, and how do you avoid them? Glad you asked! I’ve collected four of my . . . erm, favorites here, along with ways to avoid them. Enjoy! And may your writing ever avoid the walls.

Your Darlings: You Know What to Do

Imagine this: you’re really digging the intensely romantic smolder your date has going on, when you suddenly realize they’re not actually looking at you: they’re checking themselves out in your glasses. Just as you realize this, they start flirting… with themselves. Take it from me: it doesn’t matter how smoking hot their smolder is, once it’s clear the only thing they’re into is themselves, it’s over.

Your darlings? Are the same thing. Allowing your darlings the luxury of life is giving into the temptations of self-infatuation. Sure, when you write for yourself, anything goes. Have at it. Indulge yourself. But when you write for an audience, don’t expose your darlings. Overworked turns of phrase, anachronistic or ill-timed witticisms, and out-of-character indulgences are the most common darlings. But the greatest offender by far is when  a writer–having spent countless hours creating a believable world brimming with life–feels the need to describe every leaf of every plant the hero passes, as well as what that leaf’s history is, what it can be used for, and what it symbolizes in the various cultures of the world.

What to Do: Darlings are insidious because, while it’s dead easy to see other people’s darlings, it’s ridiculously hard to see your own. So get yourself some feedback! And don’t forget to ask specifically if there’s anything that dragged or felt out of place. Readers are far more willing to tell you these things than telling you what they simply “didn’t like,” and inviting this commentary specifically makes it more likely that you’ll get useful feedback. And if you hear something didn’t work for them and your immediate reaction is defensive? Then congratulations, you’ve found one of your darlings! You know what to do.*

*Of course, you don’t have to kill it—you can also work with the reader to find a way to make it work for you both. But don’t take killing it off the table until you’re sure you’ve accomplished that.

The Stupid Gas: Don’t Use It

We’ve all had that moment—we’re digging the plot, the atmosphere is right on, and the villain is deliciously threatening—when the characters, for some godforsaken reason, decide it’s a good idea to split up and “cover more ground” despite it being the downfall of every hero in every horror movie ever. Not to mention cliché. For the longest time, I just couldn’t figure it out! And then, a recent (brilliant) movie explained it: it’s the Stupid Gas.

Authors: don’t use the Stupid Gas. It kills the mood every time. If you need your characters to do something against all the good sense you gave them, don’t just make them do it: give them a good reason. Otherwise they’re not characters, they’re puppets.

What to Do: I feel for you. I really do. Your plot hinges on characters doing this one thing—and you’ve already reworked the plot a hundred times, and at this point, you just want it to work, characters be damned. But giving your characters hell in the name of motivation is a crucial part of a good book—and can even be a great deal of fun, in a maniacal villain kind of way. One of the easiest ways is to make it personal. Perhaps they even know what they’re doing is a bad idea, but they have to do it, because otherwise Fluffy will be made into pancakes. Or perhaps they have a hidden agenda that they think they can advance. Or maybe it preys on the character’s weakness: he knows it’s questionable, but he genuinely thinks it’s the lesser of two evils.

Soap Boxes: Better for Holding Soap

Oh, man. You know what would really dial this scene up to 11? Picture this: a lecture! Now that we’ve put the characters in an emotionally taut situation with the world hanging in the balance, let’s stop everything, put the apocalypse on hold, and have the hero tell everyone the moral of the story and how the reader should apply it to their own life. Oh, also, repercussions for not doing so. That would be killer. Am I right? Totally sexified.

It’s great to be passionate and idealistic, but no matter how you tart them up, soap boxes aren’t sexy. And, with the possible exception of Ayn Rand’s 60-page essay in Atlas Shrugged (which gets quite a few people hot under the collar) lectures aren’t sexy either. This doesn’t mean you can’t use your work to champion stories that embrace your ideals: you totally can! Margaret Atwood does so beautifully in The Handmaid’s Tale. But primary goal of your story should still be to tell a damn good story—not to browbeat your reader.

What to Do: Show don’t tell. And of course by “show” I mean “show with finesse.” Killing the woman who has premarital sex first is still a trifle heavy-handed.

Cardboard: It’s Not For Kissing

There you are, in a vivid world as gritty or as lush as you might desire. The hero is the engaging kind you really want to meet, and secretly hope would like you. Things are getting tense, and you’re really getting into it, when suddenly, into the picture tumbles: a Slave Leia cardboard cutout. That in itself is kind of a mood killer. But then, to make matters worse, your otherwise logical hero sweeps this cardboard cutout into his arms, rescues it from the destructive powers of villains and the rain, and gazes longingly into its flat, emotionless eyes. You don’t even want to know what happens next.

And I mean, I get it: stereotypes are comfortable. Easy. As characters, they fit into plots in predictable ways. But not only do stereotypes alienate large portions of your audience, they also add a stiff unrealistic element to an otherwise groovy story. Suddenly, instead of a love story between two realistic characters with dreams and scars and stories of their own, you have one character getting it on with some cardboard. Not sexy.

What to Do: Making every character is multidimensional is hard. Realistically, some characters really are there only for a plot purpose, and have very little word count to their name–if they even get a name. Still, even if you don’t have time to give them depth, resist the temptation to give in wholly to the stereotype, and give them some color. It will do wonders for the believability and richness of your world.

So there you have it! Four things to avoid amongst the millions of possibilities that will help keep your book from being thrown unceremoniously against a wall. May gravity be ever in your favor.

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Happy Writing!

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Scott Speer is a director already well known for his music videos and films, including this summer’s Step Up Revolution (hitting theaters in July).  Speer is also the author of Immortal City, the first book in an action-packed new young adult series that brings together Guardian Angels (for those who can afford them), star-crossed romance, and a serial killer–check out the cool book trailer below.

For today’s YA Wednesday feature, Scott Speer joins us as our guest blogger with a special Top 10 list you’ll only see here.–Seira

 Hi all, this is Scott Speer, author of Immortal City and director of the upcoming Step Up Revolution.  Being a director as well as an author, I’m particularly interested in books that go on to become movies. Here are ten of my all-time favorites. 

Jaws: I’m a huge Steven Spielberg fan, and this is one of his earliest – and still best.  It’s also a great example of streamlining a subplot-heavy novel for the screen. 

Twilight: Catherine Hardwicke’s hip, well-cast, indie-film-in-sheep’s-clothing gave Stephenie Meyer’s novel the edginess it needed to explode into a worldwide phenomenon. 

Forrest Gump:  Robert Zemeckis is another all-time favorite of mine, and this has to be one of the all-time best adaptations. 

The Notebook: It’s rare to see a film so perfectly capture the essence of a book, but I think Nick Cassavetes did that here. 

The Color Purple: Yes, yes, I’m a huge Spielberg fan.  The Color Purple for me is a wonderful example of a film that ultimately is a different tone and vision than the book, but is just as valid. 

To Kill a Mockingbird: I saw this movie in freshman English and never forgot it.  Years later I revisited it and realized what a fantastic piece of storytelling it is.  Thanks Mr. Pachilio!

The Shawshank Redemption: Stephen King is my favorite author and this film has gone on to become one of the greatest examples of modern cinema.  I just love the characters. 

Gone with the Wind: I can’t resist old movies and this is one of my favorites.  Gorgeous photography and lush, old school storytelling.  They don’t make them like this anymore. 

The Shining: Is there a movie that better captures Stephen King’s mastery of slow-burning dread?  The Shining stands the test of time not only as great movie but a truly scary one.  One of Kubrick’s best. 

Jurassic Park: Jurassic Park?  Yes.  JP holds a very special place in my heart.  Like many directors who grew up in the 90s, I saw this at a  young age, and this was one of the key movies that inspired me to start making movies.  It’s a landmark film in every aspect, and it would not have been possible without the vision of Michael Crichton.  Authors and directors really do make a great team!

Book Trailer for Immortal City:

You there! Stop! Whatever you do: don’t touch that pen. Before you write even one word of that outline, there’s something you need to think about long and hard. It’s a very important question. It will determine whether your first draft is filled with tears of rage and despair or with joy, rainbows, and mechanical unicorns. It is the most important of important questions, and I ask it with all seriousness: Have you sat down and thought about what kind of a writer you are recently? And no, I don’t mean what overworked, underappreciated, underpaid writers whose creativity’s constantly under assault by the mundane demands of everyday life we all are. I mean what you do well, what you suck at, and what you hope one day to not suck at. Believe me, this is a far more important question than picking out your hero’s name (though that is also a process rife with peril).

See, the success of a book isn’t just the quality of the idea—it’s also how well the idea fits your skill set and interests. I know designing your book around things you do well and avoiding things you do badly sounds like a total no brainer—but it’s actually not very intuitive. Most people are so wrapped up in the agonies of the harrowing that is outlines that they don’t think about how they made that thing they hate integral to the plot until it’s far too late—or worse, they don’t even have an outline, and they wrote themselves into a literary corner filled with all their least favorite writing techniques. Not to mention, giving your talents a place to shine can be hard when you happened to design a plot that doesn’t give you a place to show them off.

So take a little time and think about yourself.  You’re far more likely to finish a book you’re jazzed writing than one that fills you with dread. And who knows? You may even come up with an idea or two for a new book while you’re at it! Here are a few questions to get you started.

Brag to Me, Baby

Humbleness is well and good. But pre-book time is no time to be humble. I want you to brag to me, baby. Toot your own horn. Sing your own praises from the rooftops. Because I want you to think about what you do really well—and I don’t mean about how you really know your way around a comma, or how you hardly ever misplace quotation marks. I mean the kinds of scenes you delight in—and that equally delight your readers. Those blessed writing moments that are so “easy” you don’t spare them a second thought—may we all have more of them.

It is important to actually think about what you do well before you start plotting your shiny new book. Not only will this provide the confidence and mood booster you’ll need to get through the hell that is outlining and the inescapable killing field of infinite woe that is first drafts, but it’s also a good sign of things you should maybe try to touch on in your book.

Do evocative descriptions come as naturally as breathing to you? Then make sure your book has plenty of occasions for those. This means making sure that descriptive passages enhance your story—without detracting, breaking pace, or feeling out of place. And it means considering things like setting. If there is not much change in backdrop, then keeping descriptions from getting repetitive can be a challenge.

Does snappy dialogue, filled with personality infuse your every page? Then build your book around dialogue! Try not to leave your characters alone, where dialogue means they’re talking to themselves or inanimates, and make sure to give your main character a number of interesting personalities to interact with. Make sure that the kind of book you’re writing goes well with the style of dialogue you prefer—rather than breaking the mood or feeling anachronistic.

Or are fight scenes your bread and butter—unfolding off the page with startling vividness? Then it might behoove you to get your character into a bit of trouble. This means thinking of a setting that can provide you with interesting combat opportunities, and a character that has a way of falling into trouble. Having an excuse for a variety of opponents who fight in a variety of visually arresting styles is also helpful. And don’t knock finding reasons to include cliffs, rope bridges, the insides of crowded book stores, and other places that will give you things to play with during a fight.

The Parts that Suck

This is the part to be humble. To be as brutally honest and open as you can be with yourself. What parts do dread writing? You know what I’m talking about. The bits you skip, telling yourself you’ll come back later. The things you rewrite sixty times because you just can’t get them right and you’re still unhappy with them in the end. The stuff you don’t even know how to start. The parts that suck.

Thinking about the parts that suck sounds like a total downer, but it’s actually kind of empowering because—since this is your book—you don’t have to put any of the sucky parts in it. And enumerating sucky bits ahead of time helps make sure you don’t accidentally hinge your plot on one of them (don’t laugh; believe me, it happens to the best of us).

Of course, it can also help to figure out what exactly it is that you hate about writing those particular scenes, and if you’ve ever seen it done in a way you particularly like. While avoidance may be the answer, there are also times when you can adjust or limit the scenes to better fit your writing style.

Stretch Goals

Playing to your strengths doesn’t mean you should stop trying to grow as a writer: it just means don’t punish yourself by ignoring the things you’re good at and wallowing in the things you hate most. That being said, consider giving yourself a stretch goal or two. Think about the things you may not be the best at now that you’d love to add to your list of skills in the near future—and put one or two of them in your book. To make yourself more confident about their inclusion keep the new parts small at first, do some writing exercises that will help you tackle the tricky issues, and read books that excel in the parts you find problematic.

Of course, writing a book is no cake walk even without stretch goals. It requires truckloads of determination, a pinch of inspiration, and oceans of perspiration. So don’t be more of a masochist than you have to: write what you love. The rest will come with practice.

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Happy Writing!

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