Pastor Brandon narrowed his eyes. “I’m certain Amethelissa would appreciate it if you discussed personal matters.”
The way he drawled out those last two words suggested he knew something. “So you do know something about it?” she asked, trying to keep herself from sounding condescending.
Nathaniel grabbed her hand. “Alice.” His tone was firm. “Amethelissa wants you to talk about what happened at the moors, remember?”
Pastor Brandon leaned forward. “Yes, Alice, tell me what happened.”
“I don’t have anything to say about the moors. Pastor Brandon, can you please answer me?”
Pastor Brandon attempted to keep his demeanor calm, but Alice saw the infuriation threatening to break through his eyes. “We’ll discuss this later, Alice.”
“Why can’t we discuss it now?” Alice balled her fists to prevent her calm from ebbing away.
“Young lady, we are here to discuss personal matters. Now your dear friend Nathaniel wants you to talk about what happened at the moors. But if you wish to waste my time, Miss Sheraton, you may leave.” His demeanor remained calm the entire time, which irked Alice.
She knew what that response meant. He had information about the cross, information he was none too willing to presently share. In fact, he might never share the information with her, for she was a fifteen-year-old girl, and most adults would rather not waste their time explaining something of significant importance to a child. And since Pastor Brandon didn’t want to say anything about the cross, she also assumed he wouldn’t answer her question about her hand print. Since she had no further business, she rose from the pews.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Thursday, December 3, 2009
YA Highway Giveaway
So, to celebrate 100 followers (more now), YA Highway is giving away some pretty awesome books, which include:
GRACELING by Kristin Cashore
JELLICOE ROAD by Melina Marchetta
HOW I LIVE NOW by Meg Rosoff
CRACKED UP TO BE by Courtney Summers
BEAUTIFUL CREATURES by Kami Garcia
SHIVER by Maggie Stiefvater
WONDROUS STRANGE by Lesley Livingston
The first place winner gets a choice of fabulous bookcases to put four of these beauties in. The second place winner will receive the remaining three books.
How can you win? Just be a follower of YAHighway.
GRACELING by Kristin Cashore
JELLICOE ROAD by Melina Marchetta
HOW I LIVE NOW by Meg Rosoff
CRACKED UP TO BE by Courtney Summers
BEAUTIFUL CREATURES by Kami Garcia
SHIVER by Maggie Stiefvater
WONDROUS STRANGE by Lesley Livingston
The first place winner gets a choice of fabulous bookcases to put four of these beauties in. The second place winner will receive the remaining three books.
How can you win? Just be a follower of YAHighway.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Beta Readers
Right now, half of Witch Tourniquet has been revised. My beta readers may be at different parts in my novel, but they're all doing a wonderful job so far. These readings are actually going a lot smoother than I thought--but perhaps it's because I'm adjusting myself around what they look for, and I'm going ahead and editing future chapters around what they've pointed out in past chapters.
When I began this journey, I was so worried that the story would not be appealing enough, that Alice might not be round enough, that everything would be way too confusing for a beta reader to want to handle, and that everything was going to be so marked up in red that I'd have to question why Dead Poet's Pendulum got published.
But it's been going smooth so far, and I can say with much certainty that after chapter thirteen, I think it'll be relatively smooth from there (maybe a few tiny bumps, but not major re-writes like I had to do for chapter three).
I'd like to thank Nazarea Andrews, Drizzt Guen, and Elizabeth Prats for helping me with this. Though you guys may point out different things, you aren't that far off when it comes to agreeing what you feel should be changed.
Just half to go!
When I began this journey, I was so worried that the story would not be appealing enough, that Alice might not be round enough, that everything would be way too confusing for a beta reader to want to handle, and that everything was going to be so marked up in red that I'd have to question why Dead Poet's Pendulum got published.
But it's been going smooth so far, and I can say with much certainty that after chapter thirteen, I think it'll be relatively smooth from there (maybe a few tiny bumps, but not major re-writes like I had to do for chapter three).
I'd like to thank Nazarea Andrews, Drizzt Guen, and Elizabeth Prats for helping me with this. Though you guys may point out different things, you aren't that far off when it comes to agreeing what you feel should be changed.
Just half to go!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Raising the Stakes
I think TWFT blogged about this, and a fellow follower, Elizabeth Prats, blogged about this, but I think it's my turn to blog about this because I didn't raise the stakes as much as I thought I had in Witch Tourniquet. But it's not a big deal for me because there are no major re-writes involved. I just have to drop a hint here and there, or just tweak some things or two.
Here was my dilemma: you guys have been reading teasers in Witch Tourniquet, and you may have read a teaser which mentioned a cross. If you have read this teaser, then you'll know it supposedly sent her demonic visions. But that's all my beta readers know. I reveal too late why exactly the cross is a danger, so I have to reveal it much earlier, which, again, isn't a big deal because I know of a perfect place to drop the info.
I have other stakes to raise as well, but those are no big deal either because I planned on re-writing two chapters of a certain character's POV where the stakes are going to have to be raised.
As a writer, it's hard to know where and when to raise the stakes in your novel, especially in YA where the pace is naturally faster. All I can say is that if your gut is telling you that there is too much information being revealed or too much information being revealed too late, sit down and think of all the major spoilers in your novel. Muse when you reveal them and in what abundance you reveal them. You don't want to reveal them too early, but you don't want to reveal them too late. I reveal the cross's true evils in chapter nine, which is about a hundred pages into the novel. Frankly, I was worried I revealed it too early. I was also worried I revealed later information too early, but after conversing with my beta reader, I realized that I think I revealed the information at just the perfect time.
It's complicated to know when you should raise the stakes (well, mostly for me because I've been stuck with Witch Tourniquet for years and this is the first time ever that it's actually getting some serious revisions). But I suppose if you stay away from your novel a bit and come back to it with fresh eyes, it will be easier to know to where to drop your 'raising the stakes' card.
Here was my dilemma: you guys have been reading teasers in Witch Tourniquet, and you may have read a teaser which mentioned a cross. If you have read this teaser, then you'll know it supposedly sent her demonic visions. But that's all my beta readers know. I reveal too late why exactly the cross is a danger, so I have to reveal it much earlier, which, again, isn't a big deal because I know of a perfect place to drop the info.
I have other stakes to raise as well, but those are no big deal either because I planned on re-writing two chapters of a certain character's POV where the stakes are going to have to be raised.
As a writer, it's hard to know where and when to raise the stakes in your novel, especially in YA where the pace is naturally faster. All I can say is that if your gut is telling you that there is too much information being revealed or too much information being revealed too late, sit down and think of all the major spoilers in your novel. Muse when you reveal them and in what abundance you reveal them. You don't want to reveal them too early, but you don't want to reveal them too late. I reveal the cross's true evils in chapter nine, which is about a hundred pages into the novel. Frankly, I was worried I revealed it too early. I was also worried I revealed later information too early, but after conversing with my beta reader, I realized that I think I revealed the information at just the perfect time.
It's complicated to know when you should raise the stakes (well, mostly for me because I've been stuck with Witch Tourniquet for years and this is the first time ever that it's actually getting some serious revisions). But I suppose if you stay away from your novel a bit and come back to it with fresh eyes, it will be easier to know to where to drop your 'raising the stakes' card.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Friday, November 20, 2009
Self-Publishing
Two blogs two days in a row. I normally don't do this, but it's been rampant in the publishing world lately about Harlequin opening up a self-publishing sect in their company. Dismaying...
Rachelle Gardener sums it best:
http://cba-ramblings.blogspot.com/2009/11/self-publishing-rant-and-q4u.html
And I agree with her 100%. People go around everyday claiming to be published when in fact they are self-publishing. The Augusta Chronicle, a major newspaper in my area, published a story about a girl who self-published, and it grated my nerves, because they kept lauding her as a teenage author when she in fact was not an author at all. Anyone can self-publish. Anyone can write a crappy book and go to lulu or some other vanity press and get published in no time. It doesn't take work, talent, or skill.
Calling oneself an author is a high title, in my opinion. Every published book right now had to go through a rigorous process to get on the shelves of your bookstores. Even if you think they're pure garbage, they had to go through the same exact process. Being an author will no longer be sacred if self-publishing takes over actual publishing.
I take pride in the fact that I worked hard to become a good writer. I take pride in that short story I published because it took me years to be able to write like that--plus, I never thought I'd be able to write literary fiction because of how complicated literature can be. Now some Joe Schmo who self-published a novel is going to overshadow me simply because he "published a novel."
I remembered when my professor first told the class I had a short story accepted at an e-zine. It was met with applause, and then my friend next to me told me some girl at her old high school published two novels already. I looked this girl up, and lo and behold she was not present on any internet database. Plus, if some teenager in Augusta had actually published, The Augusta Chronicle would have been all over it, or some teen member of the Xtreme (there were Xtreme paper writers at the school in which said published girl resided) would have wanted to interview this girl. Therefore, I concluded she was self-published, and the fact that she was receiving more praise rubbed by nerves raw.
Is publishing no longer sacred as it once was? What are your thoughts, bloggers?
Rachelle Gardener sums it best:
http://cba-ramblings.blogspot.com/2009/11/self-publishing-rant-and-q4u.html
And I agree with her 100%. People go around everyday claiming to be published when in fact they are self-publishing. The Augusta Chronicle, a major newspaper in my area, published a story about a girl who self-published, and it grated my nerves, because they kept lauding her as a teenage author when she in fact was not an author at all. Anyone can self-publish. Anyone can write a crappy book and go to lulu or some other vanity press and get published in no time. It doesn't take work, talent, or skill.
Calling oneself an author is a high title, in my opinion. Every published book right now had to go through a rigorous process to get on the shelves of your bookstores. Even if you think they're pure garbage, they had to go through the same exact process. Being an author will no longer be sacred if self-publishing takes over actual publishing.
I take pride in the fact that I worked hard to become a good writer. I take pride in that short story I published because it took me years to be able to write like that--plus, I never thought I'd be able to write literary fiction because of how complicated literature can be. Now some Joe Schmo who self-published a novel is going to overshadow me simply because he "published a novel."
I remembered when my professor first told the class I had a short story accepted at an e-zine. It was met with applause, and then my friend next to me told me some girl at her old high school published two novels already. I looked this girl up, and lo and behold she was not present on any internet database. Plus, if some teenager in Augusta had actually published, The Augusta Chronicle would have been all over it, or some teen member of the Xtreme (there were Xtreme paper writers at the school in which said published girl resided) would have wanted to interview this girl. Therefore, I concluded she was self-published, and the fact that she was receiving more praise rubbed by nerves raw.
Is publishing no longer sacred as it once was? What are your thoughts, bloggers?
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