I've been really busy lately, which is a good thing. Sometimes I think back to two years ago when I worked full time and didn't go to college; and I wonder what I did with my time. True, that job was incredibly stressful and I usually worked over time (almost 60 hours a week around the holidays), but other than that, I didn't have much else to do. I'll admit to spending hours and hours playing World of Warcraft, mostly just to unwind after work.
Now however, I work a (relatively) low stress part time job (if my boss can keep the company afloat that is), attend school part time, and write. It's a pretty nice set up, and I know I'm lucky to have it. I was able to finish my rewrite of The Sometimes Sword just a couple of weeks ago, and it's currently in the hands of my beta readers. In a month or so I'll be starting up my web comic Kestrel with my brother Travis, and as of this last Monday, I've officially started my fourth novel. My brain is swimming in fiction and it's awesome!
It seems as time goes on I find myself wanting to write for younger and younger audiences. And I'm cool with that. I know it won't always be that way (I like to write violence and dark stuff too much to never return to adult fiction), but for now it's what's floating my boat. Here's how it goes: my first book ever was written for adults; the second, for the older end of YA; the third (which was a rewrite of the second) lowered that age by two years; and now I have this new book, written most likely for kids ages ten and up. Perhaps I'm just regressing, losing some of my ability to write mature material. Who knows.
Anyway, it's my first attempt at a diverse fantasy, and I'm really excited about it. It's about a young girl living in a smallish town in late 1996 (heck yeah, I'm way excited for a period piece). One day, another girl moves in down the street, and she just so happens to be a real, self taught witch, complete with pointed hat and striped stockings. They get into shenanigans and a mystery unfolds. Should be fun.
So that's what I'm doing so far! What about you?
Showing posts with label YA Fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label YA Fiction. Show all posts
Local Writer Interview: Ali Cross
This month's interview is a little different, since Ali is not simply an aspiring writer, but also a self-published one. We met across the Internet machines through Melanie Fowler, another of my interviewees. Ali is very, VERY active in the writing community, and I'm excited to get to know her a little better. As you all know, I like to just jump right in, so here goes!
Do you have any special sales you'd like me to highlight?
There you go people, go check out her blog and all the goodies she has for you, and read her book Become dang it!
If it's not too much to ask, how old are you?
LOL, I’m in my 40’s. But I never really aged past 23. I’m eternally youthful. (Ha!)
Are you married? Kids?
Heck yeah! I have a rockin’ husband who’s a computer genius who slashes computer code and cuts hackers off at the knees. My two boys both eleven, are evil geniuses who take after their dad (thank goodness. One of them is a black belt and the other is close on his heels. At our house it’s all awesome, all the time.
Where in our lovely area do you live?
I live in West Jordan, Utah, but I’m not even an American. I’m a Canadian who’s followed her man (who followed a job) to the States and has been trying to get back home every since. (It’s been twenty years. I haven’t been too successful yet, obviously.)
How long ago did you start writing seriously?
I started writing seriously nine years ago. I know the precise date because my family and I were driving into the mountains for a weekend in the autumn leaves. On our way out popped from my mouth: “I want to write a book.” I swear I did not think those words before I said them, but as soon as I did, I knew it was true. My hubby and I chatted about the idea (I’d always wanted to write a story about my favorite Dungeons & Dragons character—hey, don’t laugh) and it wasn’t long before he admitted that he, too, would like to write a book.
We stopped at a Podunk gas station convenient store, happily discovered they stocked the basic materials with which to begin a book (notebooks, pens, index cards and tape!), brainstormed and outlined our books over our long weekend and … the rest is history! (And to follow-up, we both wrote our books, and finished them together, New Year’s Eve 2003!)
What project are you currently working on?
Right at this very second I’m finishing up the first draft of a middle grade fantasy called LAND MAGIC. Meanwhile, another MG fantasy THE SWIFT, is resting between revisions, and DESOLATION (book two of Desolation, my young adult urban fantasy series) is resting before revisions begin. Exciting stuff!
How long have you been working on Land Magic?
LAND MAGIC was conceived a couple years ago, but I didn’t have to work on it at that time. I did a quick and dirty outline and left it alone. I started drafting it during NaNo ’11, but couldn’t finish because of the release of BECOME (the first in the Desolation series). Time to finish this baby up!
Tell us a little about it.
Here’s my working blurb:
In a world where land magic has fallen into disuse and land comes together and breaks apart like clouds in the sky, one boy must rediscover the ways of the old magic in order to reunite his family and save mankind.
In a world where land magic has fallen into disuse and land comes together and breaks apart like clouds in the sky, one boy must rediscover the ways of the old magic in order to reunite his family and save mankind.
Wow, that sounds kinda lame. I promise it’s a lot more fun and awesome than it sounds. J
What are your goals for it?
I self-published BECOME, and I love, love, loved the experience. I’d like for LAND MAGIC to reach middle grade readers which (I believe) there’s no doubt traditional publishing methods are (so far) better suited for, but . . . I honestly can’t imagine publishing in the traditional sense.
Have you sent out any queries? How many have you gotten responses to?
Oh yeah. I queried BECOME to 103 agents. Twenty-eight agents read the full manuscript. One agent read three full versions of the novel, and still rejected it. Another agent made an offer, but ended up being a flake and left me hanging for four months before I finally got wise and moved on. Crazy, right?
Have you published anything previously?
Nope! BECOME was my maiden voyage!
Do you have any special sales you'd like me to highlight?
YES! Through February 4th (the day of NiNoCon, woot!) BECOME is on sale at Amazon here and Smashwords here for only $.99!
Anything else you'd like to tell us about works you've previously published/put on sale?
BECOME is an awesome, dark young adult novel—if you’re a Buffy fan, or a Lilith St. Crow fan, or a Melissa Marr fan . . . I think you’d like my book, too!
What is your favorite book or author? Why?
My favorite book(s) belong to THE FIONAVAR TAPESTRY by Guy Gavriel Kay. I’m not a fan of all of his books, but this trilogy is the one that inspired me to write (because I wanted to write something as amazing as those books—to reach people the way these books reached me). THE FIONAVAR TAPESTRY, is rich and beautiful, heartbreaking and fulfilling—it’s everything I think a truly great book should be. And I think it would nowadays fall into “new adult” fantasy, but back when I first read it it was just regular old fantasy. J
What has been the hardest part about writing your current work? About writing in general?
I’m not sure. I haven’t struggled with the craft in the same way that I know other people struggle. For me, the hardest part is believing in myself when no one else does.
What has been the best or most rewarding aspect of writing?
Without a doubt the most rewarding part are all the friendships I have formed through writing and blogging. Who knew that such a solitary art could give me such an amazing sense of belonging?
Do you have any "technical" suggestions for new writers?
A couple tools that have really helped me. Buy the book SAVE THE CAT by Blake Snyder. It’s funny, quick and easy to read. It’s a script-writing guide, but it absolutely relates to writing. I swear you will not regret it. Next to that, get thee a crit group! I think that should be in the writer’s ten commandments.
Do you have any sage advice for new writers?
LOL, no. Just, if you have a dream? Don’t let it stay in dreamland forever. Live your dream—because you CAN.
Is there anything else you'd like to tell our readers?
Come to NiNoCon this Saturday (February 4th!). It’s a free online writer’s conference taking place at www.ninjaswrite.com. It’ll be fun! There’ll be lots of great info! And PRIZES!!
Give us some links to any blogs, websites, or other online media you run.
You betcha! Thanks for letting me plug, Trevor!
ali cross (blog) www.alicross.com
the writer’s dojo www.ninjaswrite.com
the indelibles (a group of 25 self-or-indie-published authors) http://indeliblewriters.blogspot.com
There you go people, go check out her blog and all the goodies she has for you, and read her book Become dang it!
Aspiring Writer Interview: Anna Gailey
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| Anna Gailey |
Thanks for helping me out on short notice Anna. Tell us about yourself. Are you married? Have any kids?
I've been married for almost four years and though we don't have any children, we do have two cats, named Aerith and Rikku (After Final Fantasy characters) that are as close to children as we would like at the moment.
Let's talk about writing. How long ago did you start?
I've been writing for a long time. I remember writing small stories when I was younger, then when I found my love Harry Potter that's when a lot of the writing started. Mostly with Online Role Playing and fanfiction (that is truly terrible, like all fanfiction should be). It wasn't until about High School that I seriously considered writing more.
What project are you currently working on?
Currently I'm contemplating on revising my NaNoWriMo [titled Out of Tune]. Since this was the first year that I actually finished (with a whopping 50,123 words), I feel like I should try and tweak it a little bit. Though the idea of reading it, and realizing that it's as awful as I imagine it to be, is a bit daunting.
I'm also working on a short story about a modern Greek God reincarnation. It may end up going further than I think, but for now I'm just planning it being a short story.
How long have you been working on Out of Tune?
Not long. In fact, only a few months. Which (unfortunately) is the longest I've ever really spent on something of my own creation.
Tell us a little about it.
My NaNoWriMo project is about a deaf girl that falls for a boy who is hearing. I am completely in love with Deaf Culture, and I really wanted to try out writing about it. There are a lot of common misconceptions about people who are deaf, and so I handle explaining that through my main characters, and how the language difference could be a challenging, but not completely impossible to overcome.
What are your goals for it?
As of right now, my goal is to finish. As awesome as it would be to get published, I'm focusing on one task at a time. Finish, then revise, revise some more, and again with the revising, share with friends/critique partners, revise more, ect.
What is your favorite book or author? Why?
That is a loaded question, as of right now, I have a handful of favorite authors.
Meg Cabot: I loved Meg's Young Adult literature as soon as I read them, then as I got older, I jumped into her 'adult' fiction. I love the way that she writes, it's like talking to your best friend after months of not talking.
John Green: Having become obsessed with his YouTube videos, this man has given me some of the greatest advice when it comes to writing. John Green is one of those authors who when you read his stuff, you don't think "I want to write something that is just as good as this" you think "This is amazing, I want to write something BETTER!", which is what a good book does to authors.
I normally tend to stick to Contemporary Fiction, and Young Adult Contemporary. It's where I'm the most comfortable.
What has been the hardest part about writing Out of Tune? About writing in general?
The hardest part of writing my NaNo is the conversations. I had to figure out a way to describe the sign language, while also making it so the characters could understand each other. I used everything from charades, to pen and paper, to just slow talking.
What has been the best or most rewarding aspect of writing?
Creating characters. I have about 30 characters that I've written out full histories and bios for that still have yet to find a home in a story. Creating characters is one of my favorite things to do.
Do you have any "technical" suggestions for new writers?
When I start a story, I always create Character profiles of my main characters. That tell a little bit about the character and range from favorite color, to thoughts about the universe. This helps me when I need to look back on my character when I'm not sure what they would do in a certain situation.
Do you have any sage advice for new writers (inspirational messages, cautions, etc.)?
Two of the best quotes about writing I've ever found are from John Green and Meg Cabot.
John Green: "I just give myself permission to suck. I delete about 90% of my first drafts (the only exception to this rule so far has been Will Grayson, Will Grayson) so it doesn’t really matter much if on a particular day I write beautiful and brilliant prose that will stick in the minds of my readers forever, because there’s a 90% chance I’m just gonna delete whatever I write anyway. I find this hugely liberating.
I also like to remind myself of something my dad said to me once in re. writers’ block: “Coal miners don’t get coal miners’ block.”"
Meg Cabot: "Write the kind of story you would like to read. People will give you all sorts of advice about writing, but if you are not writing something you like, no one else will like it either."
Particularly the "Giving myself permission to suck" thing has stuck with me.
Have you published anything?
I had a few poems published when I was in high school, but nothing as of late. I'm also part of a collaborative website called GeekCrafts.com.
Can you give us some links to any blogs, websites, or other online media you run?
This section should be called: Anna is addicted to the internet:
Twitter: http://twitter.com/luckiestxclover
Blog: http://annasheadintheclouds.blogspot.com
YouTube: http://youtube.com/4girlsandatardis (a collaborative Youtube channel)
GeekCrafts: http://geekcrafts.com
Thanks Anna!
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