Quick Writing Tip

From "Portable MFA in Creative Writing":

"By telling -- that is, by providing a resume or a psychological profile for your character -- you are providing information in a form that glides past the reader like a software terms-of-use agreement. By showing -- that is, by allowing the reader to observe your character in action -- you are dramatizing information, and information through action stays with the reader."

Happy Writing!

Review: "Pride & Popularity" by Jenni James

So as soon as I saw the title "Pride & Popularity" on Jenni's facebook profile, I knew it'd be a book I'd like. Because obviously, I love Jane Austen. And I love YA. Jenni combined my two book loves effortlessly.

This review comes as a two part series! Part 1: The Review, Part 2: The Interview!

The Point of the Plot:
Chloe Hart knew from the moment she set eyes on Taylor Anderson that he was too popular for his own good. And she's right, of course, especially when she discovers how miserable he's trying to maker her senior year. But could Taylor's behavior possibly be because he likes her? Impossible ...

This is an Awesome August Blog Hop Stop

Welcome to the Awesome August Blog Hop, where bloggers from all over the Internet have come together to throw a summertime party!

Grammar Tip: Commas between all items in a series to prevent confusion (CiS)

It's not often that I write a Grammar Tip post that lets you make the decision, but this just happens to be one of those comma's that isn't always required.
The Sentence: I went to the store and bought eggs, milk, peanut butter and jelly.

How Do You Outline?

If any of you are friends with me on Facebook, you know that I'm much too excited about Nano Wrimo much too early! But that's beside the point. Since I already have an idea I'm really excited about (you can read about that if you want at my new history blog writeplushistory.blogspot.com) I thought I might as well start my outline.
Well, long story short, I'm actually a "pantser." (by the seat of the pants writer!) My outlines are usually at most 8-10 bulleted points. I find though, that with the pressure of NaNo WriMo, I might appreciate a better thought out outline. So my question is: what outlining methods do you guys use and why do you like them?

Why is Darth Vader such a great villain?

It's true. Who doesn't know about Darth Vader? Who hasn't--in that raspy, deep voice paired with the hiss of oxygen--uttered the words "Luuuke ... I am your father"?
Agent Kelly Sonnack said that cliche villains are so ... well, cliche. Give your reader a villain who has something to offer the hero, something to tempt him with. Who does that better than Darth? Especially when the movies are paired with the prequel episodes. I kept hoping that somehow Mr. Vader would turn things around.
The best villains are the ones you're secretly feeling sorry for; the ones that make you feel the need to shout at your book, "DON'T LISTEN, HERO!"
How to round out your villain:
1. Treat your villain with the same respect you treat your main character. You put a lot of time into crafting the hero/heroine's backstory. Do the same for the villain. How much do we know about Voldemort's story? Almost as much as we know about Harry's! The more you know about your villain, the more villainously appetizing you can make him.
2. Make sure he/she has something to offer the hero. An amazingly evil laugh just doesn't cut it these days. Take The Sphinx from Brandon Mull's Fablehaven series. He's convinced he's committing also sorts of evil injustices for the greater good of society. He has something to offer Kendra and Seth. Your villain should have something that tantalizes the hero; that makes him/her second guess themselves.

Who's your favorite villain and why? What makes them so good ... or bad ... or whatever ... ?

Mommy Authors

Hey Everyone! Starting on August 23rd, I will officially be part of the Mommy Author's blog team. (Okay, I'm already officially part of the team, but my first post will go up on that day.) I'm really excited to blog about lots of things Mommy and Writing related. There are three other fun bloggers too, each of us with different perspectives on motherhood, writing, and the two of those combined. I think you should ALL check it out.

http://mommyauthors.blogspot.com/

Sweet Saturday Samples: Excerpt from my 2010 NaNoWriMo Novel "Mae Nickson: Monster Hunter"

Beware! This novel has not been edited at all since I wrote it in a mad rush in November of 2010. But the scene is one of my absolute favorites. :)

Mae Nickson: Monster Hunter
Mae Nickson has been hunting monsters her whole life--her whole eighty-plus years, and she still only looks 17. And most of those eighty years she's pushed away every one, until she meets Porter Heyward, the boy who won't quit. When the ultimate bad-guy Cirraco targets a small town, Mae is forced to team up with Porter to figure out why. 

Free Review: "Surrender the Heart" by MaryLou Tyndall

I should probably change the title of this to a "Free for Me" Review. I bought this book for my Kindle app, and at the time I downloaded it, it was free. Probably a promotion by Ms. Tyndall, and in my opinion, a good one, because I'm a little bit considering buying more from her for my Kindle app. :) But let's get down to the review.

A Post about Stupid MC's

My very cool friend Kristin wrote a GREAT post about MC's making stupid decisions over and over. I have a strange relationship with this phenom. While I abhor characters who make dumb decisions or refuse to see the solution that's hovering right in front of their face, I tend to lead my own characters into the same trap. So I definitely thing it's worth your time to hop over to the ANWA Founders & Friends blog and read Kris's awesome post.

http://anwafounder.blogspot.com/2011/08/is-your-main-character-dummy.html

Sweet Saturday Samples: Another Excerpt from "My Best Friend is a Superhero"

One of my FAVE scenes, from Chapter 10

The doorbell rang at exactly six, but I stayed in front of my mirror. No time to change again. I settled for giving myself a lecture. “It’s a study date, Bek. You’re fine if he just wants to be your friend. It’s just studying.”

Adam was sitting in his usual chair at the dining room table when I came in. He waved a paper at me. “I got a copy of the test for you to practice on. Mr. Williams won’t put the same problems and questions on it, but the retest will have the same information.” He held out his other hand, revealing a plain white sack. “And I brought dinner. Orange chicken and fried rice. Plus I stopped and got those breadsticks you love.”

The Non-Wet T-Shirt Contest over at "Garbage"!

"Garbage" is quickly wrapping up! Can you believe it? Well, of course, not before a few more crazy things happen of course. Including a contest for a free t-shirt! Because who wouldn't want to walk around advertising for us? hehehe. Go check out the contest now! Or you can head straight to our new Facebook fan page, where you can follow everything happening with "Garbage" and enter the contest there, or vote for the fan you think most deserves the t-shirt.
See you there!

A Change in My Editing Fees

**Effective September 1, 2011 I will be changing my editing fees. I'm doing this because there's a big difference between the time it takes to line edit at 50k word manuscript and an 85k word manuscript (and 85k words falls under my 100k threshold!)
The price changes will be as follows:
Basic Content Editing $0.0006/word
Line & Content Editing Combo $0.001/word
Whole Manuscript Line Edit $0.002/word

The prices may look confusing. If you do the math (and I don't blame you if you don't want to), you'll notice that at 50,000 words, the prices for each remain the same. (I.e., it will still cost $30 for a Basic Content Edit for a 50,000 word MS; $50 for a combo edit for a 50,000 word MS; and $100 for a Whole MS line edit.) This change will allow me to keep my prices low so I can help out people who can't afford pricier options, while still compensating me for the time spent on longer manuscripts.

After September 1, 2011, when submitting the first 15 pages for review, please also include the word count so I can send you a quote for the full project.
Short projects and manuscripts over 100,000 words will still require special pricing. Please contact me for information.

**Projects submitted to me prior to August 31, 2011 will still receive the flat rate pricing ($30, $50, $100 for manuscripts under 100k words) even if I don't complete the editing until after September 1, 2011**


As always, please contact me if you have any questions. If you planned on sending me a project in the near future, but the project will not be ready for editing by September 1, 2011, please email me to make arrangements for you to take advantage of the flat rate pricing. 

Would You Want to Know More?

I noticed that a lot of authors post their work on their blog. I guess I'm already doing that over at the "Garbage" blog. (btw, you NEED to go check that out! The action is getting intense as the story races toward the ending!) But if you didn't know, "Garbage" is my first foray into dystopian. I'm usually writing YA fantasy or something similar.
Lately, while I pretend I don't need to study for the GRE, I've been editing "My Best Friend is a Superhero," one of my favorite WIPs to date. (Is it because the hero is named after my husband? Quite possibly...) So today for your reading pleasure, is the first chapter. Will you comment below and tell me if you'd want to know more?

Mom ran her finger along the corrugated lines of my forehead. She sighed. “Bek, at some point you’re going to have to accept that you’re going to Lincoln Academy this year and try to be happy about it.”

I looked up from the map full of tiny squares I got when I registered thirty minutes before. I’d been trying to locate my classes on the campus of one of the most prestigious private schools in the country even though school didn’t start until the next Wednesday. “I don’t have to be happy about it.”

She stared at the traffic jam that made Lincoln Boulevard look like a parking lot. “Fine. But having a bad attitude won’t change our minds about sending you there.”

I smoothed out my scowl and turned to Mom with wide, pleading eyes. “I’m a junior! Only two more years left at Whitson.”

“Bek, you have friends at Lincoln, too. Tessa, Josh, Adam…”

“Josh is my brother.”

Mom turned back to the road.

I didn’t give up. “Whitson is a good school. The kids there are just as rich as the ones that go to Lincoln. The curriculum is…good. Couldn’t we be grateful that Calvin made it possible for me to cross districts?”

“Bek, how many times do we have to have this argument? Lincoln is a top notch school, and the fact that I finally convinced Calvin to pay part of your tuition is not something we can turn our noses up at.”

I turned my face back to the window, my scowl returning. Mom maneuvered through traffic, the tall, shiny buildings of downtown Pride City passing slowly by. I folded my arms, and the registration folder on my lap fell to the floor of the car. I didn’t bother picking it up. I looked down the street. The suburban houses in the distance seemed too far away. Mom had several minutes at least to argue with me. “I don’t have to have everything Josh has.”

I could practically hear Mom’s teeth grinding together. “This isn’t about forcing Calvin to acknowledge that you are his child too. This is about you getting the best education you have the opportunity to get. We’re not changing our minds. You know that. I can’t force you to be happy about this, but I think you’d like your life more if you’d try to have a good attitude. Think about the bright side, Bek. You won’t have to see Dan every day.”

She had me there, but I wasn’t about to let on. “Whatever.” I leaned over and gathered the scattered papers off the floor of the car, frowning at the shiny map. A beautiful campus, top-notch classes and extracurriculars, a sports complex that rivaled most colleges, and even a food court and gift shop on campus—it was all worth leaving my friends at Whitson High School to go across town to Lincoln Academy where my brother and his friends went. But honestly, my I objected mostly because of my pretentious father, Calvin.

Mom cried out in surprise, and I turned just as she slammed her arm against my chest. It knocked the breath out of me. I couldn’t even scream when the car rose off the ground, flying backward.

The car landed, jolting me forward. I gripped the sides of my seat. The car dropped an inch or two, crushing the hood of the car beneath us. Mom and I sat there in silnce. We waited to see if the car would move again.

“Are you okay, Bek?” Mom asked breathlessly.

I stared in surprise out the window and tried to find my voice. “Is that a robot?”

“Looks like it.” Mom pulled out her cell phone and pushed a button. I frowned, confused when she shoved it back in her pocket. She turned and pushed against her door. The car shuddered again. The robot loomed over us, looking gigantic. It stood up, it’s head level with the third story windows of the Pride City National Bank. Shiny black metal reflected off the windows until the robot shattered half a dozen with its fist.

“Bek? I could use your help with this door.”

Mom’s calm voice broke me out of my thoughts. It didn’t surprise me she remained unruffled in the face of a giant robot making Honor Park look like a construction site. When you live in a town with a super-hero, I suppose you get used to weird stuff like that happening.

“How?” I asked.

“Get as close to me as you can and we’ll kick together.”

I scooted across the seat and braced myself against the steering wheel. “One…two...” I pulled my knees back. “THREE!”

We both jammed our feet against the door. It didn’t budge.

“Again,” Mom yelled.

We pulled our feet back. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a black streak. Was it The Fox? The door disappeared. We didn’t notice in time to stop the momentum of our feet. Mom tumbled out of the car. I grabbed the steering wheel.

“You okay, Mom?”

“Been better.” She stood up slowly, turning toward the robot. I looked out the windshield. The Fox—Pride City’s local super-hero—had jammed our car door into one of the robot’s eyes.

“Come on, Bek. Let’s get out of here.” The calm tone of Mom’s voice freaked me out.

I scooted out to the edge of the seat, preparing for the short jump to the road below. Out of the corner of my eye, the metallic gleam of the robot’s arm blinked at me. I threw my arms around the steering wheel as the robot scooped our car up and sent it air born.

I screamed. I closed my eyes, trying to somehow brace myself for when the car hit the pavement again. But it never came. My descent slowed. Then stopped. The car dropped softly next to the overturned swing set in the park.

Scrambling out, I tumbled into the sand. The Fox, in black spandex from head to toe, shot off the ground toward the robot. In one swing he decapitated it. Its head flew into the side of the shattered bank building. Its body crumpled lifeless to the ground. Applause met my ears. For some reason I grinned.

__________________________________________________________________

Okay, so I lied. That's not the whole first chapter. (It was sort of long for a blog post...) And I cheated and cut it off at a pretty good part. Sorry about that. ;)