When You Find A Story So Like Your Own

I just read a really awesome picture book that is perfect for Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Lily lives in Washington DC with her parents and loves to make art on her computer. Her grandfather lives in a farming village in South Korea. He writes poetry and creates beautiful scrolls. The two are pen pals with Lily telling her mother what to write in Korean. Her mother then translates Grandpa’s letters as they plan for his trip to the US. This is a touching story about family living on different continents, separated by oceans and language and eventually even more. But love continues to bring them together.

Of course, reading this made me think of one of my first picture book manuscripts. In my story, a Chinese American boy struggled to communicate with his grandfather. Grandfather spoke no English and the boy spoke no Mandarin. Eventually the pair managed to communicate through their art. I had based the story loosely on the experiences of the Chinese and Taiwanese immigrants that I had interviewed when working on my thesis.

I’m not bemoaning the fact that my story never came under serious consideration from a publisher. It makes sense.

But it does seem funny to me that no one who read it suggested way back then that this was not my story to tell. No one pointed out that another author could tell it so much better because it would be their story. I worked this story through critique groups. My teacher/mentor was a much published BIPOC author.

I like to think that I would have listened. But honestly? I was 22. Although mileage may vary, I know I am much wiser now than I was then. And the publishing climate is very different although far too often white authors still tell other people’s stories.

My story may come out of my files one day, but if I ever send it out into the world, it will be unrecognizable because it will be my story to tell. And there are so many ways I could go with that story. After all, a large portion of my family came to the US as immigrants. I lived far from my paternal grandparents and, although I spoke the same language, liven in a very different place culturally.

If you find a story in print that is like your own, give it some thought. Think about why this one sold and yours did not. It may be a matter of chance. Or you may have been writing about an experience best left to someone else.

–SueBE

Finding a Hole in the Market

I meant to post this earlier in the week. May is Asian American Pacific Islander Month. In recognition, I requested MY LOST FREEDOM by George Takei from my local library. As much as I love him as a speaker, I wondered how he would expand on what has already been published on this topic.

Takei’s book is about the World War II Japanese internment camps. Where many of these books are the stories of the author’s parent or grandparent, Takei tells his story from a first hand perspective. That said, it isn’t just about him.

Takei writes about his baby sister getting sick when they were forced to live in horse stalls.

He writes about how his mother made their next location a home. She sewed curtains and made rugs using a sewing machine that she wasn’t supposed to have.

He writes about how his father volunteered throughout the camp to make life better for everyone there.

But the hole that he found didn’t immediately involve these aspects of the story. Most books, especially picture books, about the campus focus on how the interred were loyal Americans. They followed the rules. They did what they were told. They proudly fought for the United States when given the opportunity.

Takei tells a somewhat different story. When given the questionnaire asking if they would serve if called on to do so, Takei’s parents could not say yes. They were Americans who had been labeled Enemy Aliens. Their property had been taken. They had been forced to live in a horse stall and then a camp. They would not fight. Because of this they were called disloyal and sent to a worse camp.

I think that the hole in the market that Takei found was one that tells a story of quiet bravery. They refused to say what those in power wanted to hear. They wouldn’t say that what had been done to them was okay. It is a very powerful story and one that I hope you will read. It is a story about strength and family and perseverance in the face of unwarranted persecution.

–SueBE

When Characters Do Improbable Things

I am currently listening to Finlay Donovan Rolls the Dice. If you don’t know about the Finlay Donovan series by Elle Cosimano, her character is a struggling suspense novelist and single mom. She has no choice but to become an amateur-sleuth when someone mistakes her for a contract killer.

Sounds pretty improbable, doesn’t it? But it works because the books are truly campy. Finlay knows her life is ridiculous and often wonders how she gets herself in these situations.

But she’s also a character that you can identify with. I’m assuming that, like me, you are a writer who is often wardrobe challenged. You may or may not have been used as a napkin by one of your children and what the heck is that smell in the car? No really? Single or no, if you have children and you are a writer, you are going to get aspects of Finlay’s life. And the wacky, over-the-top parts you don’t get? You’re more than willing to go along for the ride because she cares about her kids, she’s struggling just like you, and the books are just too much fun.

This doesn’t mean that the reader is always willing to go along with the unbelievable. I just quit listening to an audiobook. Big deal? I was 82% of the way through an 8 hour book. 82%!

But the characters were just . . . ugh! Who would do that?! Who?!

I know that’s I’ve said it before, but I have an issue with unreliable narrators. Your book has to be really compelling to keep me reading especially when the unreliable narrator lies to the reader.

So when I figured out that the narrator had been scamming me for almost 6 hours, I gritted my teeth but kept listening. No, I don’t just sit and listen. I’m doing dishes, folding laundry, doing needlework. Whatever. So sometimes I keep listening because I’m busy.

And I did keep listening for a while. But then another character did something that was just . . . clueless? Mean? Maybe even evil? It was just so over the top.

This book is . . . dare I say it? . . . literary. Yeah, I don’t go there very often. But it was oh so serious, dealing with BIG, IMPORTANT themes. So BIG. So IMPORTANT. It takes itself very, very seriously. It is as real as real can be.

When this type of realistic fiction jumps the shark, as they say, it just doesn’t work. You have to set your reader up for the unbelievable and the campy. The tone of the work has to be consistent. Because when it isn’t, your reader may not go along for the rest of the journey.

–SueBE

Dialogue Is Not a Tennis Match

Photo by Mudassir Ali on Pexels.com

 I am currently taking Judy’s Blume’s MasterClass in writing for young readers. One off the sessions that I just watched was on dialogue. Blume emphasized that dialogue doesn’t copy real speech but it needs to sound like real speech.

Blume pointed out two specific problems. When new writers create dialogue, their characters often speak in complete sentences. “How are you, Lily?” “I am doing fine, thank you.” But Blume points out that people very often speak in fragments. Part of the reason for this is because they interrupt each other.

A problem that I’ve seen in manuscripts is that dialogue looks like tennis. Character 1 asks a question.  Character 2 answers without holding anything back.  Back and forth.  Its like watching straightforward tennis.  Right.  Left.  Right.  Left.

Again, this is not how people speak. Pay attention the next time you ask someone a question.  Sometimes you get “yes” or “no.” This may happen if the person you ask is my husband. He is famous for the one word answer.

Many other times, you get another question or a statement on another topic.  “How did school go?” “Do we have any more protein bars. I’m starving.” It might be because the second character is being somewhat devious. Maybe they flunked a test and don’t want to say. Or they might simply be really, really hungry.

What can you do with the dialogue in your story to avoid the tennis match effect?  Often this occurs where you have two characters talking. Throw in a third character. That will keep the dialogue from being entirely back and forth. You’ll just have to be sure not to go from character A to B to C and back to A. That just transforms the problem from tennis to hot potato.

Dialogue can be a lot of fun to write. Don’t get carried away! Remember that like everything else in your manuscript, it needs to move the story forward. If it doesn’t, don’t be afraid to cut it. It doesn’t matter how good it sounds it if doesn’t move the story forward.

–SueBE

How to Prioritize Your Writing

Photo by Brett Jordan on Pexels.com

I’m a professional freelancer. This is what I do. It isn’t a hobby. I don’t write when my Muse finds me. I have contracts. This is how I make a living. How do I do something that so few people manage to do?

Step 1

I call myself a writer. That’s really essential in my view. You aren’t going to find time for it if it isn’t how you identify. There are just too many distractions.

Step 2

I treat it like a job. For some people, this may mean that they just make sure they work about 40 hours a week. I don’t work well with a ton of distractions so I tend to work 9 to 5, Monday through Friday. My husband works from home two of every three weeks and it is just easier if we both work at the same time. More or less. I do go to yoga two mornings a week but that’s essential.

Step 3

Learn to say “no.” When you work from home, people are going to figure out that they can find you. You will be called on to watch their children, give rides, and act as a caretaker. You will also get calls to go to lunch, go strawberry picking, hang out at the gardens and more.

I’m not saying that you can’t do anything of these things. You do need a life. But there will be times when you need to say, “No, I have a deadline.” Or, “I have to get this done.”

Step 4

Be ready to take care of life and then get to work.

Obviously there are times when you just have to take care of family things before you get to work. Today, my husband told me that my family sounded like a telenovela. I couldn’t give him grief for that because I’d already had that same thought. And it didn’t really matter that my week already includes two people off work on Wednesday wanting to have fun on their birthdays, a book due Friday, and a university graduation on Friday as well as a set of proof sheets to go over.

Before I could really get into all or any of that, I had to take 2 phone calls and check air fare and flight times for next week. I’ve done those things. I’m not waiting to discuss plans with several people over the dinner table. But now I can seriously dive into my work.

Making a living as a writer isn’t easy. And I’m not saying that it is something everyone will achieve. But if you don’t consider yourself a writer? If you don’t prioritize your work? I think we all know the answer to that one.

–SueBE

Why I Don’t Write Negative Reviews

Photo by Polina Zimmerman on Pexels.com

When I started reviewing for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, I didn’t get to review very many books. They didn’t even publish one review a month. Although I wrote the occasional stand alone review, the majority were rounds ups of up to 6 titles.

Maybe that’s part of the reason that I’ve never been interested in writing negative reviews. I had only so much space. I wanted to recommend books to young readers and the people who buy books for them. I had no interest in panning a book publicly. Just because I didn’t like it, didn’t mean that it wasn’t the perfect book for someone else.

That isn’t to say that I never explained why a book might not be the best choice for certain readers. “Because of the setting, you may be tempted to buy this for an early middle grade reader. This book is firmly young adult and this is why…” Still, I never panned another writer’s work.

I’ve extended this to the books I write about here and on social media. I may say that I read a book and had troubles getting to know the characters and this is why. I may comment that the setting felt flat and might have been helped by these three things. But I never call the book by name.

And still I’ve had people ask me for the title and the author. I always explain my policy and tell them that they can message me to start a conversation. One-on-one I’ll give the name of a book I didn’t like. I’ll say something to my critique group.

But I never do it in print. I don’t do it on social media.

Picture book or novel, someone worked hard on the book in question. And just because it isn’t right for me doesn’t mean it won’t be right for someone else.

When you find a book you don’t like, think about why. What didn’t appeal to you? Why didn’t it work for you? And why do you think someone published it? What was it that drew that editor or publisher to that book? Who do they see as the audience?

–SueBE

It Can Be Hard to Predict the Tough Jobs

I’ve learned. When I’m presented with a list of books topics by my editor, sometimes it pays to Google a few. That way I know which ones are going to be easy to research and which are going to be more difficult.

At least that’s the theory. I didn’t predict that either of these books would be tough to research which shows just how clueless I can be.

Cave and Mine Survival Stories was tough because the international media really likes the stories where no one survives. A scientist who gets trapped underground leading to an international crew heading underground? He is German. It was in the Alps. I could find a lot of stories but I don’t read German! Then there were the stories I could research but included no photos. Why were photos so hard to find? Because rescuers are busy rescuing people. I found a great story about a group of military but they had worked really hard to avoid having their photos spread far and wide. My editor couldn’t find a single image.

The Haunted History of San Antonio might have been easy. If we had taken every story as fact and run with it, I could have written 27 books. Unfortunately, if you make your living leading ghost tours, I’m going to need more than just your word for it. Although we did get to use one story that was disproved. Why? Because it WAS disproved. We wanted to show young readers why then need to consider the claims that are being made. Do they make sense? Is there another explanation?

I was also able to include information on the tech that ghost hunters use. I quoted statements by ghost hunters. “This will show us x, y, and z.” My son watches these programs and is an engineering student. He helped me find discussions on what is going on vs the claims that are made.

Numerous search results don’t mean that what you need is going to be among the first 10 or even 30 results. And that’s okay. Because if it was easy to find online, that’s where potential readers would locate it too.

–SueBE

How to Critique

Photo by Andrew Neel on Pexels.com

I love my critique group. And my accountability group. I’m blessed to have several groups of amazing writers who will give me feedback. And not only are they willing, they are good!

That’s pretty amazing because it combines a number of skills. And I’m not saying that they need to compliment me. That’s one of the most useless types of critiques. “I loved it!” “It was really good.”

I suspect that these people treat critique like reading for fun. They fall into the story and enjoy exploring the story world. Or they don’t.

When that’s the case, you may still not get helpful feedback. “I didn’t like it.” “I don’t read fantasy.” Comments like these are not going to help anyone improve their work.

I’ll be honest. I’m not always very helpful when someone runs a board book through the group. I either love it or . . . meh. This area just isn’t my strength. And when I suspect I’m about to give a useless critique, I will preface it with “you know I’m not going to be at my best…”

And yet, there are things that I can do in an attempt to be helpful. I almost always read through the manuscript at least twice. The first time, I comment on almost nothing. I may mark a point that pulls me out of the story. Or I might draw a heart next to a paragraph that I love. But the first time through, I’m simply enjoying the journey.

It is on the second read that I dive into the mechanics of the manuscript. I already know what is happening and who it is happening to. Now I am free to comment, question and mark things up. If this is the type of manuscript that I have issues with, I look for things I can comment on. Here are a few possibilities:

• Illustration Possibilities. If I can see the illustrations in my mind, that’s a plus. Does the text bring a particular style of illustration to mind? If so, I say so.
• Page Turns. If this is a board book or early picture book, is the author making top use of their page turns? That’s quite a skill and one that deserves to be recognized.
• Markets. Have a seen a call for this type of manuscript? That’s something else I can point out.

These are far from the only things that I comment on. I’m someone who asks questions. “What is your character thinking/feeling?” “Is this meant to sound ominous?” But I also point out the things I love. Settings are things that we writers frequently neglect so I will comment on strong settings or settings that lend a lot to the story.

Really, there is so much help you can give. Take the time to do it right.

–SueBE

E

When Should You Develop the Theme?

Looking for a theme.
Photo by Tobias Aeppli on Pexels.com

As I mentioned yesterday (see that post by clicking here), I am taking Judy Blume’s MasterClass on writing for children. In one of the sessions today, she mentioned that she just doesn’t worry about theme. She simply focuses on writing a good story.

This might work for Judy Blume but I can just see myself telling an agent. “Judy Blume doesn’t create a theme. I don’t need to worry about theme either.” I suspect that this would be one of those times that what works for Judy Blume, Jane Yolen, or Neal Gaiman, does not work for little ol’ me. I just don’t have the clout to pull it off.

That said, theme is never the first thing I worry about. Sometimes I come up with the plot first. Or I have a character in mind and then I have to find a plot. Once I have those things down, then I’ll worry about theme.

Because I do think that theme is important. One thing that theme can do is set the main character and the protagonist against each other. It isn’t the only thing because plot also plays a role but theme can make the conflict even stronger if they are on opposite sides.

Let’s say that the main character in our story is Mark. He needs to win an academic competition so that he can win the scholarship that goes with it. It is the only way he can go to college. Our antagonist is Anthony (aren’t I clever with these names?). He too wants to win the competition and the scholarship.

There’s our plot. How can we pull in a theme.

Let’s say that this a story about class and caste in society. Mark’s family is not well off. He will be the first person to go to college and he sees it as a way to improve things for his whole family. Anthony’s family is quite well off. He thinks that Mark should learn his place in society and it is not at university.

See how that strengthens everything?

At this point, I’m still playing around with the plot for my new idea. But I suspect that coming up with a theme will help me tie it all together.

–SueBE

When Nothing Works . . . Walk

Photo by Julia Larson on Pexels.com

I’m not going to say that yesterday was a bad day because that wouldn’t be true. I had yoga. Yoga days are good days. Saturday I baked chocolate banana bread. Yoga and yum! What more could I want?

I was supposed to get a query or three out. One agent said she took nonfiction for all ages so I had saved her name. According to Query Tracker she is only taking picture book nonfiction. The piece I’m sending out is early middle grade. Another agent on my list is no longer representing any work for young readers. Yet another . . . where did she go?

Since I’m playing around with the idea for a new project, I could just work on that. The problem is that I have a good feel for several of my characters. I know my setting. I even know some of the day-to-day problems my characters will face. But I don’t actually know what they are going to do.

Finally my husband turned away from his desk. “You could probably go do something else? I bet you’d feel better.”

Yeah, I was probably irritating him at that point but he wasn’t going to say so. Still he knows me well enough to know that a change of scenery is usually a good idea. I decided to get on the treadmill and walk. I’m watching Judy Blume’s MasterClass on writing for children.

She talked about the number of ideas that she gets in the shower or when she’s walking. She said that she really feels for people who have ear buds in and are listening to music or a podcast. “They’re missing their best thinking time!” That’s me paraphrasing Judy there.

She’d probably be really disappointed that I’m walking and watching her class. But really, she needn’t worry. Because at one point ideas started popping into my mind. I can set up a situation that is similar to “I don’t want a new baby in the family.” It isn’t that my character hates babies, he’s just happy the way things are. But then he ends up saving a baby and . . . new baby in the house!

Don’t panic. My character isn’t a person. My character doesn’t save a human baby. But the real story line is going to be parallel to this and I think it be something that is easy for young readers to identify with. After all, adults are always telling kids what to think. My character can empathize.

Poor, Judy! I know she kept on talking but I was busy figuring things out. I don’t have enough situations to outline the whole story, but I know what my character’s arc is going to be. Now I need to figure out what he thinks his arc is. Note: They will be two entirely different things.

All it took was a walk for me to get started!

–SueBE