I’m at a place where I’m looking for a new novel idea. (Yes, I’m still looking around for a new idea. I’m slow this time, but I think I’ve found an event that is fascinating. Reading background material now.)

One strategy I’m using to find ideas is to re-read old novels from my file drawers. As I read, I’m asking myself two questions about the old novels, trying to decide if I want to spend time revising it.

Do the characters still fascinate you?

When it comes down to it, I love plot. But readers–even readers like me, who love plot–need fascinating characters. I am looking for a spark in the character’s voice, dialogue, interests or passions that I can re-commit to. Is there anything that can carry me through the weeks and months needed to bring this story to the next level?

For instance, at one time, I was fascinated by the Irish/British or Protestant/Catholic conflict in Great Britain and considered writing a YA (Young adult or teen novel) about an Irish teen coming to the U.S. as an exchange student. I have several chapters written, characters created, a plot blocked out. Why was I interested in that conflict and how can I draw upon that research and the characters? Most of all, do the characters still pull at my heartstrings? Of course, I still care that war forces teens into difficult family and cultural situations; but do I have the passion to take up the story of these characters again? I don’t know.

Do you still have enthusiasm for the story?

Passion, enthusiasm, commitment. When do you care enough that you can not, absolutely will not give up on telling a story? Often the stories that scare us are the ones we should write next. Maybe, when you originally started a story, you didn’t have the skills necessary to do a story justice. But you’re at a different place now. Are you ready to tackle it?

On a lighter note, I want to write a series of short humorous chapter books about a certain character. I’m observing kids, writing notes and could write a picture book or two. But I haven’t done enough observation, haven’t caught the character’s interests and passions well enough yet. Maybe I haven’t done that because I’m not passionate enough about meeting the second or third grade reader on the page of a story. Yet.

No, I no longer have a passion for these characters or this story. So, what if you don’t feel attached to any of your characters and you don’t have enthusiasm for any of the stories in your drawer? Not to despair. Tomorrow, we’ll look at how to use those old stories that you don’t want to revise.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

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Introduced first in 2007, authors debuting children’s books have formed a cooperative effort to market their novels. Last year, I featured many of the stories of how the 2k8 Novels Were Revised. This is part of the ongoing stories from the Class of 2k9 authors and how they went about revising their novels.

From Creative Writing Class to Publication

Guest Post by
Donna St. Cyr
www.donnastcyr.com

The Secrets of the Cheese Syndicate

Inspiration. I began writing this story as an assignment for my writing class. My children had given me the idea by their daily antics (that’s how many of my stories are born). The final assignment for this class was to submit something that was around ten chapters in length. The instructor loved what I sent and encouraged me to finish and pursue publication with it.

Outline provides initial vision. Before I started the actual writing, I brainstormed how I might want the story to look, creating a pathfinder to give me some plot possibilities. It’s an action/adventure fantasy, so it really is a pretty plot-driven story. After I sketched the story out, I began writing. It didn’t take long for me to pitch the original outline and begin writing from the hip, so to speak. I was glad, however, that I’d started with the outline because it gave me a vision for the story, even though that vision changed as I wrote.

One and a half-years to a full draft. I have a nasty habit of revising as I go, so every time I wrote a chapter or two, I’d edit it right away. After that, I’d send it out to my critique group. These actions took care of many of my line edits and helped me with plot inconsistencies and pointing out spots where my narrative was too much “tell” and not enough “show”. To write the entire manuscript and revise it through my critique group took about a year to a year and a half.

Six months revising. When I felt like I’d finished the story, I sent it back through my critique group, looking specifically for “big picture” items. Some of the things we concentrated on during the second round of edits included character action and language that was consistent through the story, consistency through the plotline, holes in the story that needed to be filled in, places where the action sagged, and depth of characters. This took another six months or so and I felt pretty good about the manuscript by that point, so I started subbing it out to publishers.

Acceptance! I’d sent the story out five times – with five rejections – before I saw a call for manuscripts of Verla Kay’s Children’s Writers and Illustrators Message Board. I thought my story fit Blooming Tree’s expectations, so I sent it in. About four months later I received a call – acceptance – YAY! I thought I was done ——— NOT!

Revise for Editor. My editor told me the story was not yet finished. It needed more action, more depth of character and more EVERYTHING! This was probably the most difficult point in the revision process for me. I really wanted to be finished, but I took a good hard look at the manuscript and realized she was right. The story wasn’t finished. I found some new characters (some of my favorites) and some more adventures my main characters needed to experience. After this revision was finished, my editor asked for one more small revision. This was mostly more of the same types of things my critique buddies had helped me with. After that came the copy edits. What amazed me was how many typos are still in a manuscript after it’s been edited six times. I think we still had 30 or so things to fix. After the copy edits were completed, I really was DONE ——— with the writing, that is. The marketing and promotion has just begun.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

Yesterday, I started brainstorming on revisions for a picture book. I got some editorial feedback in February when I saw the editor in NYC. But it’s been hard to approach this revision because when we talked, I disagreed with much of what the editor said.

Cooling Off Period Helps Me See Editor’s Wisdom

So, I put it aside for a while and when I went back with a more objective look, I could at least understand the editor’s position. That’s a good starting place. So, I opened the file, made a minor change and then saved it with a new title, “MssForThisEditor.” This way, I keep the original story intact and label this version as revised just to address one editor’s concerns.

Then, I attempted to throw away all my preconceived notions of what this story was and where it could and should go. I started jotting ideas, objections, words, imagery, rants against the suggested changes, rants against the rants, and generally preparing myself mentally to revise. I allowed a couple hours for this, then moved to a different task.

This morning, My Subconscious told me that it had been working on the problem overnight and had some ideas. Well. That was a surprise.

Good. My Conscious still likes the original better, but I’ll let ol’ Sub work a while today and see what happens.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

How Firm are Book Publisher’s Guidelines on Book Length?

I had a question come up last week: how hard and fast are the rules about the length of a picture book manuscript? Can you get by with 1900 words? 2000 words? 2500 words?

The length requirements for every genre, from picture books to easy readers to short chapter to middle grade and teen novels — the recommended lengths are only guidelines.

Write your story the best way you can. Most editors will say to write the story you need to write. They will worry about how to fit it all into 32 pages, or if it should go to 48 pages or if it should be cut.

Some genres, some publishers are very strict on guidelines. On the other hand, some publishers and some genres have very strict guidelines. Easy readers are only allowed a certain number of characters per line and rarely exceed posted story length. If in doubt, ask the editor; or, simply follow the guidelines.

Consider your audience. You should also consider your readers and the characteristics and interests of the readers. For pre-school kids, do you really expect them to sit still and stay interested in something that is 2000 words long? Time yourself reading those 2000 words and consider the attention span of young children. Given a choice, wouldn’t they rather hear a story — complete with a beginning, middle, end and an emotional tug — in just 200 words?

Make sure you are matching up a story with an audience. If you are breaking the guidelines, ask yourself the tough question: is this story targeted to the right age audience?

Don’t fall in love with your words. Also, be sure — how to put this delicately — make sure you aren’t being lazy or sloppy in your writing. I’ve seen 2000 words stories that can easily be cut to 800 words and be all the better for it. I’ve had stories like that myself. Change as many verbs as possible to active verbs, eliminate all adverbs, and most adjectives; convert prepositional phrases to adjectives or omit; cut any redundancies; cut dialogue to bare minimum; etc. Cut.

Follow the guidelines — usually. In other words, the guidelines are guidelines for good reasons and if you ignore them, it is at your own peril. Yes, of course, you’ll find picture books at 1900 words; but they will be written for the upper elementary students, not the toddlers. But there will also be rare exceptions when the subject matter, the writing, or the genre will allow you to bend the guidelines — a little.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

When you’re happy with the revisions of your picture book manuscript, it’s time to make a mock-up, or what is usually called a dummy.

Why Make a Dummy?

Picture books combine text and words in a short 32 page book. The structure is so unusual, that you need a dummy to refine and polish your text. It can tell you which section of text is too long, let you look at pacing of the story across the pages, help you spot needless repetitions and much more.

How to Make a Dummy

1. Take 16 sheets of typing paper and staple along one side. You may use either a portrait or a landscape orientation, your choice. Some like cutting the paper in half and using 8.5? x 6.5?, in a landscape orientation. The late Sue Alexander recommended using brightly colored typing paper to simulate art and text better.
2. Number the pages in the bottom corners, if you wish. It will begin with a single right-hand page as page 1, and end with a single left-hand page as page 32.
3. Now, get out the scissors! Cut and tape your text into the dummy. Put the title on page 1, but leave pages 2-3 blank, as these are usually front matter, such as copyright page, half title page, or dedication. Now, you have a choice: you can start your text on page 4, for a double page spread, or just on the right-hand page 5. After that, the text should lay out across the full spread.
4. If you have an author’s note or other back matter (glossary, sources, etc, such as for a non-fiction story), you’ll need to reserve a couple pages for that at the end.

USE THE DUMMY TO REVISE

Here are some things you might notice:

1. The story doesn’t fill up 32 pages; or, there’s too much text to fit. (Revise for length.)
2. Read the dummy aloud and listen to it. The story sounds awkward when read aloud. (Smooth out the language.)
3. Each page has enough text, but some spreads have a weak illustration possibility. (Strengthen your verbs.)
4. The story doesn’t make me want to turn the page. (Add tension; or use one of the page turn ideas.)
5. The story doesn’t change a bit if you skip reading a page. (Omit page; or add essential plot elements.)
6. The story is unclear; no one can figure out what is happening. (Tighten the story; check transitions; write clearer.)

OVERALL

1. The story feels too wordy. (Cut in half!)
2. The pacing feels jerky. (Consider where you want the reader to speed up and where you want them to slow down. Revise accordingly.)
3. The story all takes place in one setting. (Consider moving the story around for better illustration possibilities.)
4. The story has too many settings. (Reuse some settings, but with a different perspective, different actions, etc.)
5. The story feels flat. (Work on the emotional impact of the story on the characters; work on language and voice.)
6. The story’s narrative arc is weak. (Create more tension; put more at stake.)

Mocking up a picture book, making the dummy, can’t be under-estimated for its help in pointing toward weak spots that need revision in a picture book text. Get out the paper, stapler, scissors and mock up your book!

WHEN USING THE DUMMY, REMEMBER

1. The picture book dummy is just for you. This mock-up is just for you to use as you revise to make sure you fit the format. You would never send it in to the editor.
2. The published book may have different page divisions. The editor, art director and illustrator may decide that the story should be divided differently. That’s fine. Your job is to give them enough illustration possibilities that they can visualize this as a complete book. If you’ve done that, then your job is done and their job of actually making a book begins.
3. Keep the Dummy Updated. As you go through the next few lessons and make changes to the text, cut and paste the current text into the dummy and go back through the questions again. Make sure all changes keep the story within the parameters of picture book structure.

ACTION POINTS

Make a dummy of your picture book manuscript and evaluate each section. Rewrite as needed.

How to Write a Children’s Picture Book A Fiction Notes Ebook 110 pages packed with information. Everything in one, easy-to-read format. Instant access!

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win

I got this comment and thought it needed to be a separate post:

Tamar Asks: 32 pages? Not clear

Hi,
Thank you for your posts. They have been very helpful.
It isn’t clear to me from your posting of a 32 page book being standard, how many pages of text that translates into for the author.
Or does it just mean that an author should aim for a book that she tells the publisher is going to be 32 pages, and they break it up. Or does she break it up herself.
Thank you and looking forward to your response.
Tamar

Darcy Answers: 32 pages of finished book, 5 (or less) pages of manuscript text

Thanks for the question!

Book. There will be short segments of text on each page (or double-page spread).

Manuscript. If you translate that to standard manuscript pages, that’s 5 pages or less of text. When you send in the mss to a publisher, you send it in standard manuscript format (5 pages or so). When the text is laid out for the picture book, the editor, art director and illustrator will divide it into the segments that go on each page.
You will see me suggest that you divide your text into 14-28 segments, anticipating how it will be laid out in a picture book. That is strictly to help the author revise and polish the text. When you send in the mss, it should be in standard mss format.

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Goodreads Book Giveaway

Wisdom, the Midway Albatross

by Darcy Pattison

Giveaway ends March 11, 2012.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter to win