End of Year Goals

Photo credit: angietorres on Flickr

So we have a little less than fifteen weeks of 2015 (those of you who were enjoying bliss ignorance, I apologize), so I thought it might be fun to start thinking about things I’d like to do before 2016. Call them resolutions or goals or just things to look forward to, but here are my goals for the rest of the year.

• Finalize the #YAFantasyWIP. This is my NaNo manuscript from 2013 (yes, the one I wrote stupidly fast), so it’s been a long time coming, but I’ll very shortly be embarking of the last couple rounds of revision for this manuscript. Seeing how much this WIP has developed from first draft to pre-final revision draft has already been totally amazing, so I look forward giving it the final shine it needs.


• Start working on a new project after #YAFantasyWIP revisions are 100% complete. Because I’m going to need a distraction when that project is done to keep me sane. Heh.


• Finish (and beat) GR reading challenge (only four books to go!). My Goodreads reading challenge goal was fifty books this year, and it looks like at the rate I’m going I’ll very easily surpass that. My goal is to hit fifty and keep going—just to see how many I can squeeze in before the end of the year. :)


• Finish second to last semester at college. Considering I just started school again three weeks ago, this feels like a weird goal. But it is, crazily, something that will happen before the end of the year! 


• Write 800th blog post (21 to go). Pretty self-explanatory, so…yep. 


• Post 80th vlog (ten to go). It’s kind of incredible to me that this is even a plausible goal, and yet! Boy, does time fly…


• Make five diet-friendly meals/desserts I’ve never made before. Due to my medical stuff, I have a ridiculously strict diet. But! It means I’ve learned to cook, and though I’ve been lazy lately with the stuff I’ve been making, I think this is a good goal to have. Because most of the time I really like the new recipes I try out. So. Food.


• Get Beyond the Red ARCs. I guess this is unfair to set as a goal since it’s mostly out of my hands, but this is a thing that will happen before 2016! And that’s exciting. And I can’t wait. :D

What end of year goals do you have?

Twitter-sized bite:

Writer @Ava_Jae shares some goals she has before 2016 arrives. What end of year goals do you have? (Click to tweet)

Fixing the First Page Feature Giveaway #15

Photo credit: angelocesare on Flickr

You guys. You guys. We are not halfway through September, I can't. I just. How?

Anyway, good news for you because it's time to get ready for the next Fixing the First Page giveaway! Yay!

For those who’ve missed it in the past, the Fixing the First Page features is a public first 250 word critique. Using the lovely rafflecopter widget, anyone interested in winning a PUBLIC (as in, featured in a post on this blog) first page critique can enter.

For an example of what this critique will look like, here's the last Fixing the First Page post.

Rules!

• ONLY the first 250 words will be critiqued (up to finishing the sentence). If you win and send me more, I will crop it myself. No exceptions.


• ONLY the first page. I don’t want 250 random words from your manuscript, or from chapter 3. If you win the critique and send me anything other than the first 250 words of your manuscript, I will choose someone else.


• I will actually critique it. Here. On the blog. I will say things as nicely as I can, but I do tend to be a little blunt. If you’re not sure you can handle a public critique, then you may want to take some time to think about it before you enter.


• Genre restrictions. I'm most experienced with YA & NA, but I will still accept MG and Adult. HOWEVER. If your first page has any erotic content on it, I ask that you don’t enter. I want to be able to post the critique and the first 250 in its entirety without making anyone uncomfortable, and if you win and you enter a page with erotic content, I will choose someone else.


• You must have your first page ready. Should you win, you need to be able to submit your first page within 48 hours of my contacting you to let you know you won. If 48 hours pass and I haven’t heard from you, again, I will choose someone else.


• You’ll get the most out of this if it isn’t a first draft. Obviously, I have no way of knowing if you’re handing me a first draft (though I will probably suspect because it’s usually not that difficult to tell). I won’t refuse your page if it’s a first draft, but you should know that this critique will likely be of more use if you’ve already had your betas/CPs look over it. Why? Because if you don’t, the critique I give you will probably contain a lot of notes that your betas & CPs could have/would have told you.


• There will not be a round 2 (unless you win again in a future contest). I hate to have to say this, but if you win a critique, it’s NOT an invitation to send me a bunch of your revisions. I wish I had the time available to be able to look at revisions, but sadly, I don’t. If you try to break this rule, I will nicely say no, and also remember to choose someone else should you win a second contest. Which would make me sad. :(

So that’s it! If you’re okay with all of the above and would like to enter to be the fifteenth public critique on Writability, do the thing with the rafflecopter widget below. You have until Tuesday, September 22 at 11:59 EST to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Do You Have to Write Diverse Characters?

Photo credit: aurelio.asiain on Flickr

If you're involved in the online publishing/writing community at all, then chances are extremely likely you've heard about the We Need Diverse Books initiative and ones like it, like diversifYA, Diversity in YA, Gay YA, Disability in Kidlit, and many others. Hell, if you've been to this blog more than a few times, you've likely seen me talk about why representation is important to me, and more recently, about the importance of chronic illness rep in YA.

What I'm trying to say is as of late, there have been a lot of pushes towards encouraging writers to write diversely and readers to read (and support) diverse lit. And you know? A lot of good has come out of it. There have been books with marginalized protags getting huge marketing budgets and promoted to the masses, which is incredibly awesome. There have been writers coming together to try to write as respectfully and realistically as possible. And probably most importantly: there's been more visibility of representation in literature.

Of course, we still have a long way to go, but there's been progress. And progress is awesome.

But at the same time, there have also been internet uproars related to the causes, usually surrounding poor (or even harmful) representation, whether in a book, on a panel, etc. Which is understandable, because poor representation needs to be discussed and pointed out. But at the same time, it can be scary as a writer trying to write a diverse cast in a respectful way (or as a writer trying to decide whether or not they should write diverse characters at all), to see that. There have been authors chased off their social media accounts after getting slammed over not-so-great representation in their books—which is probably every writer's worst nightmare.

Stemming from all this comes a sort of guilt or pressure to write diverse characters. Writers sometimes come across diversity talks and walk away with guilt for not writing a diverse cast. So the question is sometimes asked: do you have to write diverse characters?

The short answer? No. Including diverse characters in your book is not a requirement—furthermore, it's unlikely anyone will shame you for writing a book without any minority characters. It happens all the time, and by and large, goes unnoticed from readers who aren't looking for it. You won't be branded a jerk, or unworthy of writing, or anything like that if you don't write books with a diverse cast.

That said, you might decide you want to take a risk and write a diverse cast into your book anyway. Not for the sake of diversity (which is something I see people say, and oh, does it make me cringe), but for the sake of reality. As Mary Robinette Kowal put it:

It's not about adding diversity for the sake of diversity, it's about subtracting homogeneity for the sake of realism.

— Mary Robinette Kowal (@MaryRobinette) December 18, 2014

Because our world? It's not a monolith. We live in a world full of unique people of all races, ethnicities, body types, levels of ability, levels of neuro(a)typicalities, sexual orientations, genders, socioeconomic classes, and religions. So if you choose to write a book without a diverse cast, know that you're not writing a world reflective of our own. Which is okay. You're allowed to make that choice. But it is a choice.

I guess what I'm trying to say, is out of all of these initiatives, no one is saying you have to write a diverse cast in your book. But maybe they're saying to pay attention to the world around you. Maybe they're saying realize that white, cis, heterosexual, middle class, able-bodied, neurotypical, athletic people aren't the only people with stories worth telling.

But is it a requirement to write diverse characters? Not really. But in my experience at least, the more you pay attention to the world around you, the harder it becomes to write worlds that aren't reflective of that reality.

What do you think? 

Twitter-sized bites: 

Is it a requirement to write diverse characters? @Ava_Jae shares her thoughts. (Click to tweet)  

Writer @Ava_Jae says you're not required to write diverse characters, but you might decide you want to anyway. (Click to tweet)

Vlog: How to Juggle Writing & School

So for many of us, school is now in session! Which means all the extra, easy-to-find free time for writing is no more. So what do you do when you're a writer who goes to school? How do you juggle the two? Today I'm sharing my top tips picked up through writing through high school and going on five years of college.

RELATED LINKS: 

• Balancing Writing with School (Julia Byers's post)
• How I Became a Morning Person 
• How to Write When You Don't Want To (vlog)
• On Finding Time to Write (vlog)
• Do You Have to Write Every Day? (vlog)
• Do You Need a Degree to Get Published? (vlog)

What tips do you have for juggling writing with school or work?

Twitter-sized bites:

Struggling to juggle your writing with school or work? @Ava_Jae vlogs about her top five tips. (Click to tweet)  

How do you find time to write a book while at school or working full time? @Ava_Jae vlogs her top tips. (Click to tweet)

Are Your Characters Too Passive?

Photo credit: Brother O'Mara on Flickr

So one of the critiques I’ve received a few times on WIPs I’ve been revising this year is centered on my characters. Specifically, characters who aren’t active enough.

Now, by “not active enough” I don’t mean that they didn’t exercise enough (though I mean, that might be the case too, but anyway). When you get the critique that your characters are too passive, it usually means they’re being reactive far too often. Things are happening to them, and they’re reacting to what’s happening, but they aren’t acting as agents of change. Which can quickly become a problem.

Now the good news is after getting this critique on two different projects, I’m now being super extra careful when plotting future WIPs to make sure that doesn’t happen again (because surprise! This is so much easier to fix when your book is a bunch of bullet points and flashcards). Bad news is if you get this critique on an existing, written manuscript, you’re going to have to roll up your sleeves and do some heavy lifting to fix it if it’s a widespread problem.

So how do you fix passive characters?

1. Consider where your protagonist is reacting where they could be taking action. Depending on how widespread the issue is, this may be after a certain point in your manuscript, or something you’ll need to consider throughout the plot. Either way, pick some major points where your protagonist could be creating change and jot them down. 


2. Be open to making big changes. This is important because when you change the way your characters behave, particularly when you’re giving them more agency to make change, well, there are going to be changes. But being afraid to revamp part or most of your plot will prevent you from making the fixes you need, so the best you can do is accept right now that there will possibly be large changes that you’ll need to make. And that’s okay. 


3. Ask yourself, “What decision can my protagonist make that would create a change?” Brainstorm several ideas until you come up with something that makes sense for your plot and you’re happy with. Some ideas you come up with might sound ridiculous, but don’t filter—just write down whatever you come up with and filter them later. While ideally you want to go with a change that will weave into your existing plot well, as I said in the last point, don’t be afraid to go with something that’ll require a little legwork. Ultimately, you want to go with whatever will make your story the best that it can be—and sometimes that means a lot of work while revising. 

Have you ever encountered this problem, either in your own work or in a book/movie/TV show?

Twitter-sized bite:

Are your characters too passive? @Ava_Jae talks how to fix this problematic issue. (Click to tweet)

On Trying Something New

Photo credit: R'eyes on Flickr

One of my New Years Resolutions for 2015 was to try something new—and it’s something that I intend to keep as a yearly goal. Because thinking back over the last couple years at the many new things I’ve tried, I have to say, thus far I haven’t regretted anything. *knocks on wood*

Back in 2011, for example, I tried Twitter and Blogger, which has turned out pretty splendidly. And last year I cut off my hair (best presentation decision ever), and tried YouTube and I’ve been so blown away by the positive response there—not only have a found an audience of totally new people I hadn’t interacted with, but they’ve been some of the most enthusiastic about book stuff. Last year I also changed my sleep schedule so that I’ve adjusted to waking up between 5-5:30ish, which has increased my productivity output like whoa.

This year I completed my resolution in August, when I took a train to Chicago all by my lonesome and attended a conference as an author for the first time—an event that is pretty much the highlight of my year so far.

So those have all been amazing experiences that I wouldn’t have had if I hadn’t pushed myself to try something new. But I also think the same kind of experimenting can be really beneficial in writing, too.

I’ve found the one of the best ways to figure out how you work best, to improve your writing and to expand your writer toolbox, so to speak, is to try new things. Whether it’s plotting when you’ve always been a pantser, experimenting with your sleep schedule, trying a new strategy for revising, or reading a new genre. Or maybe it’s playing with multiple perspectives for a first time, or writing in a genre you haven’t played around with yet, or writing a protagonist that's somehow different from others you’ve written before. But that whole don’t knock it till you’ve tried it thing is true, even with writing, because you really don’t know how well or not a new technique or writing experiment will work for you until you’ve given it a chance.

So I encourage you to take chances with your writing. Do something different. Write that crazy book that you don’t think you can pull off. Try NaNoWriMo for the first time. Play around with that new revision technique or plot development. Just don’t let “I don’t think I can do it” stop you; after all, how do you know if you haven’t tried?

Have you tried something new (writing related or not) this year?

Twitter-sized bites:

Writer @Ava_Jae says you should experiment and try new things with your writing. What do you think? (Click to tweet) 

Have you tried something new this year? Join the discussion on @Ava_Jae's blog. (Click to tweet)

So You Want to Write YA Thrillers?

Photo credit: @lattefarsan on Flickr

So next up in the So You Want to Write series, a genre that I quite enjoy and am quickly realizing I don’t read nearly enough of: YA Thrillers.

What is it?

YA Thrillers are fast-paced stories, often (but not always) about either a protagonist who ends up in the sights of a killer or a protagonist who winds up on a dangerous revenge-spree. Either way, there’s bound to be a body count, a ton going on, very high stakes (usually the protagonist’s life) and lots of twists and turns that’ll keep you guessing.

Pros/Cons of Writing YA Thrillers:

Pros:

• Hasn’t had a major boom (but isn’t dead either). The lack of a major boom thing is actually a pro because it means it’s not oversaturated (or about to be oversaturated). It seems to be selling well enough, best I can tell, so the state of the publishing market shouldn’t be a deterrent. 


• Fast-paced and very twisty. If you like writing twists and quickly paced books, YA Thrillers may be the sweet spot for you. 


• High stakes. Personally, I’ve always found high stakes fun to write, and more times than not the protagonist’s life is on the line in YA Thrillers. So again, if that’s something you enjoy writing… :)

Cons:

• Complicated balance. A big part of Thrillers is to keep the reader guessing, which can often be tricky to write. How do you drop enough clues and red herrings for the ending to make sense without it being obvious? That’s a question you’ll have to navigate carefully as a YA Thriller writer. 

Recommended Reading:

As I have said before and will continue to do so: you must read the genre you write in. It is so important to keep up to date with what’s selling, what’s been written, what’s been overdone, etc. and the best way to do that is to read as much as possible.

Note: Aside from Far From You, I haven’t read any of the below, but they sound great. And they’re YA Thrillers, at any rate.

• Far From You by Tess Sharpe
• Killer Instinct by S.E. Green
• Damage Done by Amanda Panitch
• The Devil You Know by Trish Doller
• Suicide Notes from Beautiful Girls by Lynn Weingarten
• Delicate Monsters by Stephanie Kuehn
• From Where I Watch You by Shannon Grogan
• The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
• All Fall Down by Ally Carter
• Get Even by Gretchen McNeil
• Endangered by Lamar Giles
• The Tenderness of Thieves by Donna Freitas
• I Am Her Revenge by Meredith Moore

Helpful Links:

• 8 Things You Need To Know When Writing Thrillers by Sarah Alderson on Writing Teen Novels
• What People Talk About When They Talk About Thrillers by Kathryn Burak on her blog. 
• What’s in a thriller? S.R. Johannes gives us her best tips. by Laura Pauling and S.R. Johannes on her blog.
• Tips For Writing Page-Turning Novels by April Henry on Writing Teen Novels

Do you enjoy reading or writing YA Thrillers? Share your experience! 

Twitter-sized bites: 

Thinking about writing YA Thrillers? Writer @Ava_Jae shares some tips, recommendations and more. (Click to tweet) 

Do you write YA Thrillers? Share your experience at @Ava_Jae’s So You Want to Write series. (Click to tweet)