Negativity vs. Critical feedback

Believe it or not, there is a difference between plain negativity and being critical about someone's writing. Believe it or not, authors can distinguish between the two and not be the 'overly sensitive' writers they are stereotyped to be. Of course we are protective of our writing, but when someone can logically and constructively, not personally or patronisingly give different scope and angles to our work, we are willing to take the advice on board 99% of the time. How do you think we got published in the first place? Much direction and editing and re-writing. It's all in the presentation.


Believe it or not, there are some people who spend much of their time going around to different reviews on goodreads and 'liking' all the negative ones. I'm not entirely sure why this is so appealing, or why some readers think they have some kind of 'cyber power' by gathering together in packs and hazing other readers/reviewers/authors when they don't agree with their snarky reviews. I don't get the world of goodreads high-school mean girls/boys and their need to pull others down through witty cyber banter. I don't get why they actually think they might have an influence over someone's writing self esteem. Most of us are all strangers, so who cares, right? I do. I don't believe being strangers gives a licence for opinions and feedback to be discourteous and unfair. Especially when authors are told they can never clarify/retaliate/reply to any of the comments.


Believe it or not, I've come to the conclusion that people who must be negative instead of intelligently critical are merely big fish in a little pond. This goes for anyone who does this - not just goodreads reviewers (although from what I've seen, they disappointingly do it best), but anyone who can't say why they don't like something without being sarcastic about it. There should be rules of etiquette for readers and writers. But maybe I'm an idealist.


Who knows: maybe, if reviewers gave a low star rating but explained why in an intelligent way, authors might message the person and thank them for their time and energy in writing a review and take their points on board. Maybe, if some reviewers truly appreciated the effort authors go through to organise reviews, they would review the book within a reasonable amount of time (or at all) and thank the author for choosing them as well as spending up to $25 on postage to send a book across the world for free. This doesn't mean the review has to be entirely positive. It should be constructive. That's my point.


I guess I've brought up a lot of different issues in this blog post. These issues have been on my mind for a few months now, and I'd love to hear anyone else's opinion on any of the topics listed. Assuming the opinions are intelligent, not just negative, of course.


:)

holidays

I've been on holidays for a couple of weeks now and it's been exactly what the doctor ordered. Not a real doctor, just 'the' doctor of life, who tells us we need a break. I've been going to the beach heaps, shopping, and writing in my diary to catch up on life. 


I've also been reading, but not as much as I'd like to be. I've been blog-hopping, reading awesome articles, and meeting new people online. Some nice, some not so nice. But that's life, hey?


I'm feeling the need, the itch, to start writing something new, but I have no idea what to start with. Maybe blogging will give me some inspiration...

I finally got Sarah Billington to do an interview on my blog!

Man this girl is busy. Not only does she edit and study, she writes! Sarah Billington, if you remember, is the author of Life Was Cool Until You Got Popular and 5 other ebooks. You should check her out on goodreads or on her cool blog. Make sure you've read my review of her middle grade novel before reading this interview!

1. Does your story-writing follow a particular process or structure?


I don't follow a DELIBERATE process, but it seems to work roughly the same way each time I write something new.

An idea comes to me, such as an event, or a cool image, or a personality, even a title, and I ruminate on it in my head over several days, several weeks, fleshing it out, asking myself questions about it and essentially playing it like disjointed scenes in a movie in my head until I feel like I have enough coherent information in which I can write it down. 

I write my ideas down with a pen and a notebook and the process of writing it down inspires more new ideas and characters. I try and know who the main character is and some people around them, what the conflict is - what they want and what/who is standing in their way - and an at least rough idea of what will happen at the end, so that I can direct the course of the book towards that.

I don't want to have EVERYTHING mapped out for me because there's no fun in that, and no room for improvisation. In a zombie book I'm working on my main characters have ended up with a chihuahua in their possession. I wasn't expecting that. But I'm going with it. This improvised dog might actually play a pivotal role now. I don't know.

2. How do you get your ideas? (especially the zombies bit)

I'm very interested in the idea of dystopic worlds, where life as we know it has collapsed and people are having to forge ahead in unknown landscapes, often with new unheard of dangers. My ideas are generally a culmination of experiences and questions I have about life.

For instance, (I honestly don't know EXACTLY where my ideas come from but I think this is probably where the zombie book started) I got quite into zombies lately, reading other zombie books, watching movies, and I noted that there are a variety of TYPES of zombies.

The one that got me thinking the most was the Rage Virus infected zombies in 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later. These are not your undead zombies, these are just sick people (very very sick people) but there's no moral question in the movie as to whether or not they should be slaughtering them. If they're already dead, sure, I understand that. But what if there was a cure?

My as yet untitled zombie novel focuses on this topic - there are safe zones in which the citizens know there is a cure and actively cure "zombies" of the disease that made them mindless flesh eaters, but these safe zones are few and far between. Survivors who don't know about safe zones don't know these zombies are able to be saved, so they're slaughtering as many as they can, their infected husbands, children, neighbours, just to survive. Can you imagine finding out you killed your loved ones when you could have saved them? I find it an interesting topic and I hope readers will too!


3. How do you handle writers block?

Not well, lately. :) I didn't believe in writers block. Actually, I still don't - I always have ideas, I have lots of books stored in my head waiting to be written, but it's the act of writing them and prioritising writing that I'm not so good at at this point in my life. I have just recently started my own freelance editorial business and I'm concentrating more on working in that than I am writing at present. I really want to re-prioritise soon though.


4. How do you keep up with all your different writing jobs?

You know that question, "How do you eat an elephant?" "One bite at a time." Like that. :)


5. How many times do you revise your work? Is that harder than the writing itself?

I do find revision harder. When you're working on a full novel, and you chop out a plot thread here and add something else there, I lose track of what WAS in the novel but is no longer, and what is now in the novel etc. Revision's an art form, isn't it!

I probably revise 3-4 times.

6. Do your characters talk to you?

Not TO me, but I sometimes hear them talking, in their own voice with their quirks and attitude which is fun. Not like LITERALLY hear them, of course... 


7. If yes, do they ever disagree with what you want them to do?

I don't find the characters disagreeing, more I find MYSELF disagreeing, in that as I write, I get to know the characters really well and some things I had planned for them before I started are actually out of character for who they have become throughout the book. So it's like I NEED THAT TO HAPPEN but it wouldn't work because if they were real people, the characters wouldn't do it, so readers wouldn't buy it. 


8. What are you working on at the moment? (if you don't mind sharing)

A couple of things!

I put the zombie book aside for a couple of months because I just didn't know how to get from point A to point B, but I'm going to reread what I've done today and keep going!

I'm plotting out a contemporary YA issue book but I have a dystopian fantasy also niggling at my brain. Oh! And I started a paranormal investigation book for NaNoWriMo and was psyched to be writing a thriller. Except it kind of turned into a comedy. So there's that, too.


9. Is there any advice you could give aspiring writers?

Read. A lot. I learn so much about the writing craft from books that are well-written, as well as books that are poorly written.

And make other writer friends! They can be really inspiring and great cheerleaders in those times of doubt and feeling like you suck.

10. Do you have any writing quirks you'd like to share?

I am a big film buff, I've worked at DVD rental shops since I was fifteen. I also like to write screenplays now and then and I think both of these things have really impacted my writing.

In screenwriting, you need to indicate who is in the scene at the very beginning of each scene. I find when reading a book if I'm halfway through a scene and someone talks and I didn't even know they were there? That's really annoying so like in screenwriting, I indicate who the important players in the scene are right up front.

Also in screenwriting the viewer is not inside the characters head, they don't know what they are thinking so you need to get their thoughts and emotions across through dialogue and actions. I'm pretty sure this has spilled into my fiction writing as well.

When I read books I see them unfold like a movie, and I try to write my books like movies playing in your head as well. I dunno, I think it works! :)

Thanks so much for having me, Danielle! No, thank you Sarah! :)

high concept vs 'weird' factor

Is 'high concept' all about the 'weirdness' factor these days when it comes to finding new ideas for YA novels? 


I've been pondering about this for a while, and it's been annoying me because I can't make up my mind. So I'm asking for your opinions, or I'm just voicing my own. Whatever happens first.


Since Twilight reinvented and revamped (yes, you can laugh at my pun) YA lit, turning an ordinary girl into a paranormal girl, I've noticed a heap of YA novels turning to the paranormal, the dystopian and the psychological thriller. These are becoming the majority of the books on shelves. The contemporary, which now appears somewhat redundant, is barely mixed in with these genres. The 'normal' characters and 'normal' romances don't seem to be 'enough' as the new and strange and edgy grab the attention and get the publishing deals. Don't get me wrong - I love reading all types of YA lit. But I think in the quest to get noticed, writers are having to find little niches and nuances about topics/issues and sometimes it seems like if it's not paranormal/dystopia/psychological thriller stuff, it's contemporary lit that has the characters and their families as messed up as possible in order to have the best chance of getting taken seriously as a decent story. To have that shock factor. I've certainly changed my writing style to try to adjust to the market but while also trying to keep my own voice. 


I know books need to evolve, they need to be competitive and interesting and capturing of their audience. Because that's what has been proven to sell in the last 5 years. These unlikely and surprising MCs with their interesting and high concept story lines are fantastic, but are we now dancing on the line between realism and just plain weird? 


Do we know where the line is anymore?


Thoughts!
  

my interview with Sarah B

Make sure you head over to Sarah Billington's blog and check out my interview with her there. Her interview questions were the best I've ever had! And she's super nice, too. I still need to trick her into having an interview over here...would Redskins do it??

writer fail or reader fail?

When you write, it's hard to get your distinctive 'voice' right. It's hard to know whether you are being too raw and forthright when dealing with characters or whether you're skirting around issues so you don't offend the masses who are conservative and don't like reading about real life.

Who decides what you write about?

When you write with a rush of creativity and slave away on your work and think you've got it right, what happens when you don't? 

Worse, what do you do when you get opposite feedback on the very SAME day? How much does that mess with your head? How do you know that you're doing the right thing? 

What happened was...

Someone told me this morning that my first novel was 'licentious' (not a YA person, clearly) and that it had no place in the hands of teenage girls. I gently reminded that person of the other YA books out there that deal with very hefty issues that FoF doesn't even begin to address. It was a rigorous debate that forced me to remind myself, on the spot, about what my intentions were with the novel and what I wanted to achieve. It was a difficult conversation about the real world. But alas, people have different opinions and I haven't had much bad feedback about FoF so I suppose I should count myself lucky.

Then I was told, no more than an hour later, from a YA-aged reader that my third novel (still a ms) was 'incredibly well-written' and that the main character's change was powerful, while still maintaining his 'distinctive voice', and that she would 'recommend it to anyone' (and trust me, the main character is flawed beyond belief - but aren't most teenagers who are finding their way through tricky situations?). 

The duplicity in both these statements has done my head in. One minute criticised, the next minute praised. And one book was completely tame, while the other was about broken people. How do authors keep their head screwed on and finish a novel, knowing certain groups are going to trash it but others are going to love it? 

Let's face it - writers like to please. Only the most daring of authors kill off a main character at the very end and have readers sending death mail to their houses. Writers want to take readers on a journey, help them escape the mediocrity that is life, make them laugh, cry and everything else in between. But for goodness sake, spare a thought for the poor writer holed up in a room, biting their fingernails, wondering if they will get abused for putting in that paragraph about teenage sex? Or that paragraph about rape, molestation, abuse, broken families, stealing, lying, murder, cheating? The characters in a story are supposed to be fictional. They're supposed to be flawed. They're supposed to make mistakes that mostly we wouldn't make. That's what makes it entertaining. You experience other people's lives for that moment that you're reading. It's not all supposed to be roses, or beer and skittles, or whatever those fancy sayings are. 

Reading through someone else's eyes is supposed to challenge you in every way possible.

So my standard answer to person 1 was just that - FoF is meant to challenge YA readers. They are going through a transition period between teens and adulthood. They are supposed to test their upbringing against the world.

My answer to person 2 was a very big thank you for giving me constructive feedback and for helping me to remind myself that I can do it, that I am doing it. For the right kind of person.

review of Life Was Cool Until You Got Popular by the lovely Sarah Billington

Today I have the pleasure of reviewing Sarah Billington's debut middle-grade novel! Thanks to the author for generously giving me a copy of the book.


Blurb from Goodreads:
Thirteen year old Kaley’s best friend Jules is an alien clone. That has to be it. Because Jules wouldn’t dress like that or act like that…and she definitely wouldn’t be friends with Meg-a-bitch.

Kaley can't wait to start at her new school with her best friend Jules. Jules was away in Europe all summer (worst summer of Kaley's life!) But it's cool, now school is starting and everything is going to be awesome. However as the school bus pulls up on that first day, Kaley barely recognizes the silky hair and glossy lips as Jules gets off with the cool kids and with their arch-nemesis Meg, the popular girl (God only knows why) who made Kaley and Jules's lives miserable in elementary school. In Europe, Meg had somehow won over Kaley's best friend and Kaley finds herself frozen out.

LIFE WAS COOL UNTIL YOU GOT POPULAR is a first person MG told through Kaley’s eyes, chronicling the initial pain and incomprehension of what happened to destroy their friendship. But that doesn't last long. Kaley decides that underneath the bleached blond clone with the personality transplant, Jules is still in there. Somewhere. And she is going to get her best friend back!


The teenage angst was clear from the outset in Life Was Cool Until You Got Popular! Kaley is waiting desperately for Jules to get off the bus so they can take up where they left off, just at a new school. But Jules is not the same girl, and Kaley has to find new friends as well as try to sort Jules out and get her back. 

The best part of Sarah Billington’s writing is the flowing detail she uses to let the reader know exactly where they are at every moment in the story. It’s like watching a movie in your head. The reader always knows who was around, what the characters were like, and you knew the characters so well you could predict what they would say in certain situations. 

Our heroine Kaley is very self-conscious and self-aware. The reader gets behind her and wants her to sort things out with Jules, but at the same time, wonders if it could be sorted out. Girls at this age (year 8+) go through so many changes in themselves and families and some friendships are irreparable as people move on to others with other similarities. 

Everyone can relate to this book because everyone can (if they’re worth their salt) remember a time when you thought you were best friends with someone forever and then they go and change without warning you first. It’s heart-breaking. It still happens to adults. And you’re torn between telling them where to go but at the same time, fighting for what you had and seeing if you can be unselfish and adjust to their needs and help them. 

The school scenes were very realistic, from the teachers to the locker bay issues to the notes in class. Billington got the concept of middle school completely right. Some phrases seemed too old for an eighth grader (considering they’re only about 13) but the teenage-ness was ever-present. Wishing you could say the right thing to the school bitch, in this case, Meg, but that only ever comes later inside your own head. Being unsure what boys are thinking and if they like you. 
Wanting desperately to make things right with your friend but hating them at the same time. Wishing they’d look at you and show you it’s alright again. The public forum of everything. 

One of my favourite quotes is: 
‘It was like she was speaking this whole other language to the one that she used when talking to me.’ 
This to me sums up the main issue. What was also useful were the flashbacks of fun times Kaley and Jules used to share together – reminds me of things I did at that age with friends at the time. It’s hard to remember back that far but Billington has re-painted that picture for me and I totally got it. 

I have to admit I was a little bit sad that with an Aussie author the book was distinctly American – nothing against Americans of course but I found myself watching a movie in my head that was an American teen movie rather than an Aussie one. 

Life was Cool challenges everyone to think about what it means to be a friend, to be loyal, to stick with your friend until the very end, to stand up for them even if they’re not being perfect right now, and hoping for a positive future. 


Now I just have to trick Sarah into doing an interview with me...!
:)

waiting

Waiting Waiting Waiting

Why are we always waiting for things? Money, jobs, maturity, holidays, weekends.
I can't exactly talk. At present I'm writing this blog while I'm waiting. But for what, I can't tell you, otherwise I'd have to kill you.

Do you think the old adage is really true, that if you are spending your life waiting for things you will waste your life? Or are you living in between those big moments you're waiting for? Is that real living? Between one life experience to the next?

Waiting for certain things makes me nervous. Sometimes I get annoyed, if it's food and it's been ages. Sometimes I might not want to shake hands with someone because I've developed a sweaty palm because I have to speak in public, or to people I don't know. Then there are the times you just plain don't want to deal with something because you're waiting for the worst. Is there any way to control how you feel while waiting for that? Probably not.

Or you can write blogs.

limited offer

Contact me for a discounted, personally signed book from my own stash. Great for book lovers or for a gift. I only have limited copies of this first edition print so first in first served. Will post anywhere.


I hope you are all going well! What good books have you read lately?

giveaway thanks to Girls in the Stacks!

Be sure to check out the feature story of how I share cover model Meagan Krause with Deborah Andreasen at Girls in the Stacks! blog. Stacy is super nice and reviewed my book earlier this year.

Are there any book covers where you swear you've seen that face before?