Chapter Book Revision, continued

When I revise, I focus on one or two elements at a time. In this latest revision, I worked on changing an unreliable protagonist to a somewhat reliable one. That’s all I worked on, and limited that work to the first three chapters. Once I get the first three chapters polished, I’ll revise the remainder of the book, still focused on the aspects of correcting the actions of an unreliable narrator. At that point, I will begin at Chapter 1 and revise two more elements. I choose to work on one or two elements at a time, so I remain focused on those corrections, alone. If I attempt to revise everything, chapter-by-chapter, I lose focus. Other writers might be able to, but not this one. 

My goal is to intrigue the reader with a character. Here’s a quick method that’s worth your time. Reread the first five pages of your manuscript. From those five pages only, list what the reader knows about the character. If you list only two or three items, revise. If you list eight to ten items, you’re off to a great start on character development. Spend time developing the main character, because the protagonist will carry the story from beginning to end. 

Why am I spending so much time on the first part of the book? I have to grab the reader’s attention immediately and hold it. If the dialog, characters, and plot don’t resonate, the pages won’t be turned.

 

I've also been working on narrative voice, the use of language that says what it says in an interesting way: phrasing that tickles the ear or surprises in some way, unexpected narrative, and age-appropriate dialog. The dialog should promote the plot or help develop the character. Read it aloud. How does it sound? Does it sound like the age of the reader?  

By honing in on one or two elements, writers give full attention to correcting or improving each. If revision in one swoop through the manuscript becomes overwhelming, give this method a go. 

That’s not all. In my next blog, I’ll discuss more elements of revision.           

Call for Submissions for Adult Writers:

Youth Imagination publishes stories relevant to teens. Genres: Fiction, including modern, urban or classical fantasy, as well as sci-fi, slipstream, literary, action-adventure or suspense. "We particularly love stories exploring their issues, such as bullying, drugs, romance, school, parental issues, teacher issues, etc., as well as about the grit and character of teens and young adults."

Submission guidelines athttps://youthimagination.org/index.php/submission-guidelines 

Nancy Kelly Allen has written 40+ children’s books and a cookbook, SPIRIT OF KENTUCKY: BOURBON COOKBOOK.

Leave a message or check out my blog at www.nancykellyallen.com

Emotional Rollercoaster

A friend sent joyous news: She received her first book contract. Congratulations! The ultimate reward for years of diligent effort had finally paid off. Her joy reached the stratospheric level, naturally. As often happens when facing a time lapse between receiving “The Call” and getting the written agreement, nerves jittered. Doubts swirled faster than autumn leaves when the contract wasn’t in the email the next day, or the next, or the next. A week passed. Two weeks. Nerves jittered into emotional chaos. She asked if she should contact the editor about the delay. 

The emotional rollercoaster she experienced is perfectly normal. She worked for YEARS pounding the keyboard trying to nab a contract. After a ton of rejections our neural pathways form in such a way that our brains tell us, not in thought but in emotions/expectations, that a contract is out of reach. We KNOW that we have received the contract; yet we can’t BELIEVE it because our emotions lag behind our cognitive processes. (Disclaimer: This is totally my theory, and I have no scientific data at hand to support it.) 
 

On a personal level, my confidence builds as I sign the contract, and reality sets in big-time with my first read-through of the revision notes. The emotional surge revs to tornadic intensity as doubt, jitters, and downright panic overtake my psyche. I’ve experienced every emotion known to humankind when first reading the suggested revisions. One such set of revision notes was longer than the picture book text. Another set was quite short but memorable: delete the last 5 chapters and rewrite, focusing on the child and grandparent. Snap! The best-friend scenes and chapters waved bye-bye, just like that. I gasped for breath, walked away from the computer, and did normal things the rest of the day, steering clear of the email communication. In the meantime, I began thinking about how I could develop the story. The revisions improved the stories, by the way, so the editors were correct. And I lived. The revisions (yes, more than one) failed to kill me. 
 

Publishing books is a slow business. Revision after revision is usually required. Editors work on several projects simultaneously, which slows the process even more. Two years in production for picture books remains typical with traditional publishers.  
 

The excitement, jitters, and doubt are critical to the writer’s journey. Embrace them and enjoy making the book the best it can be. Oh, and give the editor extended time to make contact. S/he will appreciate it.

 

 

[Beginning this week, I will include Calls for Submissions for Young Writers in each blog through April 2019.]

 

Call for Submissions for Young Writers:

Bazoof. Youth submissions accepted from around the globe from all ages, with different genres and length requirements depending on age of contributor. Readers can find short stories, comics, games, craft & art projects, jokes, riddles, sports reporting, articles on pets, recipes, personal achievements and community service projects, poetry, letters, true stories and much more!

Submissions: http://www.bazoof.com/submit/

Call for Submissions for Adult Writers:

Call for Submissions: Children’s Activities

Deadline: September 30, 2017

SPIDER (for ages 6-9) and LADYBUG (for ages 3-6) are looking for children’s activities. This includes clearly worded, playful step-by-step directions for crafts, activities, games, science experiments, and recipes for children ages 3 to 9. The strongest activities will engage a child’s imagination and creativity, can be done at home, and require little adult supervision. We also seek word games, tongue twisters, jokes, riddles, picture-based crossword puzzles, and foreign language activities.  

Submission guidelines: https://cricketmag.submittable.com/submit 

Nancy Kelly Allen has written 40+ children’s books and a cookbook, SPIRIT OF KENTUCKY: BOURBON COOKBOOK. Check out her blog at www.nancykellyallen.com

Ways to Improve Writing Series/Calls for Submissions

Today, I’m continuing the series “Ways to Improve Writing.”

One way of looking at a story is to think of it as a series of scenes. A scene is a unit of drama that begins with a character placed in a situation that is problematic. The hero is thrown into a difficult world. As the character plows through the world and attempts to resolve the problem, s/he is faced with even bigger difficulties.

Linking scenes together forms a sequence with a beginning, middle, and end (or in writer terms, an inciting incident, a rising action and a climax.) In my book, AMAZING GRACE, a three-chapter scene sequence involved a bully. When that problem unraveled, another crisis erupted: another  three-chapter scene in which the character searched for her lost dog.

Some scenes in my book carried over into multiple chapters, but a scene can be limited to one chapter. When a sequence resolves the central problem and ties together all the loose ends, the story concludes. The central problem—the arc—that played through the entirety of AMAZING GRACE was the main character’s fear that her father may not return from WWII.

Of course, readers enjoy being surprised. Lead the reader into believing a sequence will solve the problem; then surprise the reader with the complete opposite: a bigger problem. By the end of the book, resolve the problems in a satisfying conclusion or give some suggestion of hope.

Call for Submissions for Young Writers:

ANNOUNCING HIGH SCHOOL WRITING CONTEST sponsored by the BFA in Creative Writing at Spalding University BFA in Creative Writing!

The BFA in Creative Writing at Spalding University is very proud to announce the reading period for our next edition of WORD HOTEL, our annual literary journal. We invite submissions in all genres and a multitude of styles, welcome experimental work, and are particularly hungry to hear from emerging writers (i.e., those who have not yet published a first book).

In fact: This year we are featuring a HIGH SCHOOL WRITING contest! In addition to being published prominently in Word Hotel, the top high school winner will receive a $1,000 scholarship to Spalding University; the runner-up, a $500 scholarship!

Please submit Word or RTF docs to wordhotel@spalding.edu.
We will consider up to three poems (any length), short fiction/CNF up to 2,500 words, and hybrid texts as well.

Reading period for the 2013 issue ends DECEMBER 15TH. Acceptances and notifications of high school winners will be emailed by end of January. The issue is to be published April 2014.

For further information, please contact Merle Bachman, BFA Director, at wordhotel@spalding.edu

Call for Submissions for Adult Writers:

Flash Fiction. We publish stories from 500 to 1,000 words in length.
They’re very short, but they are still stories. That means the best ones have strong, interesting characters, plots, and (to some extent, at least) settings.

Submission guidelines at http://flashfictiononline.com/main/submission-guidelines/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Writing a Middle Grade Novel/Call for Submissions

Today, I’m continuing the series, Writing a Middle Grade Novel.

Learn from published authors. Find a book you love in the genre you’re writing. The first time you read the book, read for enjoyment, then reread to analyze why you enjoyed the book. Make notes. 

Did the first line of first paragraph have a hook that immediately drew you in? How did word choice at the beginning make you want to keep reading? 

Did you like the structure of the story? Was it told in a fast pace, slow and easy, or some of each? Was it told by one character or more? Were the chapters unusually short, especially long, or somewhere in-between? Did the sentences vary in length? 

How were character traits revealed? Did the author provide a detailed description of the character or just a trait or two and the reader has to imagine the rest?  

Is the dialog snappy? Humorous? Pay attention to the amount of dialog vs. narrative. Is the dialog interesting? Dialog serves two purposes: to carry the story forward and to develop the character. Did the dialog stay true to those purposes? 

How was the setting described? Did the setting play a role in the plot? 

Next week, I’ll continue with this series. 

Call for Submissions for Adult Writers:

Another Realm, an ezine. The stories may be science fiction, fantasy or horror only. Our maximum word limit is 5,000 words. Submissions are accepted year round.

  Please send in an e-mail in "plain text" format.

  Do not center titles.

 

  We know when to set most text to italics. If you want italics for anything other than titles or thought, indicate start and stop places as follows: For italics, *****words you wish italicised***.

  Please include your name, both real and as you wish it published.

  Your address, both email and physical, so we know where to send the check and how to contact you.

  Please include a word count.

Submission Guidelines at http://anotherealm.org/FAQ/faq.php