TRAINS & THANK YOU

source.

So. I am staring at my right side bar (which is a ranking of most popular posts)* and my last post (here) has become the second most popular post most popular post (since I posted this it has climbed) on my blog in a week. It's surpassed The Other - I'm Not It, and It's the Fear (which have, until this past week, been the most trafficked posts on this blog).

Wow. Thank you guys so, so much for all your congratulations and kind words.You have no idea how much I appreciate it, and how giddy I was (and still am!) as your kind words poured in. I'm still trying to figure out how to get back on track with blogging consistently while maintaining a certain level of quality, so bear with me please!

This post is one part thank you post and one part very flimsy how-to advice (because nothing works for everyone and what worked for me might not work for you).

Fact: I could not have revised my manuscript or gotten on the query train, or stayed on the query train (I think at one point I said: me no gusta no me gusta el query train, which is awful Spanish, but you get the gist) without amazing support. It would have been impossible. Writing is an isolating endeavor. It's emotionally stressful - just the act will make you rip out your hair (you all know what I'm talking about). You (or maybe just me) cannot - or maybe should not - do it alone.

I am incredibly blessed to have a mother and two sisters who have supported me every, single step of the way. I am doubly blessed to have friends in the young adult community who cheered me on all the time, who cheered me up when I was ready to throw the towel in, who made sure to tell me that what I was feeling was normal and that patience was necessary and that I was awesome (whether that's true is up for grabs, but flattery never hurts during any part of this process).

And I think the best and most important thing that I've taken away from this process** is that you need that. You need a support system that will prop you up when you want to fall down, who will force you back on the train while telling you that it's going to take you somewhere amazing. Whether you find them on Twitter (how I met Sarah), or on a forum (how I met Kristin and Dawn) or through their blog (how I met Tahereh), go out and meet people. Connect. Make friends. They will be invaluable once you get on that train (I really have a thing for trains today, I don't know why) and really, desperately want to jump off.

How have you all met friends and critique partners? And are you talkers or lurkers on blogs? Inquiring minds (aka the lurker) want to know!

*Apparently I also really like parenthetical asides today.
**Lord knows I didn't learn patience. Not even a little bit.

THE OTHER: I'M NOT IT

My skin is blue. No really. 

I was talking to my younger sister, as I'm wont to do. We were discussing possible plots for future books I may write (I want to do a magical super hero sort of thing one day, a la Sailor moon) (don't laugh at me!) (it's a viable story plot!). Somehow, talk turned to witches and having a Muslim girl as the main character and how would the two fit together? 'I don't like tackling identity issues because I've never experienced it,' I said. 'And I feel like I would have to do that with a Muslim character.'

And my sister said something that will probably impact my writing forever:

If you're not white [in books] you're always trying to come into your identity. But if you're white, you just are.

 Growing up, my sisters and I didn't have any of the problems that a number (not all, but certainly some) of the 'multicultural' characters in YA fiction had. We didn't struggle with our identities; there was no struggle of finding if we were Arab or Muslim (and they are different) or American or African American. We were all of those things together at the same time. There was never a point in my life where I felt like I had to choose between being one thing or the other - these different things coexisted peacefully inside of me.

The things that my sisters and I struggled with growing up were universal. Our relationships with our parents, if we were wearing nice clothes, who we were friends with, who we weren't friends with. I never identified with the character struggling to straddle two worlds or cultures. I couldn't, because it wasn't part of my experience. And I don't think the experience of peaceful coexistence in a child of many cultures is unique to my family.

I strive to put characters of differing backgrounds and cultures in what I write because that's what I know and I think it's a truthful representation of the world we live in. But not every child of Chinese descent living in America wages an internal battle with their identity. Not every Muslim struggles to balance religion and the culture that is America (in fact, I haven't met any that do - but that may simply be my experience).

Books that depict young adults from different backgrounds struggling to balance America and their origins are relevant and valid and so important for the young adults that are going through that experience. But they're not the only kind that young adults need. I want to read more about Hispanic characters that are Hispanic and secure in that; who experience other struggles that are universal to the American teenage experience. I want to read about Muslim girls who, like me, knew they were Muslim when they sixteen and loved that they were Muslim; whose biggest problem was does that guy like me? Is my best friend still my best friend? Why won't my mom loosen her leash?

The human experience is universal and I think sometimes writers want so much to make sure that they're inclusive of the 'other' that they forget: those of us that are of different cultures are not 'other'. We're people who share the same experiences that the majority do. And most of the time, being born of another culture isn't the thing weighing on our minds. Sometimes its can we save the world? Will I get a car? And OMG I hate my physics teacher would she please just die!?

DELURKING: WILL I DO IT?

credit to 962airplanes

House keeping things first: I will be posting both the contest and one other post next week. My sister moves in to her dorm next weekend and I'm moving in to my room the Wednesday after that, after which I'm going to at a retreat and helping university move in until Saturday, the 28th. I will try to schedule a few posts during that time, but knowing me there'll be no need. For some reason my blog gears start turning when I have no time. (And yes, I am preparing you for both abandonment and a surge of love at the same time.)

In February I wrote a post about lurking and why you shouldn't do it. More than six months after that post and I find myself still doing the same thing.

By nature, I'm a quiet person. I like to listen and let the other person in the conversation do all the work. Unless I'm in a group setting where I know more than one person, I watch instead of talk. This tendency translates onto Twitter and writing forums. On Twitter I watch people @ each other and make statements. Unless I feel incredibly comfortable a person, I won't comment or join in on conversations. On forums I'm content to let conversation swim around me unless I feel compelled to make a comment. I have close to 100 blogs on my Google reader and nearly 200 people that I follow on Twitter. I comment and @ only a handful of them and most times, because they've contacted me first.

And I know I'm not the only one (right?!).

So I propose a challenge. All of us (and I know it isn't just me. Right!?) that lurk regularly on blogs and forums and Twitter: let's delurk. Let's make an effort to start commenting on blogs that we read and @ing people that we follow on Twitter. Let's join conversations and make conversation and creep out of our shells (in a non creepy way)!

And  during the week of Valentine's Day 2011, we'll write posts about the new people we've met that we've liked and loved because of this challenge. So join me! And tell me - what wonderful people have you met because you took that step forward?

Action Scenes

So today I had to write an action scene. I knew nothing beyond what I wanted the result of this action scene to be. I figured that the rest of it would just kind of come flying out of my fingers. You know, like those really magical scenes were your characters are talking to you and you're like 'I got this!' or something. Yeah - for some reason, it didn't work out quite that way. So, for all of you who are in the same boat (the one called 'I can't write an action scene') I've come up with a way that might help you out.

Action Movies: Youtube is your friend here (and I don't say that often). Search up action scenes from the good action flicks like Elektra, the Matrix (all three), and so on. These fight scenes will help you come up with description. Especially if you know absolutely nothing about fighting.

Kick-ass Music: This is not necessarily crucial, but it works for me. Awesome, loud, rock out music really helps with writing the action scenes. It helps me get into that adrenaline high mindset that (I imagine) a person going into a fight might have.

Choreography: The stunt directors in the movies do it and you should to. Go in with an idea of who's fighting who, how, and when. Even if you're not going to write a play by play, have it in your head. It's super super helpful to know exactly what's happening so that you can transfer it better to paper or screen. Really. Honest. No lie.

Write, write, write: I know this seems kind of obvious, but when you're stuck in the depths of despair it isn't. Once you've got the music, done your research and mentally choreagraphed the action scene write it. Write it however many times you need to get it right, but get it down. You'll notice what's wrong and what's not working. But if you never get it down, you'll never get past the scene and get to write the rest of the awesome stuff.

That's pretty much all I could think of to help with writing these tricky scenes. If you guys have suggestions of your own, please share. The rest of us would love to hear! :)

*The image above belongs to tower-raven of Deviantart.*

The Importance of a Beta

When I first found fanfiction.net and fictionpress.com more than six years ago they were amazing places. Talented writers gathered at two very different places on the internet to share in an art form. Unfortunately, neither place has managed to age gracefully. The gems that were plentiful when I first stumbled upon the sites are rare these days and are more often than not lost in the shuffle that is bad grammar, weak plot lines and the ever present and pesky trolls. The last is unavoidable I suppose. Where there is good there will always be bad and ugly. The first two, however, are very correctable.

And this is where the beta reader comes in. Fanfiction.net says that a beta reader is "a person who reads a work of fiction with a critical eye, with the aim of improving grammar, spelling, characterization, and general style of a story prior to its release to the general public." Cool. Awesome. Great. But, do you need one and why?

Well, first of all, everyone needs a beta reader. Reduced to their most basic function, a beta reader is a fresh set of eyes to look at your work. They can pick up things that you've missed since you've probably memorized your work by the time you've reached the beta stage. That means that you'll miss simple stuff that you think you've got covered. So, point one: betas are good for catching stupid stuff that you know, but can't see.

You have no idea (or maybe you do!) how many stories I've come across on both sites that have the potential to be a really good read (maybe not original, but at least they'd read smoothly) but threw the chance out the window because they refused to get a beta reader. In original fiction a beta reader will show you that you missed this grammar error, this sentence is weird, and hey, guess what?, this entire paragraph is not necessary.

In fanfiction, a beta readers role has the added task of making sure you stay in canon (assuming you're not writing alternate universe - to be covered in another post). If you're writing Lord of the Rings, they make sure your characters use language properly, are represented in character and that the world makes sense. If it's alternate universe, they make sure the story as a whole is believable and not drivel you pulled out of your ass.

If you have a beta, make sure they're doing their job. Really. I've come across authors who's stories could use a lot of work and when I say so they respond, "Well I've got a beta and s/he is amazing!" No. No.

It seems that there are a lot of (and I'm really sorry if this comes off rather bitchy) complete and total idiots out there who will read anything! And these idiot readers will happily add you to their group! How, you ask? Well, they take a look at your story (which either is in desperate need of a beta or in even more desperate need of a better one) and they praise it. They put you on a pedestal that's so darn shiny and high you just can't believe it. And you don't want to ever be put down! If you're getting reviews that fall into the following categories:

• one liners
• use leet speak (ie 0MG so so c00l!! ur so l337)
• tell you on and on that you're story is so cool and awesome and they are just gonna wet their pants with joy
• do not tell you why they like your story just that they do
• a flame
• constructive criticism

it probably means that you need some work done. Believe it or not, folks, people don't flame just because it's fun (though this is a substantial part of the reason). They flame because they found something fundamentally wrong with your storty. This could be a glaring plot hole, atrocious grammar, non-canon elements. But really, you're not getting flamed just because they like posting mean things to random people. As wrong as it sounds, you were targeted for a reason. And if you were targeted, it wouldn't be succumbing to their ignorance to get a beta reader. You would be doing yourself a favor because you'd be improving your writing.

Bottom line: Beta's are important. Very important. If you don't have one, get one. If you're a fanfiction writer, guess what? Fanfiction.net has an entire service dedicated to finding beta readers just for you. If you're an original fiction writer Absolute Write Water Cooler (google it, people) has many, many beta readers that are able and willing to help you improve as a writer.