The Gabapple

So WIFYR 2011 is finally over! This gives me a lot more free time in the evenings (for now), with which I plan to do a lot of things. Most big announcements will happen in August, so watch out! Uhmm… some things I can say now, though, is that I am planning to completely revamp my portfolio website (which includes this blog), which is why the theme is all sorts of broken. Oops.

Regarding WIFYR, I didn’t snag an editor or agent (which really wasn’t the point, anyway), but I DID learn some things that will forever change the way that I write. This happened when I went back in 2008, too. No joke, if you’re serious about becoming a writer (or illustrator), consider going to WIFYR… it is vastly helpful. Oh, and what did I learn? Who my target audience really is. The story:

The two editors and agent that I’ve had consultations with and my author and class all liked my writing. I got some great feedback with some sweet compliments and it was all really encouraging. But they all also had the same criticism – it felt middle grade, not YA. Which threw me completely for a loop. I’d been doing SERIOUS BUSINESS YA for the last six years! Middle grade?! Whaaat?! Were they saying that I was novice and childish?! Oh no!

… but I talked to my librarian friend, Courtney, who helped me figure out that I didn’t actually know what MG was, and told me where to find it in the book store. “Go to Barnes & Noble,” she said, “and find the ‘Young Readers’ section.” So I went, found the section, and stood between the two rows and… realized that I owned 50% of these books… that I’d read most of them… that MOST of my favorite authors were RIGHT THERE. Uhhh.

So there you have it. I write and read middle grade, not YA. Oops. Yes, this means reworking my novels and tweaking things, but it neatly sidesteps a LOT of the pitfalls that I have when writing. Plus animals and illustrations are allowed and maybe even expected in MG. Don’t want to write sappy stupid romances? Don’t have to! Want to have a story with pirate ghosts and have it be taken seriously? Middle grade. Looking around at those beloved novels really made me feel like I was home.

I realize that this may make me sound silly. I mean, why did it take me this long to realize it? No idea. But now I have direction! I have purpose! And apparently, they’re all looking for middle grade, especially stuff that appeals to boys, all of which I love to write.

In short, I’m quite pleased to have arrived at this place in my writing career. <3

NOW. What to do about this?! I have issued a challenge to my fellow Dungeoneers to get something ready to submit (yes, with query letter, synopsis, etc), by OCTOBER 25th. This means I have a lot of writing to do… and I am excited to do it! Especially since the required changes make my MC, Salmon, quite happy. More on that later.

For now… bed! Tomorrow is my dear MOM’s birthday and the day I do my comic, but FRIDAY will be a writing night! I finally got my desktop computer all reformatted and word processor installed, WOO. Oh, and I’ll make sure to spend some time with my typewriter, too.

…but yeah, bed. Seriously going now.

Edit: BY POPULAR DEMAND (and by that I mean my mom called and asked me), I have added another file! Please see below.

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A couple of months ago, Cori and I decided that we would start a vocal group. We both love to sing but with our work/after work schedules, it was near impossible to commit to musicals or other plays in local theaters, especially with WIFYR so close at hand. Cori took charge and named it Limerick (after the cat that I’d killed in my WIP, Fishsticks), got some sheet music, etc.. and together we corralled Aaron and Simon into participating. Our first project is the Buffy musical, Once More, With Feeling. We’ve had three practices so far and, I think, are doing pretty well! We’re hoping to have our pianist, Krista, over this weekend for practice so that Simon doesn’t have to play AND sing, which should also greatly improve things.

The first is a  short clip of me singing ‘Something to Sing About’  — yes, some how I managed to get the part for Buffy. How awesome is that?!  Please forgive the horrible recording quality. We hope to fix that in subsequent practices.

The second is a recording that I did in February 2002. I was 16 at the time and my dad helped me get this put together for Valentine’s Day as a present for Aaron. Dad played the guitar parts (recorded separately), and had me sing with his fancy recording equipment, and then compiled it together. I probably sang the song 15-20 times before we got this recording. MAN that was scary! And a lot of work! But totally awesome all the same.   Thanks again for your help, Dad!!! (Guys, he’s a freaking awesome musician.

Standard Podcast Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Standard Podcast Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

plz note: I know this isn’t really a podcast, but the audio play feature is so nifty and easy to use! 8D

Oh yeah I did another one of these back in December, but forgot to post about it. So here it is:

http://throwingupwords.wordpress.com/2010/12/09/post-nano-update-by-melissa-douglas-plus-a-writing-exercise/

Also, for the record, I am not dead… just really, really busy working on the Writing & Illustrating for Young Readers Conference website. It’s so worth it, though; WIFYR is awesome. If you can possibly afford to go, please do. Comparatively speaking, this conference is VERY reasonably priced and SOOO amazing. I went a couple of years ago and was lucky enough to be in Brandon Sanderson‘s class. Boy did that change my perception on writing, and definitely for the better. Really made a huge difference for me and the way I do things.

PLUS Carol is in charge of the conference and she is wonderful! But you all knew that already. I hope.

Anyway, more soon. I have lots of plans (as always) that I have actually started working on (gasp), so hopefully this blog will get more use and be a lot more useful!

I did another post for Throwing Up Words, also related to NaNoWriMo: http://throwingupwords.wordpress.com/2010/11/18/mid-nano-update-by-melissa-douglas/

I wrote one! YAY. Go read it!

http://throwingupwords.wordpress.com/2010/10/07/expert-advice-on-nanowrimo-from-melissa-douglas-plus-a-few-words-from-john-green/

Here’s another Throwing Up Words writing exercise for you!

“Write about your first kiss. Put everything in there–where you were, who it was (you can change names to protect people. I’m going to have to.), how that kiss was, what you were thinking (or were you thinking?), the smells, his or her lips etc.

Now, rewrite this scene to fit  your book. How can you make it work in your plot?”

I used My Imaginary for this’n. Really difficult but very fun! (more…)

This is from Throwing Up Words, a blog of talented people who, among other things,  issue writing contests and challenges from time to time. Please, go and participate!

“Your main character has been changed into One of the Undead. Rewrite the first 500 words of any scene from your book that you choose, with your main character a Freshly-Turned Zombie.”

I chose to rewrite chapter one of Fishsticks, which ended up being very fun and somewhat bizarre… especially since about the only thing that really changed was Salmon’s inner monologue.  I really should have proofread before posting, though… oh well, a lesson to be learned and all that.

(more…)

They’re pretty simple:

1. Read — Always be in the process of reading something, even if it’s slow going
2. Write — One chapter a week in for writing group, 500 words a day for other projects, and NaNoWriMo once a year
3. Share — Spend time with other writers… like a writing group- bring something to critique, offer lots of encouragement and input
4. Practice — Lots of fun, throw away “sketch” writing (prompts, roleplaying, fanfic, journal entries, etc.)
5. Intention — No easy cop outs, really THINK about the words/phrases that are being put down (especially during practice)
6. Question — Get critiques and run through lists of questions that are challenging to answer
7. Expression — No censoring on first drafts allowed!
8. Medidate — Make time to do nothing but think with no distractions, then take good notes
9. Listen — Take whatever your mentor says about writing seriously… VERY seriously
10. Trust — In your abilities and potential… it’s all about putting the hours in