[Writing Prompt] Mood Swings with Eric Luper

I remember when I first met Eric Luper in 2005 at a writing conference at Vassar.  He was stand-out, unique, insightful (and nice) and had the distinct air of talent and determination.  I had no doubt he would be one of the ones who would make it!

Now, with three young adult novels under his belt (Big Slick 2007 -- nominated for Best Books for Young Adults, Bug Boy 2009, and Seth Baumgartner's Love Manifesto 2010) and a middle grade novel on its way (Jeremy Bender vs. The Cupcake Cadets 2011), I'm thrilled to have this prolific best-selling novelist here to share some tips on using details in your scene to convey emotion.

Mood and It's Effect on Setting
by Eric Luper

Everyone has seen a movie where, after some disappointment or defeat, the very sad protagonist walks alone through the rain. Usually this scene is accompanied by some sort of sad piano music and probably it all happens at night. As viewers, we know the guy is sad. As writers, we roll our eyes. Heavy-handed, yes, but it does get the point across.

So how does a writer convey mood using setting without being over the top or cliche? What we as observers notice is directly dependent upon our emotional state. As writers we can convey this very subtly.

Take a look out your window and pick a spot. I don't care if it's your backyard, a street corner or a park bench. Imagine your main character sitting there and pick an emotional state for him or her to be in. Elation, love, sadness, anger, whatever. Describe the scene with this emotional standpoint in mind (either from a 1st or 3rd person perspective) and try to bring in surrounding physical details that help convey it. You can use weather and time of day, but don't just rely on those things. Does your character notice the slush kicking up on the side of a passing bus? A woman pushing a baby carriage? Litter on the ground? Puffy clouds? Thin wispy ones that reflect the pink sunset?

Now, try doing the exact same thing using a different emotion. Notice what different details you use and the language you use to describe it.

About Eric Luper:

Eric Luper is the author of several young adult novels including Seth Baumgartner's Love Manifesto, Bug Boy and Big Slick. His forthcoming novel, his humorous middle-grade debut, is called Jeremy Bender vs the Cupcake Cadets and is due to hit shelves in Fall 2011.

Links:

website: http://www.ericluper.com/

blog: http://eluper.livejournal.com/

twitter: http://twitter.com/ericluper

You can also contact Eric via his website and ask to be signed up for his newsletter. Click the links below to order his fabulous books, available now!

[PB BOOK STUDY] Thinking Outside of the Toy Box with Shark Vs. Train

In a comment on my last post, Holly asked, "Once you come up with an idea (because I'm constantly coming up with titles), how do you develop it and ensure there will be conflict and a satisfactory ending? It seems many good pbs have catchy endings." Thanks, Holly for the seeds to a wonderful topic and possible further discussion.  

While it only answers the question in part, I thought the following book would prove a helpful example: SHARK vs. TRAIN by Chris Barton and Tom Lichtenheld. <Beware of Plot Spoilers>

Summary: A shark and a train compete in a series of contests on a seesaw, in hot air balloons, bowling, shooting baskets, playing hide-and-seek, and more.

While I do like to consider myself to be somewhat "psychic," I think it was easy to figure out the origin and development of this idea, without the benefit of any psychic ability. 

IDEA/As inferred from the pictures (and the text, and the summary), while digging in a toy box, two little boys each select an object (one a shark and one a train) and have several contests. I think it's easy to see where this idea came from because it so closely resembles the imaginative play I have watched between children, or even a child playing with two objects.

CONFLICT/It's obvious that the author used the tried and true method of "What If?" which really worked in this case. For example, "What if the train had to fight shark underwater?" and "What if shark had to fight train on the railroad tracks?" This is clever because it not only provides conflict, but a fun opportunity for children to easily guess who would win. Other what if scenarios are equally as fun (and you can see the use of opposities, here as well). "What if...they're on a seesaw?" "...or a hot air balloon?" In a see saw, shark would loose and go flying into the air because he is too light, and in the hot air balloon, train would sink and lose because he is too heavy. Other examples are just plan silly, where train wins at running a lemonstand, because the lemonade at Shark's underwater lemonstand is too watery! LOL

You'll have to read the book to see all the other clever examples for yourself. I'm certain you'll agree that it's a simple idea, simply executed, and simply delightful!

ENDING/Like all good endings, this one touches upon the beginning. In this case, literally! Someone calls the boys for lunch and they toss Shark and Train back into the toy box where they began. Also, like good endings, the story doesn't feel ended. Speech bubbles show Shark saying "Next time, you're history, soot-spewer." Train replies, "Next time, you're sunk, squid-slurper." So the battle between Shark and Train and a world of possibilities continues beyond the last page.

Well, that's all for now. I hope this one example at least puts you on the right track.

[PiBoIdMo] November 8th/Where Did They Get Their Ideas?

 So far it's been a very odd month for me. I feel like I got catapulted into November and that I landed in a Wonderland where I'm operating both ahead and behind at the same time!  I've started my Christmas shopping, taken my daughter for her picture with Santa, and even I've had our family holiday portraits taken!

This early seasonal checklist is part of gearing up for a "less is more"  holiday and new year, with a focus on less stress and more output. 

Today, I'm going to serve an important tip in writing (and life): If it doesn't serve a function in the story, get rid of it!  And that's what I'm doing, little by little each day. Using it, or losing it!

So, to that end as I "eat" my way through the towering stack of library books which need to be read and returned, I'm going make them serve as food for my blog this morning.

Whether or not you're participating in Tara Lazar's PiBoIdMo, if you're having trouble coming up with ideas, just take a look at how these published authors may or may not have come up with their ideas (of course, beware of plot spoilers):

WHEN GORILLA GOES WALKING by Nikkie Grimes, Illustrated by Shane Evans
Scholastic/Orchard, 2007
Summary: In this story told in a series of rhyming poems, Gorilla the cat enjoys answering the telephone, eating soul food, and sharing mischevious adventures with her young owner.

My comments: Sounds like the author got her idea by remembering getting a new cat as a child or an adult, or perhaps watching someone with a new cat. I think the unique factor her was that the story was written in poems, and had a soul flavor.

COWGIRL ROSIE AND HER FIVE BABY BISON by Stephen Gulbis
Little Brown, 2001
Summary: A cowgirl loses her five baby bison one by one while on a walk one day, only to discover then were stolen by outlaw Snakey Jake.

My comments:  A clever twist on the five little ducklings story. The outlaw hides the bison in a flour sack which turns them white. When the cowgirl cries, the bison are revealed.

MOLE AND THE BABY BIRD by Marjorie Newman, Illustrated by Patrick Benson
Bloomsbury, 2002
Summary: Mole rescues a baby bird, cares for itand loves it until the day he realizes it is because he loves it that he must set it free.

My comments:  This very well could have been inspired by the quote "If you love something set it free. If it comes back, it's yours. If it doesn't it never was." Or, just from finding a bird that has fallen out of a nest, and wanting to keep it.

I NEED MY MONSTER by Amanda Noll, Illustrated by Howard McWilliam

Flashlight Press, 2009

Summary: When a litte boy's monster under the bed goes fishing, several replacements just will not do!

My comments: This idea was an absolutely innovative twist on a monster under the bed keeping a child from sleeping, to just the right monster being necessary for a kid to go to sleep. Well done!


THE THREE SILLY BILLIES by Margie Palatini, Illustrated by Barry Moser
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2005
Summary: Three billy goats, unable to cross a bridge because they cannot pay the toll, form a car pool with the Three Bears, Little Red Riding Hood, and Jack of beanstalk fame to get past the rude Troll.

My comments: MP went further than the rest when dealing with the Norwegian Fairy Tale of the Billy Goats Gruff and the crossing of the troll bridge by combining several fairy tales and providing a twist. It's obvious where she got the ideas for her additional characters LOL!

I SAW AN ANT ON THE RAILROAD TRACK by Joshua Prince

Illustrated by Macky Pamintuan

Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., 2006

Summary: Jack, a railroad switchman, frantically tries to save an ant who is heading east on a westbound track, straight into the path of an oncoming freight train.

My comments: Well, I don't have to surmise about where the idea came for this cute book, because on the jacket flap it says: Joshua Prince lives in Wesport, Connecticut, but rides a train daily to his life as an advertising writer in New York. A brief encounter with an ant at his regular station inspired this story, which is his first book.

MOOSETACHE by Margie Palatini, Illustrated by Henry Cole

Hyperion, 2007
Summary: A moose's mustache is too big to control until he meets Ms. Moose who has her own hair problem. They conquer each other's hearts and their problems.

My comments: This is dedicated "To my dear with the five-o-clock shadow" so may have been inspired by an actual person with a long mustache or a lot of facial hair.

*.*.*.*

I hope you can see from the above random selections that the authors may or may not have been inspired by people, place, events and/or books they have read in their childhood. You can look to these same things and bring them to another level, add a cultural flavor and/or twist them to come up with your next winning idea. Good luck to you!

[Writing Prompt] Equations with Lisa (L.D.) Harkrader

Writing Prompt: Desire + Fear = Story

by Lisa Harkrader

When I first began writing, I kept hearing the old adage, “Plot springs from character.” I understood it on an intellectual level (I think), but I didn’t begin to understand it in my gut until I began asking my characters two things:

1.      What do you want most in the world?

2.      What are you most afraid of?

The answers to those two questions can give you a fine plot, driving the story from the inciting incident to the inevitable final crisis. I’ll use a few of my favorite movies as examples (don’t read this if you haven’t yet seen the movies, especially How to Train Your Dragon, which just came out on DVD; they’re too good for me to spoil for you here):

1.      In Toy Story, Woody wants to keep Andy and all his toys safe and happy. He’s afraid he’ll be replaced as Andy’s favorite. In the end, by saving Buzz and risking the thing he fears most—being replaced—he’s able to restore the safe, happy order of the toys’ lives and claim his own more secure place in it.

2.      In How to Train Your Dragon, Hiccup wants to be a fearless, dragon-slaying Viking so that he can fit in on his island and make his father, the fearless Viking leader, proud. He’s afraid of his father’s disappointment and wrath. In the end, by saving his dragon and, therefore, risking losing his father’s love forever, he becomes a hero on his island, a Viking like no other.

3.      In The Full Monty, each of the six main characters wants something and is afraid of something. The main character, Gaz, a divorced, unemployed steel worker, wants to be the kind of father his son, Nathan, can be proud of. He’s afraid he’ll lose joint custody of Nathan. In the end, by taking the risk of making his ex-wife angry enough to keep Nathan from him for good, he makes Nathan prouder of him than he’s ever been—and shows his wife he’s the kind of man who deserves custody of his son.

This isn’t the only way to construct a story, but I’ve found that when a character must overcome the thing she most fears to get the thing she most wants, I wind up with a plot that springs from character.

About Lisa Harkrader

L.D. Harkrader loved books from the minute she first held one in her hand. She loved bedtime stories and convinced her amazingly accomodating parents to read the same books to her over and over until she had memorized the stories and could recite them out loud even before she knew how to read.

Once she did learn to read, you couldn’t pry books from her hot little hands. In school, her favorite days were library day and the day her teacher passed out the Scholastic Book Club flyers.

In the third grade, she realized that somebody had to write all those books she loved to read, and decided that some day, one of those somebodies would be her. Now, nearly forty years later, she’s making that third-grade dream come true.

Her recent books include Airball: My Life in Briefs, about middle-grade boys who want to win so badly they end up playing basketball in their underwear, and Nocturne, about a foundling who must use her powerful magic to save her adopted uncle and her town from unspeakable evil. Her middle-grade novel, The Adventures of Beanboy, about a boy who loves comic books, will be released in 2011.

Find out more about Lisa at her website: http://www.ldharkrader.com/

You can click on these links to check out her books!

[WRITING TIP] Ways to Avoid the "Been There, Done That" Ideas

If you've been following my blog this month, then you know I'm a proud participant of PiBoIdMo, which is the brain-child of Author Tara Lazar (The Monstore, Aladdin/Simon & Schuster, 2013). If you haven't, you might want to check it out.

The purpose of this fabulous event is to write down a picture book concept a day for each day during the month of November. You may or may not choose to develop any one, some or all of these ideas into manuscripts over the course of the month, but it's not required.

On October 31st, I attended the #pblitchat and participated in a discussion of where to get ideas. I admit I was preoccupied with trick-or-treaters coming to our door, so I've decided to share my thoughts here.

A successful writer whose name escapes me (it may have been Bruce Coville or Bruce Hale, but I don't want to misquote, so please comment if you know who it was) said one usually must sift through at least 20 ideas to get to a really good one.  That's why I love this event. It forces us to plow past the first idea and get them all out before settling on one. We must consider other options, other possibilities, and not fall in love with and marry our FIRST idea, because it may not be our best. No love at first sight allowed here. Which, incidentally, is NOT usually a good idea.

So, let's say you've skipped ahead and already written down twenty ideas. You want to start working on one. They all sound great. After all, it's only day 4.

1. You pick your favorite to work on in the meantime and just let the rest stew. The good ideas will float to the top of the pot, the bad ideas will sink to the bottom.
2.  You can join a critique group. A funny thing about critique group is that after a while you begin to see that often, people write strikingly similar stories about the same things. Then you can cross those off your list. Yikes!
3. You can do online searches and read editor interviews about topics that they feel are overdone or to be avoided. Okay, so I admit, I have a few farm animal pieces I have to keep putting to the bottom of my submission pile (grin).

Now, I must say that, over time, there have been new books published on overdone topics. But there is usually a reason. The book is absolutely outstanding, or the author has a following (and/or is a celebrity).  Since you may or may not have any of those factors, you have to work on your best ideas and your best writing so an editor will pick up your idea and help you with the rest.

One way that I try to find books that will find a niche in the market is to cross-reference my topic in a library search (for example, fiction hedgehog books and school bus books), and to take out anything and everything to do with those topics in the entire county system and see if there is anything remotely like the book I am writing/want to write published. I write a list of all the books, the publishers and the publication dates. After a while I can see which publishers have similar books and which do not. I can also see if the is a "recently published" book similar to mine, that might be available in a book store that would present a potential problem.

Of course, this method isn't fool proof. It has worked, and then sometimes, the timing's bad, like when I submitted Palace Rat to Bloomsbury, and the editor wrote back to say that she loved the manuscript but  had just accepted a book about a dog in Versailles. Still, I got a nice personal rejection, and knew I was in the ballpark!

I hope that these tips will give you some ideas as to what ideas to choose. You can also put your ideas on slips of paper and put them in a fishbowl. Then shake them up and pull two at a time. Combine them. Do the ideas sound any better, any fresher? If so, take the best parts. Good luck!

*.*.*.*

Lynne Marie is a Columnist for The Writer's Journal and

Author of Hedgehog Goes to Kindergarten, Scholastic, May 2011

Illustrated by Anne Kennedy

[ANECDOTE] November 1st/Reading is for the Dogs!

I had great plans for November with the 1st of the month being
National Author's Day and ALSO the kick-off of the 2010 Annual

PIBOIDMO. Picture Book Idea Month is a fabulous concept started by author Tara Lazar (The Monstore, Aladdin/Simon & Schuster 2013),  where you pledge to write down (of course, you can do more) at least one new picture book concept a day for for each day of the month of November.  I am participating, as well as many of my friends and the members of one of my critique groups (The Yellow Brick Road).

I would have liked to get to celebrate these fabulous events by harvesting ideas and writing, but life had other plans. So, instead of writing, I was a one person do-crew clean up for the after Halloween weekend mess. And then, it was off to pick up Kayla from school and take her to the Pediatric Eye Doctor for a thorough check up after failing the school's eye exam. Still, promoting good eyesight is definitely related to reading, so I felt like I was still doing my part toward the month's focus on books.  And the day had just begun.

November 1st also kicked of Kayla's school's Parents As Reading Partners (PARP) program. This year's theme...Reading is Out of this World! So, after the Optomotrist, we rocketed straight toward the library and picked out books. We were able to snag lots of fun ones, like SHARK VS. TRAIN by Chris Barton, JEREMY DRAWS A MONSTER by Peter McCarty, ALWAYS LOTS OF HEINIES AT THE ZOO by Ayun Halliday, lots of Mo Willems books to get ready for the SCBWI Winter Nationals in January 2011, and MORE!

But that's not all (and here's where the dogs come finally in)! At 6:40 PM, Kayla was first to head-off a program called "Read to Rover," where children read to certified and trained therapy dogs from Therapy Dogs International. While this is a fun and exciting event for children like Kayla who love reading and dogs, it can prove helpful to reluctant readers, as the dogs are non-judgmental in their listening and can help improve literacy skills. This program was arranged by our fabulous children's librarian Katie at the Nesconset Library (http://www.smithlib.org/).

The children who participate in the program can read from a selection of books picked out by the librarian or bring in their own. Kayla brought a few books from home.  Next week at Part 2 of the Program, Kayla will be reading two stories she has authored and illustrated.

Here, Kayla is pictured with Casey the Therapy Dog, who is a poodle mix.

First she read DESERT ROSE AND HER HIGHFALUTIN' HOG by Alison Jackson and illustrated by Keith Graves to Casey and his owner. This book is a family favorite, and is written by the same Alison Jackson who wrote that the fun book I KNOW AN OLD LADY WHO SWALLOWED A PIE, which was illustrated by Judith Byron Schachner, which is available through the Scholastic Book Club!


After reading to Casey, Kayla wanted a chance to read to Lucy. We had picked out DEAR MRS. LARUE: LETTERS FROM OBEDIENCE SCHOOL, written and illustrated by Mark Teague  (and published by Scholastic Press) to read next, but Kayla wanted to read DESERT ROSE again (!!!) which Lucy the Guide Dog and her owner enjoyed very much, perhaps even more than Casey did.

As sad as we were to say goodbye to our new friends, our fun this day did not end with the dogs.

We bundled up and went back into the cold New York air and headed to Barnes and Noble for Kayla's school's PARP kick-off fundraiser. The night promised several activities, including:

Readings from school teachers and the principal, a bookmark craft, a scavenger hunt, and a lighter wallet when all was said and done.

Kayla picked out several picture books, SQUIRREL'S NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTION written by Pat Miller and illustrated by Kathi Ember; FANCY NANCY AND THE FASHION BOUTIQUE written by Jane O'Connor and Illustrated by Robin Preiss Glasser; A PIRATE'S NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS written by Phillip Yates and illustrated by Sebastia Serra; and THERE WAS A COYOTE WHO SWALLOWED A PIE written by my Highlights Chautauqua Pal Jennifer Ward, and illustrated by Steven Grey. I promptly bought all of these which hopefully will help stomp out the myth that people are not buying picture books! She also picked out a stuffed neck-pillow dog and named in Willie after the dog in A CHAIR FOR PETER by Ezra Jack Keats.

So all in all, I would say although pretty much most of the day went to the dogs and I got no writing done, it was a doggone good day, after all!

As to not being authorly on Author Day, at least it's nice to know that such a day exists! (If you have a moment, please comment in the comment section as to who YOUR favorite author is.)

Writing Prompt/Spirited Dialogue with Jo Ramsey

Halloween week is upon us, and in celebration, I am pleased to bring you this eerily perfect prompt by Young Adult Novelist Jo Ramsey.  Book Two of her YA urban fantasy series Reality Shift, entitled Filtration System, is just released. Check it out!


Voices in Your (Character’s) Head

By Jo Ramsey

In my Reality Shift series of YA urban fantasy novels, the main characters, Jonah and Shanna, each have “guides,” disembodied beings who help them reason things through and offer advice. Since the guides are disembodied, they don’t speak with voices; instead, they speak directly into the minds of Jonah and Shanna. This led to some interesting attempts at formatting, since I needed to keep those conversations separate from Jonah’s and Shanna’s inner thoughts but also didn’t want to present them exactly like spoken dialogue. I ended up using italics, which seems fairly standard among some publishers to represent inner thoughts as well as telepathic communication.

According to Jonah in the books, every human has guides to help them through their lives, though not all humans are aware of or communicate with their guides. That means, if you believe Jonah, that you have them too. And so do your characters.

Write a dialogue between either yourself and one of your guides (perhaps your writing guide, a/k/a muse?) or between one of your characters and one of their guides.
Jo’s Bio

Jo Ramsey is a former special education teacher who has been writing since age five, when someone finally showed her how to move a pencil to make those little squiggles called letters. Before that, she told stories to her stuffed animals. Jo has always had a fascination with stories that show a “normal” child or teenager encountering magic, fighting evil, and so forth, and so that’s primarily what she writes.

Her YA urban fantasy series Reality Shift launched from Jupiter Gardens Press, www.jupitergardens.com, in January 2010. The first book, Connection, was made required reading in summer 2010 for all high school students in Jo’s hometown in eastern MA, in part because of a strong anti-bullying theme which runs throughout the series. Book 2 in the series, Filtration System, is just out, with books 3 and 4 slated for March and July 2011, respectively and six additional books planned. Reality Shift is about Shanna Bailey and Jonah Leighton, two high school students who use skills such as energy healing and channeling to banish demons, send malevolent dead spirits to “the Between,” and prevent our universe from being vaporized. Bridge, Book 1 in a new YA urban fantasy series called The Dark Lines, will be released in May 2011, also from Jupiter Gardens.

Jo lives in Massachusetts with her two daughters, her husband, and two cats, one of whom occasionally tries to help her write. You can learn more about her and her books on her website, http://www.joramsey.com/.