Just got back from Writer's Day in San Gabriel, put on by the Society of Children's Book Writer's and Illustrators (SCBWI) L.A. region. Much of the advice can be applied to any writing genre, so I though I'd share.

*

Michael Stearns gave a presentation called "The Plot Thickens: 13 Questions to Ask of a Way Too Wimpy Storyline." Mr. Stearns is a former editor and current literary agent at Firebrand Literary.

Plot should be about complications and folllow-through on those complications. This list is not a checklist of what should be in your story, but rather questions to ask if your plot is weak.

1.) Do you have a clock in your story? Do you have a countdown? This can be literal (like in 24, with a time display) or metaphorical (a sense of urgency).

2.) Have you buried the ends of your chapters? Put cliffhangers at the end of chapters! Don't wrap a chapter up in a nice, neat bow--you want to keep the reader turning the page. Try alternating when you solve the problems posed--if you ask a question in chapter 1, answer it in chapter 3; if you ask a question in chapter 2, answer it in chapter 4; and so on.

3.) Have you structured your story to create false suspense?

4.) Have you hidden the "why"? Concealment; don't tell the audience everything--characters will then have to take action not knowing everything. Snape is a good example--there are many questions surrounding Snape that aren't answered until book 7, and in books 1-6 and most of 7, Harry Potter takes deliberate action based on his own assumptions about Snape, which often complicates matters.

5.) Have you taken full advantage of subplots? Subplots can obscure the main plot, and distract attention from the setup needed in the main plot.

6.) Do you have something pulling your main character forward? What does the character WANT (an EXTERNAL desire)?

7.) Do you have something pulling your main character forward? What does the character NEED (an INTERNAL desire)?

8.) Do you have something pushing / pursuing your main character (an EXTERNAL force)?

9.) Do you have something pushing / pursuing your main character (an INTERNAL force)?

10.) Have you taken advantage of everybody but everybody lies? Nobody tells the truth about themselves. Denial about the lies creates complications, and reveals of lies "make Pollyanna look like a crack whore" (that's what Mr. Stearns said word-for-word).

11.) Have you applied the five previous questions to minor characters? People think only of themselves, including minor characters.

12.) Have you followed through on every consequence of your characters' acts?

13.) Have you been as mean as possible to you characters?

*

David Gale gave a lecture called "Books for Teens: Where We've Been, Where We're Going." Mr. Gale is vice president, editorial director of Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, which includes everything from picture books to teenagers.

STILL SELLING:
Vampires
Werewolves
Dragons
Chick lit
Graphic novels are huge
Verse works are big but can't sustain more authors
Looking for minority authors for minority teens

LOOKING FOR:
Manuscript needs to be fresh and exciting
Voice--need to trust the voice of the work
Books need a "core of psychological truth."
Honesty of the characters
All taboos (sex, drugs, etc) are possible but authors need to realize it will limit sales to schools, libraries, and older age groups (14- to 25-year-olds)

UP AND COMING POPULARITY:
Paranormal Romance
Steampunk will be huge
Horror will grow
Graphic novels will grow
Edgier books with wider range of protagonists, such as gay and transgender

WIP 1 (rewrite): 2000 words (out of 80,000)
WIP 2: 2430 words (out of 60,000)

.

If anyone reads Tamora Pierce's novels (she writes young adult fantasy), Tris and Briar really need to get together.  Please.  I've seen this subtle tension in them for the past--what is it, nine or ten?!?--books now. 
There's one more book out there that I haven't had a chance to get at yet, and I know it has Briar in it.  Please, Tammy, I'm begging you--let them get together!

.

I don't know if it's the best idea to add a third work in progress to the list, especially one that is going to take so much research.  It's a historical novel, and while it's set in a time and place that I'm familiar with, it would be classified as a mystery, a genre that I've only read and never written with any seriousness.

WIP 1: YA fantasy rewrite (along the lines of Tamora Pierce)
WIP 2: YA fantasy, medieval-ish
WIP 3: YA historical mystery ?

I also only have about five complete weeks in winter break, and then it's back to the daily grind of university and not knowing when I will have the time to write.

.

What you have instead in Meyer's work is a depressingly retrograde, deeply anti-feminist, borderline misogynistic novel that drains its heroine of life and vitality as surely as if a vampire had sunk his teeth into her and leaves her a bloodless cipher while the story happens around her. Edward tells her she is "so interesting ... fascinating", but the reader looks in vain for his evidence.

This is why I don't like Twilight.

.

When the ink cartridge that costs $16 dollars says that it lasts for 200 pages, it had better last for 200 pages, or Alex is going to get really angry with said cartridge...

.

WIP #1 (Rewrite): 1773 words

WIP #2 (Book in a Week project): plotting stages

.

http://bookinaweek.blogspot.com/

Looks like I will be doing my own Book in a Week, since the actual organization is not accepting any new members in December.

It is easier, ironically, to do Book in a Week during finals than it is to do National Novel Writing Month  (http://www.nanowrimo.org/) during midterms.  Finals are nice and organized--there is no formal instruction during finals week, meaning you don't have other homework to worry about and turn in, or other classes to attend other than the very final class.  Midterms, on the other hand, are messy--they are whenever the professor decides to assign them, but are typically during the same week in November (depending on the university/college).  There is formal instruction during that week, so not only are you dealing with tests that count as much as the final does, you have to attend normal class and deal with other homework.  With English, midterms are not often tests--they are essays and short stories and other projects that require some time to write and revise.

During my finals week, I will have only 1 quiz, 1 professor meeting, and 1 test (and two normal class meetings at the local community college), leaving ample opportunity to cram some writing in.

I prefer to cram writing in anyway--I work better in spurts than in long, drawn out projects.

Here's my answer: STOP TALKING ABOUT TWILIGHT!!!!!

*fingers in ear*

NOT LISTENING!  LALALALALALAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

.

21 more days (including weekends) until I'm out of school for the semester.  And with the way things are going, i really need winter break.

Point A: The (current?) move against gay marriage is based in the bible--God forbids homosexuality.

Point B: We are a secular country.

Conclusion: Therefore, to ban gay people from marrying is to force religious beliefs on them.

Which leads to: the amendment to the California constitution banning gay marriage is a violation of the First Amendment.

Is 52% of California putting fingers in their ears and saying "No!  No!  Not listening!  Lalalalalalaaaa!"?

*headdesk*

*headdeskheaddeskheaddesk*

.

Plot.  Plot plot plot...

.

Gay rights: fail.

.

While I am waiting for the election results (*coughvoteobamacough*) I am replotting Shadoweave.  I think I am officially on plot #3--as in 3 major replottings have been done.  If I counted every single change, it would be in the gazillions.

Note to self: for next novel, write a 30 page synopsis.  Thank you.

.

If I plan to take 23 units next semester, just shoot me and put me out of my misery.

Thank you.

.

A few notes from SCBWI southern California's Writer's Day at California Lutheran University.

For the "First Pages" event, where you could submit your first page and a number of them would be randomly selected to be read aloud, Meredith Wasinger, a senior editor at Sterling Publishing, and Jamie Chilton, an associate agent with Andrea Brown Literary Agency, were kind enough to give their opinion on the first pages read aloud.

In the first page of a manuscript...

• You should be able to tell where the plot is going
• There should be feeling and emotion
• Dialogue--no dialogue often (but not always) indicates a passive character
• Use specific little details; use details to show where the character is (part of the show, don't tell, rule)
• There should be voice, details, character development
• There should be a vivid sense of place (see two bullet points up about "details")
• Don't talk down to the reader--trust the reader to "get it".  You don't need to spell it out.

Some notes about picture books (which I don't write, but others might find interesting), also taken from the "First Pages" event:

• There's hesitation to take on rhyming picture books--it has to be really well done.
• Rhyming can box in a writer--an 800 word rhyming picture book is far too long--400 words or less is ideal.
• There's been success with shorter picture books.
• A cover letter for a picture book is an opportunity to describe your vision of the book if you have an idea.  Leave description of place and setting out of the story--it's where the artwork will come in.

Now if you excuse me, I have two essays to write, a German midterm to study for, and a short story to finish.

PROFESSOR: There was Franconian notation, which then went to black notation, and then evolved into white notation.

HILARY: Since white notation is both white and black, shouldn't it be called gray notation?

MARCUS: Multicultural notation.

ME: Politically correct notation.

I dropped a pant size.

Now, if I can ease myself off this caffeine addiction, I will probably drop more weight, faster.