Top Five Must-Have Books for any Writer

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1. Dictionary. Words, words, words! Never doubt the power of words--and words are most powerful when used correctly. Every writer should have a dictionary on hand, even if you're an excellent speller, because there are always new words to learn. And no matter how smart you are, no matter how long you've been writing, every once in a while you will find yourself asking: "Does this word really mean what I think it means?"

2. Thesaurus. A thesaurus allows you to look up words by their meaning, rather than their spelling.  This book is tremendously helpful when you know the meaning of what you want to say, but aren't sure you've found the perfect word. Words are grouped by synonym, so you can easily find less common words to work with.

If you like poetry, I would also recommend picking up a Rhyming Dictionary. It's kind of like a thesaurus, but instead of grouping words by definition, it groups them by sound. Especially helpful when you're looking for a rhyme for "orange."

3. Encyclopedia. The encyclopedia is a fabulous resource for a writer, because the encyclopedia's goal is to provide a little bit of information about as many things as possible. The content is ordered alphabetically by subject, and you can look up everything from biographies of notable world figures, to the history of a particular animal species, or a description of how a technological invention actually works, and much more. There are almost always photos that go along with these short articles, too.

4. Almanac. All kinds of interesting facts and tidbits are contained in this book. Flip through an almanac sometime, and you'll see what I mean. You never know when you will get a story answer. Almanacs are especially useful if you write about historical time periods--you can easily look up the birth and death dates of historical figures, and what they were known for, in addition to plenty of pop culture trivia, like which movies were popular in a given year, or what were the most popular baby names, or what was the market price of different products, or when major brand name companies came into existence. And so much more!

5. Craft Books. Okay, this is not just one book, but a type of book. There are hundreds of books that have been written about how to write well. (Some of them are better written than others.) Here are a few I recommend:

• What's Your Story? A Young Person's Guide to Writing Fiction by Marion Dane Bauer
• The I Love to Write Book by Mary-Lane Kamberg
• The Art of Fiction: Notes on Craft for Young Writers by John Gardner
• Spilling Ink: A Young Writer's Handbook by Ellen Potter, Anne Mazer and Matt Phelan

***By the way...in this day and age, you can find a lot of these resources online, too. It's nice to have a physical book ou can flip through, because you never know what you will find, but definitely also check out online dictionaries, thesauri, and encyclopedias. (Wikipedia does not count, friends! You also need to look for sites that contain published, edited content.)

Monday Musings: "Why do you write for teens?"

Umm...because teens are awesome?? Need I say more?

Apparently I need to say more.

Simply stated, I write for teens because most of my stories are about young people. Who's to say why, really? I would never try to alter or suppress my creative instincts, and these are the stories and characters that come to me first.

But as far as the underlying WHY of it, I do have a few guesses. First, I'm a relatively young writer, so a lot of the life experiences I draw upon when I write are about younger people go through. Writing teachers often tell sutdents to "write what you know," and I do.

I also like the feeling of writing for teen readers. I imagine I can have more impact as a writer with young readers, especially because a lot of the issues I care about and write about are particularly meaningful to explore when you're young: like finding true friendship, relating to your family, and discovering your identity; in other words--figuring out who you are in relation to the world!

In fairness, I have readers of all ages, and you never outgrow these explorations, but it changes over time. I want to inspire young people to think about these things early--the more you know yourself, the more confident you can be as you move through all the challenges that life has in store for you.

In the regular grown-up world, the concept of writing for young people seems to be something you either get, or you don't. Most people who meet me think my job seems cool. Every once in a while, I meet someone who just doesn't get it, and they tend to ask me things like:

• "Are you ever going to write a real adult novel?"
• "Writing for children must be easier. Is that why you do it?"
• "Do you illustrate your own books?"

The answers are:

• Yes, probably. I have some adult book ideas, but, by the way, novels for children are perfectly "real."
• No, it's not easier, and that's not why I do it.
• No. In the first place, I've never published a picture book, only novels. In the second place, I'm not a visual artist. If I ever write a picture book, it'll be illustrated by a professional!

No matter what else happens, I plan to keep writing for children and teens!

Friday Forum: What challenges you?

Some days writing comes easy, and some times it is very hard work. Every writer is different--some of us have more easy days and some of us have more hard ones.  What about you? Do you find writing easy or difficult most of the time?

For you, what is the most challenging thing about being a writer?

Reading in Color

Here is a wonderful teen book blog: Reading in Color.

The blogger, who is a teen herself, started posting reviews of YA and middle grade books about people of color because she felt there wasn't enough of that going on. (She introduces herself and her blog HERE.)

She posts amazing reviews, and definitely has her finger on the pulse of multicultural YA literature.

She's even won awards for her blog, like 2011 BEST TEEN BLOG in the Black Weblog Awards.


Check it out!

Wednesday WordPlay: Emotions

Today's challenge: Write based on emotions.

Thinking about how your character experiences different emotions is very useful for fiction writers. Pick an emotion from the list below (or another of your choosing!) and write from your character's perspective as if s/he feels that way.

If you prefer, you could use this as a journaling prompt, and write a brief reflection about a time you personally experienced this emotion.

You could also choose to create a poem that conveys this emotion.

Here are some emotions to work with:


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ANGUISH

JOY

HEARTBREAK

SHOCK

FRUSTRATION

PLEASURE

CURIOSITY

DISBELIEF



If you're up for an extra special challenge, now try writing a scene (or poem) in which the main character (or the speaker, in a poem) transitions from:

BOREDOM to CONFUSION

HAPPINESS to DISTRESS

ANGER to CALM

Top Five Ways to Create Compelling Characters

The heart of any good novel or short story is its characters. Think about it: When you pick up a novel, you are about to spend a number of hours, days, or even weeks moving through the world alongside these fictional people. Don't you want them to be interesting? Don't you want to feel glad you met them?


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So do your readers!

When you pick up a short story, you may only be in their world a short while, but it still needs to feel worth your time to meet these people, even in passing. So, how do writers create characters who are compelling enough for readers to care about?

1. Get to know your characters, inside and out. Physical descriptions are helpful, but it's not quite enough to just describe what your main character looks like. Your reader needs to know who s/he is, inside.  What does s/he like? What is s/he afraid of? What does s/he want most, deep down in his or her heart? Who are his or her friends?



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2. Look at the world through your characters' eyes. No two people see the world in the same way, even when they're looking at exactly the same thing. The things your character notices about the world depend on his/her personality and interests. A character who loves fashion will probably notice what everyone is wearing. One who works out a lot might notice whether other people are well-toned. A photographer will likely think in visual snapshots, while a sculptor may notice the shapes and textures of things.

This is true for actions (and reactions) as well. For example, what if I held up a red apple in a roomful of people? A hungry person might lick her lips and lean forward. A fearful person might raise up his arms as if I'm going to throw it. A person who just failed her driver's license test might flash back to the red stoplight she almost ran. And so on.



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3. Embody your character. The paper you write on may be flat, but your characters should feel so well-rounded that they are bursting off the page. Go to a quiet room and try walking like your character might walk. How does s/he hold her head? Does s/he swing her arms, or keep them tight at her sides? Does s/he have a long stride, or a short one? Try to speak in his or her voice. (If it feels a bit silly, you're on the right track!)

4. Celebrate your characters' imperfections. No one is perfect. Sometimes we write down our fantasy characters, giving them all the best characteristics we can imagine--we make them courageous, good looking, honorable, talented, self-confident and more. Don't forget It's okay for literary characters to be larger than life, but not flawless. Readers won't believe your character is flawless. Plus, a character without a weakness or two is not going to be able to grow and change and make us worry if s/he will survive.

5. Give your characters unique challenges to overcome. Let who your character is determine what his or her story is going to be. Lots of books are written about romance, for example, yet no two romances are exactly the same because the personalities of the characters give each story a special flavor. Your character may face problems that many other people have faced before him or her--but how s/he responds to those challenges is what makes your story interesting and different.

Monday Musings: "Did you always want to be a writer?"

I often get asked if I have wanted to be a writer since I was a child. The short answer is NO.

If you had asked me (and people did!) back in elementary school what I wanted to be when I grew up, the answer would definitely not have been "writer." Not even for a minute. I even remember telling a friend that I thought creative writing was boring!

I wanted to be a lot of different things when I was younger: a teacher, a doctor, a health educator, a professional ballroom dancer, a summer camp director, a non-profit worker, and probably lots more things, too. I even tried some of them out:

• I was a summer camp counselor for a few years.
• I took pre-med courses for a year and a half in college.
• I performed with a ballroom dance team.
• I became a grantwriter for a non-profit organization.

Today, I'm very glad that I didn't know exactly what I wanted to be when I grew up. Being unsure helped me keep an open mind, and allowed me to try new things. It allowed me to have some great adventures while I was figuring out who and what I was going to become.

I admire people who know what they want from a very young age and pursue their goals for many years. I even remember being a little bit jealous of people like that--people who knew exactly what they wanted their future to look like, and exactly what they needed to do to make it happen. It takes a lot of dedication, persistence and strength to go after what you want most.

It took me a lot longer than some people to figure out my real career goals, but once I discovered how much I love writing, it became a lot easier to focus. I am grateful for all the different hats i've worn in my life, because I know that all of my past experiences are helping me make good stories!