YA Contemporary Month: The Lipstick Laws

So last week's winner

of The Secret Year

is...

E.J!!!

Guess you'll get to read that boy narrative after all. Email me your address and I'll get that sent to you.

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Today's Contemporary YA giveaway is The Lipstick Laws by Amy Holder.

Amy's been kind enough to join us today. Hi Amy. Welcome to Talk Back Thursdays and thank you for agreeing to have a chat with us.

Thanks so much for having me! I love your blog!

Wow! I'm blushing.
Tell us, Amy, where did you get the idea for The Lipstick Laws?

The idea for The Lipstick Laws started with the main character, April. I knew I wanted to write a fun story about the ups and downs of high school, and April’s quirky, self-deprecating, teen angst voice is the first part of the story that came to me. The whole plot evolved while free-writing in her voice and putting her character into what-if scenarios.

The book is very “Mean Girls”, a genre that if not done well, tends to lean into very stereotypical portrayals. How did you keep from crossing the line?

I don’t necessarily think that I avoided stereotypical portrayals within the story. In fact, I purposely played off of stereotypes at times to create some of the humor and over-the-top situations in the book. However, I tried to make the characters well-rounded and three-dimensional by giving them backstories, real teen insecurities, and quirky personalities to bring more depth and interest to their characters and the story. My intention was to push the envelope on playing with stereotypes for entertainment purposes while avoiding the cliché that can be a result of stereotypical portrayals. I hope I achieved that.

Yes, the book is full of insecurities. April, for example is a bra-stuffer. Why did you choose this as her issue? (I’ve never had that particular problem, but I think that most –if not all- teenage girls have something they’re wildly insecure about.)

To be honest, I’ve never had that problem either… and I think that’s part of what inspired me to pick that insecurity for April. It was an insecurity that didn’t hit too close to home for me so I could write about it very candidly without crying into a pillow. It’s also something I think many girls and women can relate to, even if it’s not something they’re dealing with directly.

We all have things that we don’t like about ourselves. Since dealing with insecurities is usually a big part of adolescence, I wanted to give April a relatively common female body image hang-up. I had a very good friend in high school who lamented over her flat chest frequently, so I secretly borrowed that quirk from her (but if I want to stay alive, I will forever keep her name anonymous). The bra-stuffing was just a natural way for April to conceal her insecurity… and it allowed me to add a lot of boobicle cubicle humor to the plot.

Tell us a bit about your publication journey. How did you match up with Sarah Davies?
My path to publication was extremely unconventional! I did things a little backwards… I got published first and found my agent after that. I had every intention of querying agents after writing the manuscript draft of The Lipstick Laws. However, around that same time I happened to make a networking connection at HMH who was willing to pass my manuscript on (and avoid the dreaded slush pile). I delayed querying agents to submit the manuscript directly to the publisher on a whim with my fingers crossed; never imagining anything would come from it. I was surprised and ecstatic when I found out a few weeks later that Houghton Mifflin Harcourt wanted to publish it! I’m still so grateful to say that The Lipstick Laws was never rejected!

As far as how I matched up with Sarah Davies, once I received adaptation interest from a Hollywood producer, I knew I was out of my league and that I needed to find an agent who knows the business and could help guide my career ASAP. I did a lot of research before querying agents and was very impressed with Sarah! She’s been working in the publishing field for 20+ years, she has fabulous international connections, her clients speak very highly of her, and she’s a great person with a fantastic sense of humor (which is very important to me). After she read some of my work, we hit it off on the phone and I was thrilled to accept representation from her. Sarah also introduced me to my film agent, Jerry Kalajian (who is amazing as well)! I feel very lucky to have both of them in my corner.

Speaking of Hollywood, congrats on The Lipstick Laws recently being optioned! Can't wait to see it on screen!

Many of my readers are aspiring writers. Any advice for those of us still in the trenches?
My tips are to practice your writing craft daily, read the genre you want to write, study the publishing market, never give up, and network your tail off (the more people you know in the industry, the better your chances will be to avoid the slush pile). I also think it’s important to be careful not to stifle your own writing by comparing it to other writers’ successes or failures. Always avoid a creative comparison coma by celebrating the uniqueness of your individual writing style and journey.

Thanks for joining us today, Amy. Good luck with The Lipstick Laws!

Thanks again for having me here!! Good luck with your own writing journey!

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To win, answer this: April was a bra-stuffer, what was/is your biggest insecurity in your teen years?
Contest open internationally to followers and non-followers.
Ends Wednesday at 11.59pm EST

A Pantsers Plot!

Today, I'm trying my hand at Road Trip Wednesday, a Blog carnival you can find every week at YA Highway.

The question: are you a plotter or a pantser?

I answered thsi question back in January. Here's a reprint of that post.

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When I was little I wanted to be a scientist.

At some point, reality kicked in and I realised that I hate details and would probably discover the cure for cancer, only to find I hadn't taken note of any of the ingredients.

I did not always want to be a writer. I guess I would have to say that writing kind of followed me around and hit me upside the head until I took notice of it. I mean I was always a reader. I read so much that my primary school teachers would send me on errands to watch me walk and read. And then I started writing poetry when I was bored in classes, which was 97.498% of the time. And then I was introduced to nanowrimo. And lo and behold, the aspiring novelist was born.

Nano introduced me to the online writing community- all of you fabulous semi-imaginary friends- without whom I probably would still be writing "Roses are red" rhymes. And nano also introduced me to the concept of pantsing versus plotting.

That was back in 2008. 2 years and 2 months ago. And while that doesn't seem like that long a time, I feel like I've accrued a lot of knowledge since then. And I can't help but feel a bit misled by the plot vs pants dichotomy. Like its a mysnomer. Or a myth. Or a flat out prevarication. (That's a big word for lie. I was reading Socrates today. In Spanish. lol.)

Because the term 'pants' implies that you know nothing about the novel until pen hits paper (or fingers hit keyboard). And the term 'plot' implies that every twist and turn has been sketched out.

And I kind of wonder if those writers exist.

See, I'm a pantser. I never really have a clue where exactly my plot is going.

BUT

There are things I know beforehand. I always know my characters really well. And even though I may not know the end of the story, certain scenes are as vivid as if I lived them myself. And with each novel (I just finished my 3rd first draft) I find that I know more before I start to write.

I've heard the same thing happens to plotters too. Somewhere along the line, a character reveals something that shocks the socks off the author. Or the plot twists in an unforeseen way. Or the arch-nemesis refuses to lay down and die quietly. And most times, it seeems, the book is a better book for it.

I say all that to say this:

Don't feel like you have to belong to one camp or the other. It's not like pregnancy or death. (I mean have you ever met someone who was a little pregnant or a little dead?) You can be mostly pantser and still lay out your characters. Or brainstorm your plot points. Or make a scene list. And if you're mostly plotter, you don't have to follow the Yellow Brick Road all the way home, if suddenly a Scarecrow appears in the field. It's okay to take a detour. Or 6.

It's the Network!

(Suddenly I wonder if I can be sued for random use of slogans on my blog. Lawyers? Just in case: I've borrowed slogans from Verizon.)

Writing is about networking. This is not a recent thing. Writers have been finding one another and working together before literature was an industry.

THE PERKS

Seeking out and associating with other members of the publishing industry helps you grow as a writer and can even help your career.

1. Industry.

Publishing- especially in the US, and probably moreso in the UK- is still very much a face to face everybody knows everybody industry. You wouldn't expect that a middle manager at one of 6 major companies in any other industry would know a middle manager at any of the other companies. But you'd might be surprised if an editor who'd been in publishing for a while didn't know editors at every one of the "Big 6" publishers. Just like Hollywood, knowing the right people can mean a foot in the door.
(Also, like Hollywood, pissing off the wrong people can mean, "You'll never work in this town again!" Always be professional!)

2. Critiques.

Even if your friends and family are capable of telling you about your baby objectively (and you are capable of hearing it), they just don't have the experience. You need other writers (or even very well-read readers) to give you technical specifics on problems and possible fixes.

3. Support.

Loved ones mean well, but sometimes you need a friend who knows. A friend who understands that there are days when everything that comes out is crap, and days when you just don't feel like for no reason at all. A friend who knows the sting of rejection and how almost really doesn't count. Someone who's had the same pain.

4. Identity.

Let's face it- writers are strange people. We throw off the "typical societal yoke" - things like 9 to 5's and objective professions where x is always good and y is always bad. We prefer instead to work through the nights when everyone else sleeps and be at the mercies of readers' whims.

In the "real world", many writers have to tone it down (at least I do), so that the general populus doesn't run away screaming that we're stark raving mad. But hanging out with other writers means you can be just as off-the-wall as you feel like. Let the good times roll!

HOW TO BUILD IT

So where do you find these editors, agents and writers to be friends with?

1. Attend industry events.

Yes, it can be expensive to go to a conference, but they are worth it. It's the best chance you have of meeting large numbers of editors and agents. (Of course this coming from someone who hasn't managed to attend a writer's event outside Tokyo- the first time I tried, I lost my passport; the next time, Japan had it's biggest earthquake ever.) If you really (really, really) can't go to conferences, try to attend smaller literary events in your area. They've each got an advantage. At large conferences, you'll get to meet more industry professionals. At a small event, you'll have more face time.

2. Join a literary collective.

If you're a young adult writer, subscribe to SCBWI. If you write romance, there's RWA. Any writer may benefit from a Writers' Market or Publishers' Marketplace subscription. ETC. Many of these have websites and forums (fora) where you can meet others. If you can't afford the members' fees, stop by the website and see when they have events in your area. They all have services they provide to non-members.

3. Online forum.

These days you don't have to be near anything or anybody to be a writer- case in point, the city that provides the most visits to my blog every month is in Pakistan! (Hi there, my beloved Pakistani readers!) For YA, there's YALitchat. For general writers there's WD, and Absolute Write.

4. The blogosphere.

Find and follow one writer/agent/editor blog. Comment a lot. Click on links to other blogs. Follow them. Comment some more.

I make most of my writing contacts on blogs. I do interviews fairly often. Most of these are not cold contacts. The interviewees knew me from stalking-er- following their blogs.

Thanks to the bloggosphere I've interviewed a slew of amazing people all around the world. I also met the members of my critique group through blogging. And of course the most fabulous of all, I met YOU! Yes, you, staring at the screen. (lol- that's so Sesame Street, but I couldn't resist.)

WHO TO MEET

1. Agents.

Most educated writers still choose to have an agent. If you're not going to perform all the functions these superheroes do, then you'll need one too.

You'll want to meet agents represent your genre and niche. Read the acknowledgements sections of your favourite books, and look out for those agents at conferences and on the web.

2. Editors.

Consider these guys the Blackwell's of literature. They can tell you what's hot and what's not. Also, they are a step closer to final product than agents, so you can pick up more scoops from them than from a hijacked ice cream truck.

Once again the best place to meet them is at a conference. You can also find many editors online tweeting or blogging. (Aside: When I watched the YA Buzz panel from BEA, I was shocked to realise that I knew some of the editors' other projects from the moment I heard their names! Little unagented me has dream editors. How weird is that?)

3. Writers.

You'll want to meet lots of other writers, but you may especially want to meet writers who:

-have been at it longer than you have (to guide you)
-are on the same level as you (to learn alongside)
-are just starting out (writing is one of those weird fields where helping others helps you)
-write the same genre (they'll understand the conventions and restrictions)
-are extremely strong in an individual component of writing (having a friend who's really good at plot, one who's really good at character, and one who's really good at setting, etc. can help you develop each of these areas.)

4. Readers

Bloggy bud, Tawna, has beta readers who are not writers, only voracious readers. This can help you not get caught up in technicalities and move towards a sense of how well readers react to your work.

Not many people seem to have betas who are not writers, so that choice is up to you. Readers are easiest to find on the bloggosphere or on sites like Goodreads.


Connections are everything in literature. How well-connected are you?

Can you hear me now?

Something to measure by

I worked 3 of the 4 weekends in May. I don't mind though. It was Sports and that's one of the most fun days in the school year.

The first weekend was Sports at Chuugakkou (Junior High School). One of the final events is an all year relay. They make every kid in the year (including Special Ed. but not including the nurse room kids) run in this gigantic relay. The smallest year at my Chuu is 76 kids, so the relays last a while.

We were halfway through the second year's relay (13-14 yr olds) and a teacher walked over and asked me "Who's leading?" The runners were at exact opposite sides of the track. I told her which team was up.

Moments later a kid ran by and the 3rd years who were next to me, in preparation for their own relay, exclaimed, "Hayai!" He's fast. Well he was pumping, that's for sure.

I learned two lessons in that race.

1. Sometimes it's hard to tell which way is good.

One team was half a lap ahead of the other- a really good thing- but at a glance either could have been winning. In our subjective lives and the work we do, which way is up? It should be obvious but it's not.

2. You can't really qualify without comparing.

That kid that ran past when everyone said "Hayai," who's to say he was actually fast? There was noone anywhere near him. His arms and legs were going, but what's to say he was covering any ground. I could pump my arms like pistons and Usain Bolt would still lap me 3 times over 100m.

Fast only exists because of a relative normal and a relative slow. We can't know hoe good things are in a vaccum. You need to compare your work to something. Read lots in your genre. See what's strong in someone else's work, that might not be so strong in your own. Re-read old MSs that make you cringe. See how far you've come.


How do you know when you're ahead? What do you measure by?

It's Monday. That's what's on my mind.

Walk this way

As I walking to school on Wednesday, a car drove past me and stopped. A kid from my main elementary school got out. He crossed the road and went to stand with another kid. I've seen them and a few others walk to school together. All the kids do it here. And since they're all wearing the same track pants, and the really little ones have flourescent yellow caps and bookbag covers, and they walk in a line, I've taken to calling them the ducklings.

I see ducklings every day. There are two groups that walk from that area. And a couple more that come from down the hill. And then there are the groups I see when I go out to tiny school. But I'd always thought the kids walked to school because they had to. Because they're Moms or Dads weren't available to take them.

And seeing that kid get dropped off at a meeting point (and then watching his Dad turn in the direction of the school (a 2 minute drive), I realised that walking to school is probably not optional.

As you move up school years, your position in the duckling line changes. There's always a 6th grader in front, then the kids are organised from first grade up and there's always a 6th grader at the back. So walking to school is a part of your school day and a part of your 6th grade responsibilities as the school sempai.

Another thing this really drove home for me was the universality of the entire process. Your Dad could be the mayor. Or the Head of the Town Council. Or a restauranteur. Or a janitor. It doesn't matter. Everybody walks to school.

That's not the only time that everybody has to do something. Everyone has to take part in the Sports Day. (At home we had Sports too, but only the athletes participated.) Everyone has to take part in souji- the daily cleaning of the school. Everyone does something for the Bunkasai- School Culture festival.

And that in essence is the difference between Japan and the West.

For us, life is about leaving your mark, having a claim to fame, making yourself the best you can be, getting the best job you can.

In Japan, life is about being a part of something. You're a part of your family. A part of your elementary, middle, high school. A part of your school club. A part of your university. A part of the company you work for. A part of Japan.

You can even see it in the way you say your name. Group first, then last name, then first name. Star Wars no Watanabe Ken. From most important to least.

And you don't further yourself. You further your group. Your sempai (elders). Your sensei(teachers).

And it all starts with a line of ducklings learning to walk this way.

YA Contemporary Month: The Secret Year

Congrats to the winner of last's week's giveaway:

SIDRAH!!!

It's in the mail. :) (Or at least it will be as soon as Amazon wakes up. It's about 6 am in that part of the world. lol)

It's YA Contemporary Month (thanks to The Contemps). Every Thursday this month, there will be a YA contemporary book up for grabs. It's international and open to anyone! Good luck!

Today's offering: THE SECRET YEAR by Jennifer Hubbard.

From Goodreads:

Take Romeo and Juliet. Add The Outsiders. Mix thoroughly.

Colt and Julia were secretly together for an entire year, and no one—not even Julia's boyfriend— knew. They had nothing in common, with Julia in her country club world on Black Mountain and Colt from down on the flats, but it never mattered. Until Julia dies in a car accident, and Colt learns the price of secrecy. He can't mourn Julia openly, and he's tormented that he might have played a part in her death. When Julia's journal ends up in his hands, Colt relives their year together at the same time that he's desperately trying to forget her. But how do you get over someone who was never yours in the first place?

I'm embarrassed to admit that this book has been sitting in my bookshelf since it came out. I've picked it up and put it back down several times, because I didn't want to read another sad book about death. I only picked it up last night because of this contest. And then I practically inhaled the book. I'd forgotten the meaning of "page-turner". In fact, this book is so gripping that I took it to class last night and my colleague got thoroughly absorbed in it. In the middle of class!

The summary does a good job of summarising the novel,so I'm just going to share a few points.

5 (not-so) Secrets about THE SECRET YEAR.

1. A boy narrates. WIN!

2. Sex. But not gratuitous. Or vilified. Or glorified. Just another fact of life.

3. It's more about the person who died, than the death itself.

4. Class distinctions.

5. It's about love. All types.

To enter:
Tell us in the comments, did you ever have a secret from the whole world? How did you handle it? (Don't worry, you don't have to tell us the secret!)
Open to everyone, internationally.
Entries close Wednesday at 11.59 pm EST.

Intertwined Plots

Hi lovelies!

If you've been trying to comment on the last couple days posts unsuccessfully, it's because Blogger's been having a conniption. I've temporarily solved the problem, by changing to a Pop-up comment box instead of an embedded one.

And speaking of Blogger and conniptions, anyone else have issues with their Twitter buttons on their blogs?

Today, I'm going to feature intertwined plots.

To my mind, a story has intertwined plots when two or more plots:

are of equal/similar importance or take up equal/similar space in the story

are not entirely independent but drive one another

Plots are of equal/similar importance or take up equal/similar space

A couple years back, ensemble casts (large casts with no 'main' character) came back into style. You can see ensemble casts in tv shows like FRIENDS and in movies like LOVE ACTUALLY, VALENTINE'S DAY and CRASH. Since each character has his/her own life, issues, triumphs, etc, ensemble casts almost automatically give rise to intertwined plots.

Take the movie VALENTINE'S DAY- 19 characters show us what love us in their own different way. Every couple/character has a similar chunk of time in the spotlight. We don't spend half hour with the teen sweethearts and five minutes with the old, married couple.

On the flip, plots may not take up a similar amount of space or time, but are just as important. A few weeks ago I gave away a copy of THE SUMMER BEFORE BOYS. One of my favourite things was the intertwined plot. The "main" plot focuses on how a boy changes the relationship between two best friends. But there are also interwoven chapters about war, and women in war, because Julia's mother is in Iraq. Even though it's not the focus of the story, you can bet that this is every bit as important to Julia as what is going on in the here and now.

The same is true of the movie INCEPTION. It's an action movie and the majority of time is spent in the action plot, building a dream sequence that the team can infiltrate and acheive their goal. But even though it doesn't take centre-stage, Cobb's personal plot - he wants to get home to his children- is just as important.

Plots are not entirely independent but drive one another.

This is the case in CRASH. At first the characters are all seperate and distinct, and so are their individual plot lines, but eventually one character's actions lead to consequences for another character, and the effect keeps rolling towards disaster.

How intertwined plots differ from subplots

A subplot is a secondary or tertiary plot which doesn't (usually) have a major effect on the main plot. In TWILIGHT, it doesn't really matter whether Jessica dates Mike, Eric or Ben, Bella wil remain bewitched by Edward.

A subplot doesn't take up much time/space and happens largely in the background.

A subplot (usually) doesn't drive the main plot.

How does it work?

There is one main thing an intertwined plot needs: a point of connection.

In all of the cases I can think of this point of connection is one of two things: a character or a concept.

In SUMMER BEFORE BOYS Julia has two major things going on in her life. She meets a boy and her mother is in Iraq with the National Guard. These two things are both huge for Julia- she's never noticed a boy before, and there exists a real possibility that she may never say her mother again.

Intertwined plots linked around a concept seem to be more common in film and tv- maybe because of the large number of characters.

CRASH focuses on racism.
LOVE ACTUALLY and VALENTINE'S DAY both focus on love.
FRIENDS (surprise, surprise) focuses on friendship.

What they offer

Intertwined plots go deep.

Plots built around a concept offer a chance to see that concept from many points of view. In CRASH we see different ways in which people can be affected by racism: affluent black people, black people with power over white people, latino people, white people who want to do the right thing, middle Eastern people... An author/screenwriter could have zeroed in on anyone of these tales for a single portrait of what racism means. The difference between a single story and an intertwined plot based on a concept is like the difference between a lecture and a panel discussion.

Plots built around a character offer a chance to get deeper into that character. Characters, like real people, have a lot going on. Writers choose which parts of a character's life they will show to the audience. The advantage of the main-plot/sub-plot structure is that the audience gets more connected to a single issue.But issues don't line themselves up to happen one at a time. Life doesn't wait til you've finished struggle with your female issues to throw race issues at you. For this reason intertwined plots centred on a character can feel more real.

Why do intertwined plots work?

Clearly, I love me a good intertwined plot. But why? More to love.

In the stories built around a concept, you get to see five or ten points of view for the price (and effort) of one. And because there's so much going on, you get to picks the parts you love/agree with, and if there are parts that don't float your boat, they don't take up enough of the pie to make you walk away from the story as a whole. There's more chance that there will be a character who you strongly identify with or can understand. Added bonus: you learn from the characters you don't identify as well with until it's time for your faves to show up again.

In stories built around a character, you can feel lukewarm about one plot, and be pulled in by the other. Or your feelings about one may cause you to be more interested in the other.

Why they fail

I think that intertwined plots are very difficult to do well. This comes partly from one horrible and one passable attempt at writing them. And partly from seeing the result of an almost well-done intertwined plot.

When the focus is on concept, there are multiple main characters. Each of those characters has to be 3-D. They each need lives, problems, aspirations. If it's easy to fail with 3 or 4 secondary characters, it must be a million times easier to fail with 10 main characters.

When the focus is on character, there lies a danger in not developing one (or more)of the plots as well.

In either case, if the point of connection seems too tenuous, then it will feel like the story just runs in a bunch of different directions.

Take VALENTINE'S DAY, the biggest all-star cast in recent history that I can think of, and yet it didn't do that well. It's a movie about Valentine's Day, but the characters had very little connection to one another. So it ended up being like a guy standing outside a grocery store asking random people to tell him about love.

Anyone else out there totally beswotted with intertwined plots?