The Offspring Passed Her Learner's Permit Test SO... You Tell Me...

So, the cuteness poll will be back on Friday for official voting. I figured it was silly for you all to see three posts with puppy cuteness. Although now that I think about, puppy cuteness is a pick-me-up.

To fill in hump day, I've got a You Tell Me.

The Offspring turned 15 last month. Yes, I feel old. Yesterday she took her learner's permit test.

*bites fingernails*

Yes, she passed. YAY!!! Uh, I think.

She officially starts driver's education on Monday, which is when she can "officially" drive with me.
*chews fingernails plum off*
*calls the Dr. for some chill-pills*
*has a panic attack in the meantime*
*wants to rewind about five years*
*maybe ten years*
*faints and wakes up in a year when she's learned to drive with someone else*

This is an important milestone in her young life. And mine! *gray hairs sprout all over my head*

So I want you to tell me about an important milestone in yours. It can be writing related, family related, worked related, life related. Tell me something that made you step back and say, "Wow. Just wow."

I'm listening...

~JD

PS! Don't forget about my EPIC contest happening right now! See below. And don't forget to come back on Friday where the Offspring and I let the blogosphere decide which one of us has the cutest dog. *giggle*

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The cuteness poll: Puff vs Macy

If case you don't know, I've got four dogs. Yes, four. Yes, I'm crazy.

One of the dogs belongs specifically to the Offspring. She begged for it. She picked out. She potty trained it. She takes care of it. It follows hers. It sleeps with her. It loves her. 

One of the other dogs is solely mine. It loves me, and pretty much only me. It has to be where I am. It has to sleep with me. You know how this goes. 

I, personally think my dog is the cutest. The Offspring thinks her dog is the cutest (she actually calls my dog ugly!). I think she's just mad because my dog doesn't like her. Anyhoo, I've decided that we need a clear "who is the cuter dog" winner, with all bragging rights going to the to the cutest dog's owner. :-) 

Today I'm going to show you pics of both dogs when they were puppies. Because hey, ALL puppies are cute! Then on Wednesday I'm going to show you what they look like now. And on Friday, we're going to have a poll. Cutest dog take all. 

Let's roll: 

(oh, in the interest of fairness, I'm not going to tell you who belongs to who.)

PUFF vs MACY 

First up, Macy: 

Next up, Puff:

Personally, I have to say they are both pretty freaking adorable as puppies! Come back on Wednesday to see what they look like NOW. And VOTE on Friday!! Bragging rights are on the line, peeps! BRAGGING RIGHTS!! 

~JD 

PS...have you seen my contest? Win a hundred bucks! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Overall Conference Tips

Welcome back Kay Evans for her final guest blog on Conference Tips! Take it away, Kay!.


To wrap up these guest posts on Justine’s blog, I wanted to share a few stories/tips I gained from the conference I attended. Learned a lot, and I would suggest attending one if you can. Don’t forget, there’s always the free/online WriteOnCon conference – http://writeoncon.com/ -- coming up too, perfect way to “attend” a conference during a tough economy.

1. For those of you considering attending a regular conference (as opposed to an online one), I would suggest approaching/pitching agents your first day there. When I attended the WLT conference, I was thinking Day Two would be best for this. My thought process: Let everyone get settled in, and (frankly) let myself get comfortable. Not the best strategy. Day Two was packed with so many workshops, seminars, pitch sessions…by the time I got a chance to speak with agents at the end of the day, they were tired (with good reason) and had already been pitched to by probably a hundred people each. I was able to close out the day on a good note (request for partial on my book), but my strategy would have been much more effective on Day One.

2. I had the pleasure of chitchatting with one agent for about half-an-hour on Day Two, but not about my book. Just publishing in general, even his hobbies. At one point, he pulled out a tiny pamphlet, and I think we could all learn something from it.

Here’s how our conversation went (this is from my memory, and I’m really more or less paraphrasing, but you’ll get the gist):

Agent: (pulls out tiny pamphlet from pocket) A writer came up to me today and gave me this.

Me: Oh, yeah? What is it?

Agent: I don’t know. The woman handed it to me and said, ‘I’m not going to pitch to you, I’d just like you to read this when you have time.’ Let’s take a look, shall we?

(Agent opens miniature pamphlet, I peer over his shoulder.)

Agent: It’s information on her book. (agent squints, unfolds pamphlet—it’s several pages long with itty bitty print)

Me: Huh. Well, that’s a cool idea.

Agent: (shakes his head) Too much information. I don’t have time to read all of this. Here. Look at this. (points to the title of the book) Even the title’s too long. Keep it short, simple. That sells better. And look at this. (points to copyright symbol and date next to the title)

Me: 2006?

Agent: Yeah. That tells me she’s been shopping this book around for four years. (agent folds pamphlet and replaces in pocket without another look)

3. As I mentioned before, I had a twenty minute editor critique my final day at the conference. Here’s how it worked: I emailed my first 5 pages ahead of time, and then the editor (from Chronicle Books) went through it on her own time and edited it. We discussed her edit during the critique session, and I learned so much from her in the short time we met.

The first thing I noticed was she marked out most of my dialogue tags and replaced them with the action itself. Example:

Original: “You don’t understand a goddamn thing!” I shrieked, throwing my hand in the air. “My dad never said anything about going to Romania!”

Her edit: “You don’t understand a goddamn thing!” I threw my hand in the air. “My dad never said anything about going to Romania!”

So she removed the “I shrieked” and just left the action itself to show what my character was doing.

Another suggestion she had was a bit more description and/or action worked into my dialogue. I had eliminated a lot of this because I read in a writing guide that it’s good to have sequences of dialogue without anything attached to it. I removed the descriptions from the wrong places, though. For instance, one person my main character meets is (in the editor’s words) a “real schmuck.” She said that would be a good time to show the schmuck, let the reader know what he looks like, what actions he’s doing as he’s being all schmuck-like.

I could give you a ton of examples where she eliminated the dialogue tags and simply put the action after or in front of the dialogue, or where she told me to add a bit more description. I’ve been working on my manuscript, and as I’ve made these types of changes, I’ve noticed it feeling stronger. There’s always a fine line to walk with these things, but I think I’m beginning to find it.

Finally, the editor told me something that really stuck with me. I don’t know why, but it was like a light bulb clicked on in my brain. She said, “I can always tell when I’m reading a good manuscript, because I forget that I’m editing it and just fall into the story.”

I hope this information has been helpful for everyone. Great guest blogging on here, Justine! Thanks so much for having me!

Thank you, Kay for sharing your conference stories/information/tips with all of us! Don't forget to stop by her blog. ;-)

~JD

And also, don't forget to enter my contest. It's never been so easy to win A HUNDRED bucks! 

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Conference Tips: Building a Better Beginning

Welcome bloggy peeps! I've dug in the archives to bring you some WONDERFUL conference tips from  Kay Evans! Today she tells us what she learned about Building a Better Beginning. (This is important, peeps!) Here we go: 

One of the workshops I attended at the WLT Conference was “Building a Better Beginning,” hosted by Brandi Bowles of Foundry Literary + Media. I’ve struggled with the beginning of my story, so this info really helped me. I hope it helps all of you.

First, Brandi had us answer some questions about who we’re writing for (our audience), explaining that knowing these things is helpful in “brainstorming how to open your book.” I want to cut right to the good stuff here, so if you’re interested in seeing those Q’s, they’re on my blog.

Next, THE LEAD – Writing your opening scene (things to keep in mind):

-The purpose of the lead is to excite interest or build curiosity.
-It is NOT to convey background information, but to get the ball rolling, beginning the momentum that will carry the reader through the book.
-The first page must make an implicit promise that something interesting will happen or be revealed.
-Begin with a gripping image or arresting statement that alludes to your novel’s main theme.
-Use colorful language for maximum impact.
-Strive for optimum clarity, tone, emotion, and conflict.
-Do not let your audience stray far from your mind.

Brandi then had us create an Action Plan. I’ve posted the Action Plan questions on my blog too, that way we can get right to the meat of her workshop here.

Brandi provided a list of potential ways to open a novel and had us do a simple exercise. If you’re struggling with your beginning, I encourage you try it on your own, or with a writing partner where you can bounce ideas off each other (like we did in the workshop).

Decide which method you’re currently used for opening our novel, then choose 3 DIFFERENT ways to open it. From there, brainstorm and redraft our opening using those 3 new/different ways.

-Narration (Call me Ishmael.)
-Action (murder, chase, sex, explosion)
-Action’s aftermath (Barbara cried, cleaning the blood off her car…)
-Character Sketch (describing one of the characters)
-Setting (Brandi wasn’t too keen on this one)
-Zooming in (Once, in a town, there was a store, and in that store was a man…)
-Zooming out (The light glinted off the dog dish sitting in the kitchen…)
-Dialogue
-Discovery
-Decision-making
-Journey/errand
-Foreshadowing the ending
-Koan (which is, apparently, a riddle – Brandi suggested we avoid this)
-Letter or Diary Entry (she wasn’t keen on this either)
-Waking up (she said to avoid this type of opening)

So, if you’re currently using Narration to open your book, you might want to try Action, Action Aftermath, or Dialogue. Many of the writers in the workshop (me, included) were surprised by the results of the exercise.

Finally, Brandi provided us with an editorial checklist. It’s a long one, but it has some great info. I’ve listed the top 10 that helped me most:

1. Does the opening set up a compelling question the reader will want answered?
2. Have you punctured your scene with attention-grabbing details?
3. Are you using trite phrases, clichés, or deliberately using unusual words?
4. Do all your pronouns (his, she, this) refer to the appropriate noun?
5. Is the prose fluent, varied in rhythm, and suitable in tone to the type of story you’re telling?
6. Do you avoid superfluous dialogue tags? (*NOTE: Brandi said she has a 3-strike rule, and this is one of them. It’s a strike if she sees too many superfluous dialogue tags – he exclaimed, she implored…instead of just – he said, she said, he asked, she asked.)
7. Are you, as narrator, intruding on the story through witticisms or editorializing it?
8. Are there hints of foreshadowing?
9. Does each character have a clear personal agenda?
10. Does at least one of the characters share traits with your primary audience?

Hope this is as helpful for all of you as it was for me! Let me know if you have questions.

Next week, I’ll be sharing just a couple quick stories about general things I learned at the conference, particularly from an editor who gave me a twenty-minute critique session on my first five pages.

Wow...now that was some good information! Thanks again Kay! Make sure to stop by Friday when I post the overall conference tips! HAPPY HUMP DAY!!!

~JD

OH, and did you enter my contest yet? NO? *gasp* 

YOU COULD WIN $100!!! AND IT'S SUPER EASY!!! 

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Conferences: Verbal Pitches

Since it's Conference season, I thought I'd dig up some old posts that discuss some of the most important parts of what to do when you are there. If have a book, you want to get it seen, right?? YES! So let's look back at a week of guest posts from Kay Evans who attended the WLT Agent Conference Last year. Here goes: 

Thanks for having me, Justine!

I recently participated in a pitch workshop at the WLT Agent Conference. We worked on verbal pitches since that was how we’d pitch agents at the conference. But I think some of the concepts are likewise applicable in other ways (e.g. query letters). Plus, you never know when you’ll need to pitch your book on the spot — you might meet someone whose sister is an editor, or whose dad is a literary agent. You want them to remember you, remember what your book’s about (in a good way), so I think it’s best to be prepared with a quick verbal pitch. Hope this info is helpful!

We worked on the Elevator Pitch in the workshop. I’m sure many of you know what that is, but for those who don’t here’s a link that talks all about it: http://ghostwriterdad.com/write-elevator-pitch/. You’ll want to find the HOOK of your story, and include it in your Elevator Pitch.

Laurie McLean (literary agent who hosted the workshop, she’s with Larsen Pomada) suggested we include comparative titles in verbal pitch situations. Here are some of the pitches Laurie listed in the handout she gave us:

TWILIGHT meets HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL
A HANDMAID’S TALE meets THE HUNGER GAMES
SHERLOCK HOLMES in the Australian outback.
GONE WITH THE WIND in 1980’s South Africa.

Comparatives are a quick way to give an agent/editor a clear idea of what your book is about. I’ve heard mixed things about this with query letters, though. I’ve seen where agents say don’t include a comparative (they want to know your work is original). Some say use comparative titles but only books, not movies, while other agents love movie comparatives. So before you include comparative titles in a query letter, definitely research the agent (but I know Justine’s readers are brilliant and already do this!).

Also (and this is Justine....sorry for butting in), if you are doing the comparison to another book, make sure the comparison is 100% accurate (even with the verbal pitch). Many agents have blogged/tweeted/ranted about this issue. Do NOT compare your writing or plot to another story unless you are absolutely, positively certain the comparison is accurate. 
One final note: Laurie said our goal in pitching (whether it be verbal or in a written query letter) should be getting “the agent to ask to read some of your writing.” Simple as that. Basically, all a writer has to do is say enough, give enough info (make sure to include the HOOK), so that the agent feels compelled to read a few pages. From there, it’s all about the manuscript.

For more details on Laurie McLean’s pitch workshop (and what Laurie suggested for my own verbal pitch, which was initially pretty horrible), visit my blog. or drop me an email.

Thanks Kay for stopping by! I'll post another snippet of SUPER important information she learned at the writers conference on Wednesday!
~

OH, have you seen my contest yet? NO? *gasp* You could win ONE HUNDRED BUCKS by doing only ONE of TWO things. CHECK IT OUT HERE.

Have a great week all!

JD

Random Giveaway!!

Because we ALL love giveaways!! #RockOn!

And this one is SUPER easy. SUPER SUPER easy. 

1 Prize: 

One Hundred Bucks

(via gift card to your place of choice)

And you can do one of two two things to win it:

Review one of my two books on Amazon or Goodreads

OR

Tweet, Facebook, Blog about one of them (or both!) or me!

It's simple. Check out the Rafflecopter below to enter.
The contest runs through July 7th, which means you have plenty of time to gain entries!

BONUS: If I get OVER 200 entries, I DOUBLE the amount of money!! O_o

Enter. Spread the word.

Oh, and have a great weekend! 

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#Omnilicious Twitter Party & Blog Hop!!

YOU'RE INVITED!!

 

What: A Twitter Party with Omnific Authors!

When: Friday May 31, 2013

7:00 PM EST

Where: Well, Twitter!

That's right, Omnific is throwing a party, and you the readers get to be the ones who have a chance to win a present. How? You ask... well here's what you need to do to win one of four ebook prize packs: Follow the links to the Authors blogs and collect the numbered letters for the secret word. As soon as you’ve worked out the word, enter the word and your twitter handle into the form. Entries are open from the day before the party and close at the end of the party when winners will be announced. 

HERE IS THE LETTER FROM JD (me!) 

Ebook Packs up for winning -

Young Adult Pack

Reaping Me Softly by Kate Evangelista

Ember by Carol Oates

Shades of Atlantis by Carol Oates

Embrace by Cherie Colyer

New Adult Pack

Streamline by Jennifer Lane

Poughkeepsie by Debra Anastasia

Three Daves by Nicki Elson

Eve of Samhain by Lisa Sanchez

Contemporary Adult Pack

All-American Girl by Justine Dell

Recaptured Dreams by Justine Dell

Cocktails & Dreams by Autumn Markus

Pieces of Us by Hannah Downing

Cat O’ Nine Tails by Patricia Leever

With Good Behavior by Jennifer Lane

Paranormal Adult Pack

Divine Temptation by Nicki Elson

Blood Vine by Amber Belldene

Crushed Seraphim by Debra Anastasia

Seers of Light by Jennifer DeLucy

Divinity by Patricia Leever

Grave Refrain: A Ghost/Love Story by Sarah M. Glover

Make sure to check out the links below to find those letters on our author's blogs.