More Essential Info for Writing Middle Grade

If you write middle grade and you haven't seen this, make sure you check it out: Everything you ever wanted to know about middle grade, the finale over at Dystel and Goderich. In the wrap up to this informative series, editor Molly O'Neil and agent Michael Bourret talk about how to make your middle grade novel stand out. For example:

Molly O'Neill: "A lot of time, it’s the details that make a story memorable. In fact, it’s often those same specific details that we remember, months or years after reading a book, rather than the plot itself."

Michael Bourret: "It’s important to break out of your comfort zones and explore the world. Writers need inspiration, and our increasingly digital world provides opportunities to learn and grow, but it can also become, as Molly so well said, and echo chamber that just reinforces what a writer already “knows.”


Also, do you know about this contest for writers of middle grade?

Children's Writer is having a Middle-Grade Mystery Writing Contest.

Write a fictional mystery that will engage readers 9 to 12, in no more than 900 words. There is a fee of $15 if you're not a subscriber (but then you get to be one for 11 months -- that's good value) and the deadline is April 30, 2012.

Three Good Things Giveaway Winner!

It's been such fun writing clues for the "mystery" book giveaway and giving away free books! I'm almost sorry to see it end. I'll have to do this again sometime. 

Did you guess? The title of mystery book #3 is: 

Flipped! by Wendelin Van Draanen

And, I know you're excited to find out who won. Well, by a random drawing, this time our winner is....

Jen Daiker!


I'm contacting Jen to let her know she's won. Sorry if your name didn't come up, but I hope you had fun playing.

For more fun and games, fellow blogger Susanna Hill is starting a game called "Would You Read It? Wednesday" that sounds like it will be fun. Tune in this Wednesday and check it out.

FYI, I'll be getting back to blogging as usual on Wednesday with a new post my series on The ABCs of Writing Middle Grade Fiction.

GUTGAA Novel and Critique Contest: My First 200 Words

I've been participating in Deana Barnhart's Gearin' Up to Get An Agent blogfest through the month of July, and wow! Have I learned a lot! This is our last week, where we're posting the beginning 200 words of a novel for feedback (you can see what the other participants are writing by checking out the blogfest link). It's nerve-wracking, but exciting.

Here are the first 200 words from my 51,000-word MG novel, The Grand Chef's Apprentice:

At the edge of the trash heap, Maya stood ready to run, her eyes fixed on the huge metal doors on the other side. Scrounging was the worst part of her day. The stench of rot and chemicals blocked the food smells that escaped from the city walls, ruining her game of guessing what they were cooking inside. The stink made it hard for her to imagine what she’d cook, if she had the ingredients. But since she’d turned thirteen, scavenging trash was her job.

Brushing away a buzzing fly, Maya tightened her grip on her gathering bag. She wasn’t about to let a thief take advantage of her small size. The ground trembled as the doors clanged open. The trash machine rolled out, its giant black wheels grinding on the rusty track as it brought the huge metal bin outside the stone city walls. Around Maya, people edged closer, ready to pounce. Maya’s feet twitched. Not yet, she thought. Wait for it.

The side of the bin closest to the doors started to rise, tilting higher and higher. An acidic smell exploded into the air. The contents of the bin poured out. Everyone darted forward, hands grabbing for garbage.

Enter to Win: Three Good Things Book Giveaway!

They say that good things come in threes and I'm celebrating three good things:  reaching 100 followers, the start of my summer holidays, and finishing a solid round of revisions on Novel #4. I'm so excited, I want to pass along the goodness!

I'll be giving away three middle grade books, one "mystery" book a week for the next three weeks. To make it a little more fun, you can get more chances to win by guessing the book title from the clues below. Here's how you can win this week's "mystery" book:

Comment on this blog post. (1 entry)

Use these three clues to guess this week's book prize for 2 extra entries (+2 entries)

1. The first line of the book is: "It looks like a one-winged bird crouching in the corner of our living room."

2. A quote from the main character:  "I like things in black and white. Black and white is easier to understand. All that colour is too confusing."

3. This book won the National Book Award in 2010 and the author's initials are K.E.

*All of the giveaway books can be found on my 100 Book Challenge list for this year.

The deadline for entering to win mystery book #1 is Saturday, July 9, 2011. The title of the mystery book prize (and the winner) will be revealed on Monday July 11th, along with the clues for mystery book #2.

Spring Break...and a Contest!

Since it's spring break, I'm enjoying some bonus writing time and having some family fun. So I'm taking time off from my regular blog posting schedule this week.

In the meantime, check out what some critique group buddies and I did to surprise Debbie Ohi! And enter our contest to win one of Debbie's favourite books!

Is Your Writing a Hobby?

Writing isn't my main job, so it's hard to explain to non-writers. To me, it's not "a hobby" or a "pleasant diversion" when I have free time (like I have any free time anyway). Writing is a necessary part of my life. Kind of like the way I have to read something every day before I go to sleep. When I don't write, something seems missing.

It's hard for me to think of it the same way as scrapbooking or collecting stamps. But I suppose some people are as passionate about those things as I am about writing. Maybe I shouldn't feel so bristly when people call my writing "a nice hobby". For me, it's more like a career, even though I'm not getting paid much for it at present. What do you think? Is writing a hobby for you or do you think of it in a different way?

P.S. There's a great contest over at Deborah Halverson's Dear Editor blog. You could win a substantive edit of your MG or YA novel, so you might want to check it out. The entry deadline is January 31, 2011.

What I Learned This Week

Some of the most interesting and helpful things I learn about writing come from reading other blogs. Here's what I discovered this week:

1. There can be blog contests with surprising twists. I love the Epic contest of Epic YA author Beth Revis is running to publicize her debut novel Across the Universe. I've heard a lot about this book and have been waiting for it to come out. But the contest itself is awesome - there are 100 prizes! If you haven't heard about it, you should check it out.

2. Writing seems so much more focussed when you keep the big picture in mind. This great post by Janice Hardy sums up the two key things you need for a good story: have a hook and be entertaining. And Laura Pauling expands on Sarah Davies' Unique Concept + Voice + Craft. Great stuff to read while revising. It helps keep you on track.

3. I love these tips for creating dialogue by Shannon Whitney Messenger. Definitely will be trying some out.

4. Sometimes you can only get past a tricky place in your novel by making a big change. But it's a good idea to save it with a new file name BEFORE you begin making the changes, just in case you need part of that earlier version. Duh!

5. Holiday treats provide great fuel for late night writing sessions. Sugar rush leads to better thinking, right? (Or maybe not. See previous point.) But I am on track to finish my revision of Novel #4 by the end of December.

Celebrate...And Win!

I have a lot to celebrate! I finally finished the last chapter of my first draft! It's done! Yay! Now my children have stolen it away to find all the things they think I should fix.

If you are a follower of my blog:
As a thank you to my blog followers for their encouragement, I'd like to offer you a "first impression" reaction of the first page (approx 250 words) of your latest MG or YA writing project. To take me up on the thank you, paste your first page into the body of an e-mail, and send it to me at amackca at hotmail dot com by July 11, 2010. In the subject line, please write: first page critique. [Note: I won't open attachments.]

Everyone should check this out:
My critique buddies and I are running an awesome contest to celebrate our new and improved blog! Visit MiG Writers and post a one-line summary of your story to win a critique of your first ten pages by all six of us. Take my word for it, my critique partners dish out some pretty helpful feedback.

"I Made It to 50" Contest Winner

Thanks to everyone who checked out my blog and entered my “I Made It to 50 Celebration Contest”. I got some great suggestions for books to check out for my 100 book challenge.

After a random drawing, the winner is……..

Lindsey!!

I Made It to 50 Celebration and Contest!

I am now halfway through my 100 book challenge! Yay! To celebrate, I'm giving away a copy of Waiting for Normal by Leslie Connor, my 50th read.

I still have 50 YA or MG books to go in my reading challenge, so for a chance to win the book, all you need to do is include a comment with the name of a MG or YA book you recommend.

The contest closes May 30th. Winner will be selected by a random draw.