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.

Last Chance to Enter Three Good Things Giveaway

Today is the last day to enter to win Book #3 of the Three Good Things Giveaway. Leave a comment here or guess the book title from the clues for your chance to win a "mystery" middle grade novel. 

The winner of the third book will be announced on Monday.

Cool Blog Quotes

I don't know if you've noticed, but I have a page (and usually a spot on my sidebar) for Cool Blog Quotes. When I'm cruising around reading blogs, I sometimes find something that sticks in my head, either as a great piece of writing advice, or just something that inspires me to do better.

Here's a great one I found recently:

"...we need to surprise the reader. We need to make them see the moon in a different way, from a different angle, so that it will mean something to them again, so it won't just be background. In a way, we have to trick readers into really seeing the moon again."

Jeff Hirsch, Writing Tips: Seeing the Moon for the First Time, The League of Extraordinary Writers, July 20, 2011.

Three Good Things Book Giveaway Continues...and a Winner!

Did you guess the title of last week's "mystery" book?

It was Touch Blue by Cynthia Lord.


Congratulations to Theresa Milstein!

She's this week's winner!


If you didn't win a free book this time, you still have another chance. The giveaway goodness continues!

Today I'm announcing the clues for the third and final "mystery" book in my three good things giveaway.

For a chance to win, all you need to do is comment on this blog post. To make it a little more fun, you can get more chances to win by guessing the book title from the clues below. Are you ready?




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 opening:  "All I've ever wanted is for Juli Baker to leave me alone. For her to backoff—you know, just give me some space."

2. You may have seen this book as a Rob Reiner film, with actors Madeline Carroll and Callan McAuliffe (and the giveaway copy of the book includes photos from the movie).

3. The author of this book wrote The Running Dream (also on my 100 book list this year), is well-known for her girl detective Sammy Keyes, and is an avid runner.



*Remember, all of the books are fresh new copies of ones I've read so far for my 100 book challenge.

The deadline for entering this giveaway is Saturday July 23, 2011.

Writing Tips for Keeping Voice Consistent

Over the past couple of weeks, I've returned to one of my earlier novels to work on bringing out the narrator's voice. One of the biggest challenges I'm finding is keeping it consistent. Sure, there are times when it all flows naturally, but then I read other parts and know they aren't quite there yet.

Some tips that help me create a consistent character voice:

1. Re-read previous sections. By reading over a section of the story where you feel confident you've captured the voice you want, it helps you get the right "sound" for the character's voice into your mind.

2. Think about internal ways your character reacts. Like people, characters have their usual way of reacting or thinking about events. When this comes out in the story, it helps to strengthen their voice. For example, some characters tend to ask themselves mental questions. Others might make snappy interior comments. What does your character do?

3. Consider less common words. When you come to a larger, less common word in your writing, think about why you've used it. Would your character use that word? If not, what would they say instead?

4. Write a note from your character. If you're having trouble capturing your character's voice, try to put yourself in their shoes. Write a letter to another character, explaining any problem (doesn't have to be a problem in your story). This can help you discover the way the character puts words together, without the pressure of thinking about how it fits into the novel.

Do you have any other tips for creating a consistent character voice?

Three Good Things Book Giveaway!

It means a lot to me that you're reading what I have to say. I hope I give you some useful tips for writing once in a while. But, in addition to that, I'm giving back. 

I'm giving away 3 "mystery" middle grade novels, and there are still two more books to give away! You can still enter to win this week's prize! Get your entry in by the end of today!

And watch for my announcement of the winner and the clues for the third book in the contest on Monday.

Learning About Writing from Harry Potter

Last night, I saw the last Harry Potter movie -- what an awesome experience! [Don't worry, I'm not going to reveal anything about it in this blog post.] The Harry Potter series has been such a huge part of my childrens' lives, both through the books and the movies. Even at ages 15 and 12, they still play "Potions class" in the backyard with mysterious kitchen ingredients and potions kits made from spice bottles from the dollar store, and we have an impressive collection of Harry Potter themed Lego. I think we're all a little sad, now that we've seen the last movie. 

I'm always impressed by J.K. Rowling's plotting. There are so many different elements to the plot that are woven through the entire series, and they are mostly all wrapped up by the time the ending rolls around. However, I've never read the Harry Potter books with an eye to learning something about writing, because I get too involved in enjoying the story. (Plus, these books are my daughters' treasured possessions and if I have one too long on my night table, it gets reclaimed.)

But there are lots of places to go if you do want to learn about writing from the Harry Potter series. Here are a few to get you started:

Harry Potter for Writers is an entire blog dedicated to learning from the Harry Potter books.

Writer's on the Brink also has a whole series of posts, Learning to Write by Reading Harry Potter

Editor Cheryl Klein gives us  A Few Things Writers Can Learn from Harry Potter

Maybe now that I've read the series a couple of times, I can read it again with more of an eye towards learning. Have you learned anything from reading any of the Harry Potter books?

****** I appreciate your support for my blog. Don't forget, I'm giving away 3 "mystery" middle grade novels, and there are still two books to give away! You can still enter to win this week's prize! Get your entry in by the end of Saturday! *******