Please Vote for Me!

Posted by Susan Kaye Quinn:
Here's a summary of my WIP, a young adult paranormal novel called OPEN MINDS:

Although everyone now reads minds, sixteen-year-old Kira Moore can't and never will. When she almost kills her best friend by accident, she discovers she can control the minds of others and is torn between passing for normal and exposing the hidden pushers of her world.

I've submitted OPEN MINDS to a query contest on YAlitchat (a great gathering place for YA writers). Voting is open to the public and will determine who makes it to the Top 10 round to be judged by agents and editors. The winners will receive critiques, manuscript submissions, and agent consults.

Those prizes are like gold! But I need votes to get into the Top 10!

Please Vote Here for my entry by clicking the VOTE tab for OPEN MINDS!

You don't have to be a member of YAlitchat to vote - you can just click on the VOTE tab by OPEN MINDS and you're done! Voting ends October 31st, but unlike Chicago politics, you are only allowed to vote once!

Thanks so much!!

How To Write a Book or More a Year

At a recent writing conference, a prolific writer offered her advice on how to get a book written in a scandalously short amount of time.

And here’s the magic answer.

Know your weaknesses.

Do you accidentally surf the net? Go shopping? Polish the hardware? Check out the software?

What is it that stops and sidetracks you? Well stop THAT and take notes on your weaknesses. Make a plan to counteract each one. Make a plan that works to keep YOU writing. (Everyone will have a different plan.)

I like that. I know my problem now. I’m actually sidetracking because Scribbler’s Cove is one of my weaknesses.

My plan? Post this and get back to work. See you when I’ve met my writing goals!

The Perfect Climax

As I hash out the outline for my next project, I'm struggling to come up with the perfect climax.

My favorite climax in a book, ever, has to be from "Ella Enchanted." It was so good that as soon as I got to the last page I turned back a couple chapters to read it again.

See, Ella has three problems. She has this curse that forces her to do whatever someone tells her to do. And she has a prince she's madly in love with who wants to marry her, but if she says yes then she knows someone will figure out how to use her curse to hurt him. This brings us to the third problem - the whole kingdom will be in danger if their new queen has this curse on her.

And then, the prince says, "Ella, say you'll marry me."

I won't tell you what happens next, but all these problems, the internal conflict, the interpersonal conflict, and the great big epic conflict come together and BAM! We have an amazing climax.

Something similar happens in Lord of the Rings. Frodo has three main problems. He's got this internal struggle against the Ring that is trying to turn him to evil. Then he's got Gollum after him. And then he's got the problem that if he fails the whole world is going to go down in flames.

At the climax, it looks like the first two problems get the better of Frodo, and we fear the third is soon to follow. But then chance steps in, Gollum goes over the cliff, and the world is saved.

I liked Ella's climax better. In that one, she does all her own fighting.

There's any number of ways these layers of conflict can play off each other at a climax. Sometimes one gets resolved earlier in the story, sometimes there's mixed wins and losses. But I think my favorite kind of climax requires a character to overcome an internal conflict, which in turn allows the character to overcome the interpersonal conflict and the broader conflict.

I know this is only one of many ways to look at a climax. What are your favorite ways to look at it? How do you create the perfect bang at the peak of your plot?

How NOT To Pitch To An Editor

Hey everyone, our contest it still going. Click here to see the details about winning awesome prizes including free books, amazing art, and a Barnes and Nobel gift certificate. Now on to the post.

I just woke up from one of the scariest dreams I've ever had--and that's saying a lot. I've lived through gruesome explosions, backed over my own child, and killed my best friend with my bare hands. (I may be a little disturbed, just saying.) But this dream was one of the worst. It went something like this.

I drove to the office of a famous editor to pitch my book. Why? because that is so how it's done, right? You just decide to drop by and tell them about your amazing story. Yeah, sure. Anywho, I sauntered into the office and stared at the mountains of slush piled everywhere. It was like I had stumbled onto the set of Hoarders, but worse somehow, because these manuscripts weren't empty pizza boxes, they were the life-time works of wanna-be writers. They were people's souls trapped in slush piles. (And yes, I can be dramatic, it's a dream.)

So, as I stood there, lost amidst the slush, the editor walked out and saw me. At fist she thought I worked for the post office. At least she did until I introduced myself and the purpose behind my visit, then she acted surprised. Weird, huh? But being a professional, she called her assistant and asked him to find my submission.

Now, this surprised me, because I hadn't submitted anything. I was going to pitch in person and make an awesome first impression. Right? Wrong. Oh so very wrong.

The assistant came out in about five seconds carrying a folder with my name on it. My name. I got excited. Somehow they knew about me! This was good right? You guessed it, wrong. Again. Are you sensing a pattern here? I am.

The editor opened the folder, and there, nestled inside, lay my submission. I stared. I think I even started to cry. Why? Was it my finished novel all professional and beautiful...and finished? No. It was my torn and battered first brainstorming notes ripped from a spiral notebook with the little hanging chad things flapping in the breeze from the air conditioning vents.

If it's possible to die in a dream and have it kill you in real life this would have done it. I stammered, then I stammered again. Then she started to read--out loud--from my "novel". I figuratively died again. It was bad. Oh so very, very bad. And the whole time, I just stood there and thought, How did you get this? How did my notes fall into your evil hands?

Then she turned the page and showed me the drawings. Little sketches of big scenes in the book. It was like some demented kindergarten teacher reading the world's freakiest horror book, because it was the death of my future. I knew deep inside that this one submission had blackballed me in the writing world. They all knew who I was. I looked down and saw, written beside my name on the folder tab, LEISHA MAW--THE CRAZY ONE.

I tried to leave, but my family showed up--all the kids, the hubby, the cats. They all came to tell the editor how much they loved my book, and that's why they'd sent in a copy without telling me. Only they sent the wrong one. Ha ha. Funny joke.

The editor sicked her dog on us. We tried to flee, but the stacks of slush toppled on us and buried us alive.

So, when you pitch to an editor, don't do that, and don't die. That's about all the wisdom I can share with you. Use it wisely.

Leisha Maw--The Crazy One.

A Snoring Imagination

During this morning’s frenzy to get the kids up and off to school, I happened to see my son sprawled on the couch, arm folded over his eyes, snoring. As in ‘sawing a log’. He had some volume going there. Pretty impressive.

Now this might not seem abnormal, except for the fact that not ten seconds earlier, he was bouncing around like a super-ball on Red Bull. This kid was NOT asleep.

So, intelligent mother that I am, I asked, “What are you doing?”

He sat up grinning and said, “I just wanted to know what it felt like to snore.”

That cracked me up.

And then I stopped and thought about it. You know what? I don’t know what it feels like either. I don’t think any of us really know.

Yes, we may snore. Yes, we may live in the same house with some one who snores (or if you’re lucky enough – multiple some ones), but we really don’t know what it feels like. After all, the second you wake up, the snoring is over.

Is it a belly tingling rumble that shakes walls? An ear piercing mosquito whine? A painful, racking buzz? A sputtering death rattle? What does that feel like?

All right, all right. I know I’m going waaaaaaaaay out in left field here, but that’s what writers do. We try to imagine everything—snoring included—and then translate the sights, sounds, sensations and smells into the written word.

So, I have a question for you. Do you REALLY know what it feels like to snore?

Contest Ahoy!

It's contest time here at The Scribbler's Cove. So how do you enter? Simple: leave a comment below!

Want extra entries?
+1 for each time you tweet about the contest [Limit 5 times for a total of +5 points]*
+2 Put The Scribbler's Cove on your sidebar
+2 if blog about the contest [Limit of 2 for a total of +4 points]*
+2 Share it on Facebook [Limit of 3 times for a total of +6 points]*
+2 [for each friend] Get a friend to follow and leave a comment with who sent them [here there be no limit]
+2 If you are a New Follower
+1 add up your total

*These extra entries will only count one extra entry in that category per day.

Here be the rules (not merely the guidelines): 
Please tab up your own score and update the total for us at the top of your comment. We'll even give you +1 entry if you do that for us! Also, make sure you give us links to verify, or put @chersti in your tweets.

Contest starts NOW and ends Friday, October 15 pacific standard time.

We will draw four lucky winners -- here's the booty to be won: 

[1st prize] A signature stamped copy of Mockingjay, the final book of the wildly popular Hunger Games series. Suzanne Collins will be coming to Susan's hometown on Monday, so she will get a signed copy and send it to the lucky winner.

[2nd prize] An 8 x 10 giclee print of Macaw parrots by Jonene Ficklin, entitled "Soaring through Paradise"

[3rd prize] $15 gift certificate to Barnes and Noble

[runner up] The Gardener by S.A. Bodine  and a pirate eyepatch


 **Sorry, mateys, but this here contest is only open to U.S. and Canada residents**

Ban This Book (It Will Really Boost Sales)!

Another post celebrating Banned Book Week

In high school one of my friends had his own garage band, and my favorite song they did was called, "Ban This Record (It Will Really Boost Sales)." As teens we were well aware of the irony that banning something marked it as controversial, and therefore interesting, especially to anyone who wanted to seem free-thinking or rebellious.

Controversial is one thing, toxic is another.

Over the summer I attended a writer's workshop where our teacher told us that the film industry has made a science of manipulating people. They know where to put the humor, the drama, the violence, the sensuality, the horror, etc., in order to extract the most money from the wallets of the audience. As I listened to this, my eyes got bigger and bigger and finally I raised my hand to say, "You make it sound like this is all about making money. I believe that entertainment has the power to help people or to hurt people. Is there anyone out there who cares about that?"

"There's a lot of pirates and gangsters out there," he said, "But there are a few who care about making good art."

That's not what I asked. I want to know, do they care what it does to people?

In the past year, two of my dear friends had their marriages destroyed by pornography. I've seen up close what a sexual addiction can do to a man's personality. The people who sell that stuff don't care that they're hurting others, no more than the people who sell crack or meth care. Some things are too dangerous to play around with. Some things shouldn't be left out where anyone can find them and get into trouble.

Some books should be banned. I would like to trust the human race enough to say that no one would write a book that would hurt other people, but whether out of hate or lust or greed or ignorance, toxic words are published.

Question is, where to draw the line?

When my daughter was five, her best friend came over to our house one day, looked up at our prized collection of Harry Potter hard-covers, and said, "I thought you were Christians."

"We are," I said, wondering where this was coming from.

"Then why do you like Harry Potter? It's about witches and evil."

Oh. "Your parents told you that?" She nodded. "Have they read it?" She shook her head. "I want you to respect what your parents tell you, but I've read Harry Potter, and the magic in it is silly magic, like in Cinderella. You've watched Cinderella, right?" she nodded. "The magic in Harry Potter is bibbity-bobbity boo magic. Make-believe. When they talk about witches in the Bible they mean something entirely different."

There's a whole spectrum of toxicity out there, and in my opinion, Harry Potter falls at the "mostly harmless" end of it. I've only read the first of the "Twilight" books, and as a mother I didn't like the way Bella broke some fundamental safety rules of dating and got away with it, but I told my daughter she could read it if she wanted to, and then we'd discuss it afterward.

There are other books that I have banned at my house. "Captain Underpants," for example.

Which brings me to another point. What does it mean if a book is banned? It means that we, as a society, or a school district, or a library, or a parent, DO NOT APPROVE OF THIS MATERIAL. It sends a message, helps define the boundaries. I think boundaries are good, but they should not be posted ignorantly.

There's a difference between being offended and being harmed.

Some of the books I was assigned to read in high school English class made me uncomfortable, and so I would ask for alternate reading assignments. I'm very sensitive to foul language--it makes me feel like someone is blowing craters in my brain--so I traded "Of Mice and Men" for "Lord of the Flies," and loved it. One of my friends couldn't believe I did that, because in her mind "Lord of the Flies" was a horrible disgusting violent book and "Of Mice and Men" was great literature.

One book had offended me, the other had offended my friend. That was a huge eye-opener for me. Someone I liked and respected had a completely different reaction to the same two books. I don't think either book should have been banned simply because certain people found them offensive. It was good for my friend and I to be able to make choices about what we wanted to and didn't want to read.

But when does offensive become harmful? Harmful enough to take a book off the shelf?

This discussion will never be over. Should all offensive things be banned? No. Should all offensive things be allowed? No! This discussion will never be over.

So let's discuss it.