moving to Wordpress

hi there,
This will be my last posting on thie blogger site. I've decided to move to WordPress since it's got more flexibility and options. I hope to play a bit with video and audio. I tell you, the technologies are excitiing. So, if you're looking for me, you can find me at www.karijones.ca. See you there.

The Next Book

Time to move on to the next book. It's strange to leave one world behind and sink into another, but then that's the joy of being a writer. I'll let you know how this one goes.

Zen and the art of reading book reviews (when they don't like your book)

Storm Tide just got it's first bad review. I won't go into detail, since I'm not into self flagellation, but let's just say this reader won't be picking up my next book in a hurry.

So what's a gal to do? How does one respond to such a thing? I mean I don't have to respond to him actually, he's somewhere in Florida, thank goodness, a whole continent away, but I mean in my heart, how am I to respond?

My first reaction was to give him the finger (figuratively, of course), but now I'm not sure where to go from there. Maybe he has something valuable to say. Maybe there's something in his dislike for the book that can teach me something. Hmmm... maybe I'm not ready to move on to that reaction yet. Give me a day or two of sticking him the finger.

I guess it was inevitable that someone wouldn't like my book. Maybe many people won't, but that's not going to stop me is it? Surely not. Maybe I'll just ignore it, turn that page and move on to the next project (with a quick review of positive reviews to bolster me first). And while I'm at it I'll practice the art of being zen about bad book reviews. Ommmmmmm.....

Usher and Akon

I went to an Usher concert the other day. Let me set the stage for you. Vancouver and it's pouring rain and my son, our friend and I and, oh about 20 thousand other people stream onto Rogers stadium. We all find our seats ( yes we were sitting apart-who wants embarrassing old mum sitting next to them after all) and the concert started. At first two men and a turntable came on and I thought did we come all the way to Vancouver for this? But then Akon came on and the crowd exploded and all was good. Favourite moments? When Akon put on a Canucks jersey and the crowd exploded. When Usher rode a platform across the arena in a space man's suit and watching my boys have the time of their lives. Worse moment? When Usher dripped sweat all over the girl he brought up on stage. Is Usher sweat worth more than most people's. She seemed to think so, but oh yuck.

Two Weeks Two Launches

In the past two weeks I’ve launched Storm Tide twice, once with Jodi Ludgren, and once with 8 other Orca book writers. They were both fun, and what I learned about book launches is that they’re really an excuse to see all kinds of friends who you don’t normally get to see, but like at weddings, you don’t get a chance to spend much time with them. So thanks so much to all of you who came out to either of the launches, and I hope we get more time together soon.
What I loved most about both events was listening to other writers’ stories about how their books came about and their writing or illustrating process. I had no idea how labour intensive illustrating graphic novels is!
It was also really fun to talk about my own writing process, and to read from my book. My favourite moment: when my seven year old friend came up to me and said, “You made me want to read your book.” Yahoo.

The First Reader

This week, for the first time, I gave the manuscript of a novel I’ve been working on to a reader. Wow, what a moment. Like walking off a precipice you can’t turn back from. There’s no pretending now. No saying, I’m not really working on this thing, it doesn’t really matter. It’s a manuscript now. A book in the making, not some notes and scenes I’m messing around with.
A big step yes, but I chose my reader carefully. I wanted someone who was an astute reader, but not a writer. Someone who could read with enough distance from writing to be a reader, but enough knowledge to be able to articulate their thoughts about the book to me. I didn’t want someone who’d just say, “it was great” or someone who’d day “I hated it, I don’t know why.” I needed someone who’d say I liked this part but not that, and here’s why. Someone who’d care enough to tell me the truth, and to take the time to tell me gently.
So who’d do all that? My husband of course. He reads voraciously. More than I, even. And he loves YA, which is what I’ve been working on. He was the perfect choice and he told me all the things I already knew but had been hiding from, plus a whole lot of other things. He honed in on the places where I wasn’t sure, as a writer, where I hadn’t quite made up my mind. He found the places I’d skipped over details because I didn’t quite know what I was trying to do. He took a look at the big arc of the story and found the places I hadn’t filled in. He told me when my characters knew too much or not enough. Wow, he gave me enough feedback to start editing again, this time with purpose, with direction.
So thanks Michael. Your input was invaluable. My next reader’s going to be writer Laurie Elmquist, who’s fine eye will catch even more detail. I’m intimidated already at the thought, though I know it’s necessary. But I’m also encouraged, because I know how empowered I feel right now to continue with this project.

Ode to Victoria's Indepentent Book Stores

Author Jodi Lundgren and I took ourselves on a book tour today. We visited independent bookstores in Victoria that sell children’s books, and introduced ourselves as local children’s writers. I was nervous! Were we about to make fools of ourselves? First stop was Cadboro Bay Book Company, and boy am I glad we started there. We gathered our nerve and said, “We’ve come to introduce ourselves. We’re local authors, and we want to tell you about our recently published books.” The ladies smiled welcome, and we were both put at ease. The ladies asked us lots of questions about our books so that they could speak about them more knowledgeably when kids asked, and then showed us where our books were on the shelves. It was a wonderful, empowering experience. From Cadboro Bay Books we went to Ivy’s, Bolen’s, Munro’s and Tall Tales Books. We saw our books on the shelves in each store, signed copies and had those lovely “Autographed Copy” stickers put on them, and met many of the wonderful, committed and knowledgeable book sellers that take care of writers in this city. I know there are a lot of adjectives in this post—but it’s because I feel blessed when I see how many people there are out there spending their lives learning about and selling good books. The independent book stores in Victoria are so welcoming and they’re full of the best books the world has to offer. I’m so grateful to be part of that!

A day in the life of a teacher/writer

Just another day in the classroom.
All the students were chatting while the student who was going to present next stepped out to fix something about his presentation. One student asked me “Can I show the class something on the computer.”
“Is it suitable for a classroom?” I asked.
“It’s suitable,” he said, so I agreed. He then went and downloaded his emails and showed the class an email I had written to him in which I had made a mistake. Aren’t you happy you’re paying $450 for this English class he asked?
How did I react? I’m proud to say I laughed. I learned a long time ago that a. I am not perfect, and b. it’s always best not to get defensive in the classroom. But inside, ouch, that hurt. Sure I make mistakes, but to have it flaunted in front of the class was less than pleasant.
So what did I learn from this little episode? Several things actually.
1. Never say yes when a student asks to show something un-vetted to the class. That never ends well for me.
2. Never single out students in public when they make mistakes. There are lots of ways to tell someone they haven’t got things quite right without pointing to them and saying “wrong”. When a student doesn’t give me the answer I’m looking for when I ask a question, I say things like, “Can anyone else think of something to add to that?” or “I wonder if we can look at this another way,” or some other gentle steering in a different direction. Having my own mistakes pointed out to the class confirmed me in the belief that singling out people who make mistakes is just cruel.
3. Students have all kinds of needs in a classroom, some of which have to do with power. It’s best not to indulge those.
4. Students often forget that teachers are human too. Somehow many students think that teachers are immune to usual, everyday humiliations or triumphs. It’s open season on teachers if you’re not careful. Be mindful of that (I remind myself).
5. Thick skin is a must when teaching as when writing. You can only control so much, so if you’re going to put yourself out there by writing or teaching, be prepared to take the consequences. As my friend Joanne says, be like a duck and let it run off your back.
So that was my day in the classroom. Then I came home and found a rat dying in my compost. Not the best day ever!

Creating a story board

The Truth About Plot

If you've been reading my posts you know I struggle with plot. Why I struggle so much is a mystery to me; I've read a zillion books, all of which have plots. You'd think I'd know enough by now.

But at last I've realized that there is always a common thread when I struggle with plot, and it's that I've thought about action as separate from character. When I start to think about plot as something that happens, rather than as something the characters do, then I get into trouble. The action flows, but the story flounders. For example, in the story I'm working on now, I want my main character to find out another character is breaking the law. How will he find out? For a while I thought the police might turn up asking questions, but that seemed to Deus Ex Machina. Then I thought I'd have the law breaker break the law in front of my main character, but that seemed contrived, as well as too convenient to be believable. I wrote and rewrote that section of the book a dozen times, and then I realized I was asking the wrong question. I was asking what was going to happen, when I should have been asking what is my main character going to do? Now I have brought the action back to my main character, so the plot revolves around his needs, his desires, his thoughts and his actions, not those of another person. So far it's working.

the difference between action and plot

Still struggling with the difference between action and plot. Okay, action is simple. Three kids go surfing. One gets hit on the head and the other two have to rescue him. Action. But, how does this fit with the plot. Maybe the plot of the story is that these three boys find a starving whale and have to figure out why. They discover someone's dumping chemicals into the bay, and have to stop them. Plot. But that plot needs some action. It takes place in a bay, so how did the boys find the whale? Maybe they were surfing. See what I'm getting at here? Sometimes action has to come in and back fill the plot. Fill it up. Make finding out stuff exciting. So even if the plot's not about something like finding dying whales, but more like discovering that someone you love is being hurt, something we might not see a lot of, because these things take place behind closed doors, there still has to be action to keep the story active and alive as we uncover the little clues that show us the plot. Am I making any sense here? Does this sound even remotely right? Or have I got it all wrong?

Here's another example. I'm working on a story in which a 12 year old girl learns about corruption. This is a story that could have many different plots. It's not an action story; it's more of a coming of age story. So how to build a plot full of action, so that it's not a boring snore while we learn what she learns? I've decided to set the story within two families, one of which is big and has a lot going on like weddings and birthdays. Lots of possibilities for action. But the plot takes place above all that. It slides into the action obliquely, letting hints fall here and there, until she pulls it all together and understands the big picture.

But then maybe I'm making things more difficult than they should be. Maybe plot and action are the same thing and I'm just making work for myself. Thoughts?

StormTide spoiler

Someone asked me just now in Facebook for a plot summary of Storm Tide, so here goes:

It's the story of a boy living on Discovery Island with his lighthouse keeping family and an adventure he has in which he saves a drowning man, solves and riddle, and finds treasure. Ask for it at your local bookstore. (Thereby supporting both writers and independent bookstores) They should be able to order it for you. If not, let me know and I'll get one for you from here.

By the way, that's a photo of the real Discovery Island lighthouse. I started writing Storm Tide after seeing this and imaging what it would have been like to be a lighthouse keeper living in a house like that before it was closed.

Storm Tide

Storm Tide arrived in the mail today. The real thing. The copy that's going into bookstores. Yep, a bookstore near you. Somehow it feels different than the advance copy. More finished. Time to go celebrate. Yahoo.

why three heads are better than one

Today I and two of my writer friends got together for a plot clinic. We didn't know that's what we were doing; we thought we were just gathering for our usual writing group meeting,but we were all too tired to write, so we decided to help each other out with plot instead, and between the three of us, we solved each of our plot problems.

Each of us had ideas the writer of the story couldn't see. So good to have three heads instead of one!

A plot strategy that I've found useful (and thanks to my friend Alex for this), is a little story that goes like this:

Protagonist gets into a situation
the situation becomes a problem
the problem gets worse
the protagonist almost solves the problem, but not quite
the problem gets worse
the protagonist solves the problem.

When I'm struggling with plot, I always fall back on this. Thanks Alex.

Sending the manuscript

Finally, I got the manuscript finished and sent away. What a great feeling it is to have it done, to feel good about it (I mean it seems active and gripping to me) and to be waiting for a response. Anything is possible now. I love that feeling.

too swamped to write

It's a complaint I hear from students all the time, and one I'm tempted to succumb to myself right now. But NO. I won't let it happen. Today I make a pledge. No matter how busy term gets, how much marking there is to do, how many more places I have to ferry my son, how low we get in groceries or how dirty my house gets, Friday afternoons are mine. Families have survived dirty houses and students can wait half a day more for their papers back, but I will go crazy if I don't get my writing time. It's a pledge.

Mustache courtesy of Tracey Brailsford and family. They always know how to keep things light.

tip for close editing

I'm in the middle of line editing my sea otter story-- it's one I plan to send to Orca for another Currents I hope.
Here's a tip that I've stumbled across. I read over my text and make whatever changes I want, then when I have done 500 words or so, I read back over it, highlighting all of the verbs. It's amazing. This is an action story, so I want strong verbs, which is why I started this process, but I'm amazed at how many small details I'm finding as I do it. First, I'm getting rid of all the ing verbs, and as many of the "to be" variations as I can and replacing them with stronger verbs. But I'm also finding small words that don't need to be there. For example, "I know that the reason Dad is out here is because" becomes "Dad's here because".

I'm so amazed at how many extra words I use, and how clearly I see them when I go through this process. Laborious, but worth it.

Short sharp sentences have their place

Mostly in action sequences. Moving from the first draft to the second of my new manuscript--as yet untitled and waiting to be sent to Orca to see if they like it or not--I'm realising how many of my action sequences can be more suspenseful if I take out conjunctions and write short, crisp sentences.

Instead of: Dad pushes him away, but he comes back, arms swinging, and hits Dad right in the jaw. Dad staggers back, then swings at the man, but he misses and the man bends down and shoves his head right into Dad’s stomach. He pushes Dad backwards until Dad trips over the gunwale of his boat, and falls right into the water.


Now I have:
The man bends down. Shoves his head right into Dad’s stomach. He pushes Dad backwards until Dad trips over the gunwale of his boat.
Dad falls headfirst into the water.
In a second Dad’s boat has roared off. The other boat follows.
Dad’s alone in the water.

Shorter, sharper, stronger. :)

writing lessons for a new year

This is what I have learned about my writing process. With each project I work on, I take it to a certain point, then I need help. I write the best prose I can, then I fire it off to a trusted friend who edits for me. She (it's always a she)finds million ways to improve my writing, to punch it up, to deepen it, to make it more colourful. As soon as she points out these places where my writing can improve I see them immediately. She's right, so right, how did I miss that?

The thing is, I see the path to stronger prose clearly, but only after someone points it out to me. So here's my lesson for the new year: accept this as part of the process. Don't feel stupid about it; embrace it as a valuable gift from a friend and buckle up for the next round. Enough with wishing I could make it past this stage on my own. It's just part of the process.

So a big thanks to all my friends who have taken me past this stage in my writing. Alex, I hope you're reading this. Your editing rocks!