Writing Process Blog Hop

My fabulous friend and critique partner Brandi Barnett invited me to join her in blogging about the Writing Process. Brandi is the author of YA novel Glamour, and she blogs about the magic of everyday life at brandibarnett.blogspot.com. Thank you, Brandi, for inviting me to join the fun!

Now to the questions . . .

What are you working on?
I just finished a middle grade contemporary ghost story. Now I'm in the planning stages for a couple of Young Adult novels--both mysteries, one contemporary and the other historical. Each has its own little bit of metaphysical/paranormal flair, of course.

How does your work differ from other of its genre?
This is a tough one, so I'll focus on process rather than content. I don't know how other writers of ghostly mysteries get their ideas, but with me it almost always starts with place rather than character or plot. When I discover an out-of-the-ordinary setting, I start to wonder what sort of people might have inhabited it, and what kind of joys and trials they might have experienced. The story takes off from there.

Why do you write what you do?
Simply put, I try to write the kind of books I want to read. I love mysteries and historicals. I love Gothic settings. I can't get enough of characters who are haunted in some way -- by an actual ghost, by the past, by a loss, or perhaps by some trespass they've committed. I collect favorite (& sometimes random) story elements like a magpie, with the goal of mixing them up into something new. Something me.

How does your writing process work?
I'm a planner. I outline. I fill in character questionnaires. I create index cards for each scene and arrange them on a bulletin board. I love any sort of graphic organizer for planning OR revising a story. It's the drafting that nearly kills me -- seriously, sometimes it's about as painful and ugly as ripping the guts from my body. (Well, not quite, but you know what I mean!) Revision isn't that much easier, but for me it's more fun, partly because the graphic organizers come back into play. I like to chart story elements to identify gaps and redundancies. For instance, when I'd completed a solid draft of my middle grade novel, Steve and I charted each chapter on a huge dry-erase board. So fun!


We spent three full days on this. My husband is a prince, I tell you. (Also, it was OU's semester break.)

Next Monday, April 28th (or in Valerie's case, a little earlier than that), three friends will join the blog hop and give you the deets on their writing process. Do pay them a visit!

Jerry Bennett is an illustrator and pre-published graphic novelist hard at work on his 'underwater western'.
Jerry blogs at Tumblr, and you also can follow him on Facebook.

Mari Farthing is a freelance editor and writer in the OKC area who blogs about family, music, pop culture and just about everything else you could think of at Mari, quite contrary.

Valerie Lawson is a young adult contemporary author who also dabbles in middle grade mysteries. She lives in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, with her husband and two children who suffer through her delusions of grandeur and bouts of madness with grace. Follow her writing journey at Valerie R Lawson: Barbies on Fire.

Have a great week, everyone!

[Cross-posted at Livejournal]

March Tea and a TV show (or two)

March has come and nearly gone, and what with revision, travel, and friends coming to town, I haven't had much time to read, much less blog. So this very late edition of Tea and a Book will have a slightly different focus.

This past Friday, my dear friend Michelle and I capped off her visit with afternoon tea at the Adolphus Hotel in Dallas. The setting was elegant, the food delicious, and the company divine! (Click photos to enlarge)



You can see the actual menu here. Michelle and I both appreciated how the Adolphus emphasized quality over quantity, and how we were allowed to enjoy the experience in a leisurely fashion while still receiving the appropriate amount of attention from the unobtrusive staff. A skilled pianist played familiar classical tunes. Nearby a mother treated her two adorable daughters to a birthday tea. At other tables friends chatted and laughed. It was such a pleasant environment--highly recommended. (Apparently the Adolphus does brisk business at Christmas. Bookings open October 1st and fill fast.)

And now to the TV portion of this blog post . . .


During her visit Michelle introduced me to Hallmark Channel's When Calls the Heart. Many of you know that I'm a total sucker for Hallmark Christmas movies, so when Michelle first mentioned this show I knew I'd be interested, particularly because it's a historical featuring a refined young woman who takes a teaching job in a western mining town. This show was like a soothing hug, especially after all the dark stuff I've been watching lately. (True Detective, Walking Dead, etc.) I loved the strong female characters, the gentle romance, the family themes, and the fact that I could watch the show with no worries that a beloved character would suffer a violent death. (We had a special When Calls the Heart tea while viewing, and of course I used my new red teapot in honor of Mountie Jack.)


Michelle and I also watched Death Comes to Pemberley during her visit. (And I watched a second time with Steve over the weekend.) I read the book as soon as it came out and . . . I actually found it a bit tedious. The mystery was interesting enough, and P.D. James stayed true to Jane Austen's characters, but there was way too much telling and overall I found it hard slog to finish. This BBC adaptation (which comes to PBS in November) breathed new life into the story with its stellar cast and lovely production values. Matthew Rhys was nearly perfect as Darcy, and even though Anna Maxwell Martin (whom I adore) wasn't exactly how I see Lizzie Bennet, she played the part very sympathetically. Jenna Coleman (Doctor Who companion Clara) was excellent as Lydia, but for me the true standout was Matthew Goode. Until now, I've never seen a convincingly dashing Wickham. Goode is physically striking and certainly plays up the selfish and rakish aspects of "wicked Wickham," but he also has quiet moments of sensitivity and vulnerability. He's not a good man, but in this production I certainly see how a woman like Elizabeth Bennet might have found him greatly appealing, at least for a time.

Now back to revisions AND a three-day school visit. I wish you all a wonderful week!

[Cross-posted at Livejournal]

Friday Five: Nice things

I haven't been a very good blogger lately, mostly because I'm desperately trying to finish up a revision. But I did want to check in with five nice things on a Friday:

1. The Dark Between is a finalist for the Oklahoma Book Award. It's such an honor to be included in this list along with stellar books like Nugget & Fang by SCBWI Crystal Kite winner Tammi Sauer and Mojo by National Book Award finalist Tim Tharp.

2. The Veronica Mars movie is finally here. (And I'm so proud to be a Kickstarter backer.) It's playing at two locations in OKC. Yippee! Check out the trailer:



3. Feeling grumpy? In desperate need of something to smile about? Well, I recommend you visit Fluffington Post on a regular basis.

4. Speaking of smiles, have you seen these 19 Very Important Photographs of Benedict Cumberbatch with Kittens? Oh go on, check it out AGAIN.

5. I bought a gorgeous red ForLife teapot. I found mine at the Teaoli shop down the street, but they also are available from Amazon.


Mmmmm . . . Notting Hill tea with Dr. Lucy's gluten free sugar cookies!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

[Cross-posted at Livejournal]

The Writing Barn: Interview with Creative Director Bethany Hegedus

Last April I attended a writing workshop at The Writing Barn in Austin, Texas. You'll find some photos and details here. I learned so much from Sara Zarr and the other participants, and I had a lot of fun, too. I must confess it was a little nerve wracking to participate in the workshop process (see more below), especially since many of the participants were MFA grads who were well accustomed to this sort of critique. I managed to overcome my jitters, however, mostly due to the lovely sense of community. I recommend The Writing Barn to new, agented, and even published writers. To reinforce this recommendation, I'm pleased to share an interview with The Writing Barn's Creative Director, Bethany Hegedus.

The Writing Barn is situated in a magical setting and attracts writers from far and wide. How did it all start?
Bethany: The Writing Barn is the dream I never knew I had. It sprang from a strange combination of perfect timing for me in my career-life and my love-life. A year into living in Austin, I meet the man I would eventually marry, who

The wooded setting of The Writing Barn

lived on 7.5 wooded acres in South Austin, only 20 minutes from downtown. I had been working at the Writers’ League of Texas and had two novels already out. When we married, we decided to use the guest house/Barn as a place to hold classes, events, and writing workshops and as luck would have it, once upon a time, it had been a working horse barn, the name “Writing Barn” hit me. I am a sucker for a good pun.

The Writing Barn is a mixture of everything that calls to me: teaching, community, craft-focused writing conversations, books, books and more books. We have a fire pit for roasting marshmallows, a screened in porch which we’ve dubbed the “party porch” as our Cocktails and Conversation evenings that kick of our Advanced Writer Weekend Workshops take place there. Visiting published writers are encouraged to sign the party porch and retreaters and attendees who are yet-to-be published are excited to return and sign when their time comes. We’ve been open two years this January and word of mouth about what we are doing keeps spreading. It’s a joy.

What are your goals for writers who attend Writing Barn workshops?
Bethany: I want all writers who attend our workshops to come away inspired and with new ways of looking at their works-in-progress, and assessing the strengths and weaknesses of a piece. The lectures that have been presented thus far, have bowled me over; and I have been writing for over ten years and have an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of the Fine Arts. Uma Krishnaswami mentioned “face theory” in her lecture on voice. It was something I hadn’t heard before and sprang from Uma hearing about the work of Japanese novelist Endo Shusaku, about how our characters all have four faces. It blew me away. Being a part of a conversation of craft, inquiry, and discovery is one of the best things a writer can do to take his or her work to the next level.

In your opinion, what is particularly effective about workshopping a manuscript in person?
Bethany: Workshop is the foundation for all writing programs and for those who gather in critique groups. The workshop experience at The Writing Barn is formal, the author doesn’t speak while the pages are critiqued, but has a chance to ask questions and respond when the discussion of their work is over. Workshopping in person, with a

Picture Book Workshop

table full of eager readers and fine minds shows a writer what is and is not working in their pieces, as written right now. Plus, and this is mentioned in The Writing Barn workshop guidelines, you get as much, sometimes more, from hearing and participating in the other pieces being critiqued. Ah-ha moments abound.

Another reason, I love in-person workshopping, is that writers expand their writing circle of friends at our events. You may have found a new person to be early eyes or a final reader before sending off to your agent or the agent you wish was yours. Last year, we launched the Advanced Writer Workshop series and three of our attendees from last year’s programming have had wonderful successes. One, Joy Preble, sold the novel she workshopped in the Sara Zarr event, and two-writers, Katie Bayerl and Kayla Olson went on to sign with agents after their attendance in our programming. I also signed with a new agent, Alexandra Penfold, at Upstart Crow after her AWWW workshop and the piece I was working on then is now being shopped. We’re keeping our ears open for future success stories!

What do you have coming up this year?
Bethany: 2014 is a busy year as we increase our programming both locally in Austin and with our programming that brings in writers from around the country. We have three Advanced Writer Weekend Workshops this year. Our first is in May

Writing Barn Lecture

with Jo Knowles and Robin Wasserman, and they are tackling revision with Discover the Beating Heart of Your Book. In October, agent/author Ammi Joan Paquette and K. A. Holt will be with us for Writing Outside the Box: Multiple Viewpoints, Unreliable Narrators, Unusual Structures—Oh My! And in December, best-selling authors and friends Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian will be with us.

There’s also the Full Novel Revision week: Mastering the Middle Grade with Newbery Honor authors Kathi Appelt and Rita Williams-Garcia, Shana Burg and myself in August. And in September, best-selling picture book agent Erin Murphy with two of her clients, Audrey Vernick and Liz Garton Scanlon lead The Complete Picture Book Workshop. Applications and registrations are open for all these events and they are filling up quickly. We also offer on-site lodging and airport shuttles.

Writers may also choose to have private or group writing retreats with us as well. Anyone interested can email us at info@thewritingbarn.com for more information.

Thank you for stopping by the blog, Bethany!

[Cross-posted at Livejournal]

The GRIM Anthology is here!

GRIM is now available for purchase from: Indiebound | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BAM

Check out the trailer:



A lot of readers are having trouble placing my story "Untethered" within the works of Brothers Grimm, so I just want to reiterate that it was inspired by a very short (and apparently very obscure) tale called The Shroud. You see, I was curious if the Grimm Brothers had ever dealt with ghosts, and it turned out that they had. TWICE. ("The Stolen Pennies" is the other ghost tale.) And it was Philip Pullman's commentary on these stories in Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm that prompted my own version. [WARNING: this commentary isn't that spoilery, but if you want to be spoiler-free before reading the story, you might skip the next paragraph.]

Each of these tales is straightforward and pious. They are pure ghost stories, but their intention is not to make us shiver so much as to point a simple moral. The belief system they come from is almost pre-Christian: the dead deserve their rest, and the living can help them find it; excessive grief is self-indulgent; sin must be atoned for. Once the human action has been taken, the supernatural withdraws. (322)

With "Untethered," I wanted to address the issue of ghosts and grief while at the same time adding in some of the shivers that were lacking in the original. I hope you enjoy it! And don't forget the Blog tour with giveaways.



[Cross-posted at Livejournal]