Author: Donna Jo Stone

Categories
Writing for YA

Write Anyway

There will be days when writing is hard. When your eyes burn and your back hurts. You will scrape dried ink from the bottom of the well, wondering if these tiny, insignificant flakes are worth anything. 

Hours, days, years of work languish with no guarantee of display in the light of day.

Write anyway.

Some days your words and lines will rip out your heart with their truth and beauty. You will feel naked and afraid. 

Some days the emotion you are desperate to share dribbles away, never caught and put to page. An unspoken message is worse than letting the world taste your secret sorrows. The tale must be wept out and sweated out onto paper even if it doesn’t want to be confined—or set free—by a pen. Story will haunt, steal your rest, demand attention. You will pound a keyboard while dinner burns.

Write anyway.

There will be people who tell you the harsh truth, and those who whisper sweet lies. And others who are purposely unkind, cruel with breath-stealing carelessness that makes you doubt your own passion. 

There will be rejections wrapped in softness. Slamming shut doors will become a commonplace sound. 

There will be hindering mentors, jealous companions, and friends who mean well but let you wallow in mediocrity and blissful ignorance.

Write anyway.

Some days you will be your own worst enemy, second-guessing, unsure as a newborn colt. Some days you will be too sure of yourself, and ignore horrendous flaws, until, stumbling over the cracks, you fall flat on your face, hard. The danger is invisible to the scribbling storyteller. You will fail and embarrass yourself time and time again.

Write anyway.

If you succeed, the monetary rewards are likely to be small. There will always be ugly reviews. People will inform you point-blank they didn’t like your book. Family members and friends won’t even bother to read it. But someone will. And sometimes it will mean a great deal to the reader, your reader. They may or may not tell you—this really happens—how it touched them, comforted them, and made them feel understood.

It’s why we write anyway.

Donna Jo Stone writes YA contemporary novels about tough issues but always ends the stories with a note of hope. She blogs at donnajostone.com.

Categories
Writing for YA

Writing Diverse Mental Health Themes in YA Fiction

If you’ve queried in the past five years, you’re familiar with the plea for diverse books. Publishers and readers alike are searching for stories that reflect the world in all its colours, orientations, beliefs, and abilities. We are searching for connections. We want to be seen.

But not all diversity will be as obvious to spot on the cover of a book.

Diversity goes deep—down to the core of who we are and how the neurons in our brains allow us to think. But, as a society, we are less likely to recognize or celebrate this deeper neurodiversity.

Each of us process and react to the world differently.  Our life experiences also play a role, leaving unique internal scars and mended pathways. For a growing majority of teens today, this internal milieu feels like a battlefield and it comes out as mental illness.

Right now, more than ever, these differences in neurological wiring and life experiences will affect how teens react to fear, anxiety, grief, and confusion. And if they can’t find themselves in the stories that they’re reading, we risk letting them feel alone in their experiences. Which we all know is false.

As YA Authors, mental health themes need be high in our considerations for diversity. But how can we do this authentically?

  1. Write #OwnVoice – Mental health stories written from lived experiences offers a genuine and raw lens. If you’ve lived it and feel comfortable communicating the everyday struggles, along with the big plot turns of life, do it.
  • Write Deep – Don’t include mental health as an afterthought. A person is more than one aspect of their diversity. Our characters need to be seen this way as well. Ask deep questions of your characters. Know their wounds and back stories. Empathize with them before starting to write.
  • Write Educated – If you haven’t experienced the themes present in your story, spend time researching what they are and how they present. Look to respected resources (i.e. The DSM-V) rather than arbitrary blog posts.
  • Write Relationally – Even with the best research, there is something powerful about speaking with a person who has experienced mental illness first-hand. If you will listen and come with empathy and encouragement, odds are you will find someone who will share. Please be considerate though. Never approach someone who is in crisis and stick with friends and family.

With my novel, FADE TO WHITE, I wrote from both personal experience, research, and over 10 years of relational conversations with teens. Some of those conversations were painful to hear, but there was also mutual healing and hope gained through sharing our stories.

mental health

Mental illness is a hidden disease, despite its ever growing prevalence. By considerately sharing diverse mental health experiences, we are giving young people a chance to be seen. A chance to be recognized as broken but not lost. A chance to be represented within the diverse and unsettling world we now live in.

Tara K. Ross lives with her husband, two daughters, and rescued fur-baby in a field of cookie-cutter homes near Toronto, Canada. She works as a school speech-language pathologist and mentors with local youth programs. When Tara is not writing or reading all things YA, you can find her rock climbing the Ontario escarpment, planning her family’s next jungle trek, or podcasting at www.tarakross.com.

Categories
Writing for YA

Why Your Beta Stopped Reading Your Manuscript

Finding a reliable and dependable beta reader can be a challenge. They often bail on you. Why? This topic comes up regularly on beta read groups.

First, let me point out the reasons why a beta reader may never start reading a manuscript.

  • The author ignores formatting requests. I ask writers to put their manuscript in standard submission format. Not everyone wants this, but if your reader asks for a certain format, then try to be respectful and accommodate. Try to avoid tiny print, colored font, weird formatting, or other issues that may be an obstacle to easy reading.
  • Ten chapters landing in their mailbox when they asked for one. 
  • A manuscript with the chapter numbers removed and several chapters squished together when they asked for one chapter.
  • The author makes unreasonable demands, such as fast turnaround, free line editing, and/or free proofreading.

Why a beta reader may stop reading a manuscript after one, two, three, or four chapters. Or pages.

  • Materials are vastly different from the description. If a book is listed as PG-13, graphic sex scenes or violence shouldn’t be in the book. If it’s pitched as a cozy, blood and gore on page one can be a shock. The novel also needs to fit within the expected market guidelines for content. A YA novel, even if self-published, still needs to follow certain standards.
  • Often, I will stop reading after a few chapters. This is because at this point of a beta read, the big picture problems are apparent. If the author consistently has the same issues in the first four chapters, I begin to repeat myself and my advice becomes repetitive. There’s no reason to continue until the writer has reworked the rest of the manuscript. To carry on is frustrating for both reader and author.
  • If a submission is too rough and has editing mistakes in every line, a reader may stop after a page.
  • Nonproductive dialogue with the author can ruin the reader-author relationship. Some writers desire affirmation rather than feedback. Encouragement is helpful to a certain degree, but beta readers primarily provide feedback to assist a writer find the flaws so they can improve. That does not mean writer must take all, or any, of their reader’s suggestions. But the author should expect suggestions rather than only praise. The beta should point out what works and what doesn’t.

Other reasons your beta stopped reading.

  • They got sick.
  • There was a family emergency. 
  • An unexpected work situation came up.

In other words, life happened.

It’s not always about the manuscript.  A reader can have many reasons for not finishing your book.

Beta reading is hard work and time consuming. Volunteer beta readers don’t owe anyone an explanation if they find they can’t or don’t want to finish reading a manuscript. 

Remember, your beta readers are doing you a service and should be treated with respect.

Always be kind if it doesn’t work out, and move on.

Donna Jo Stone writes YA contemporary novels about tough issues but always ends the stories with a note of hope. She blogs at donnajostone.com.

Categories
Writing for YA

Researching and Authenticity in Fiction: Interview with YA Author Felicia Bridges

I’ve always loved books about far flung places. It’s a wonderful way to expand horizons. I decided to talk with YA author Felicia Bridges about her experiences and ask her advice about writing about other cultures and countries.

Felicia believes life is a great adventure written by the Author and Perfecter of our faith. Her adventures as an Army BRAT included living in eight states and two foreign countries by age fifteen. Along with a strong foundation of faith, this nomadic childhood created a passion for missions and travel which leads her writing to exotic places. Felicia has a degree in Psychology, but her experience as a short-term missionary, HR Manager, mother of four, and pastor’s wife provide her most unusual tales.

Find Felicia Bridges at:

DJS: I’ve always found studying and learning about different countries and cultures fascinating. When learning about and researching other cultures for fiction writing, what do you feel are the most important things to keep in mind?

FB: Bearing in mind that while customs which are unfamiliar to us may seem odd, they usually have a logical basis. It’s critical to keep digging until we can portray another culture authentically in a way that helps broaden our readers’ understanding.

DJS: What was the most interesting or surprising thing you discovered as you were delving into your research for your books?

FB: There have been so many surprising and amazing discoveries, it’s impossible to pick one. One of my favorite discoveries was in researching Czech folklore. They have such a rich history and I would spend hours one the internet reading one story after another. The most surprising discovery was the legendary story of Campbell Bridges that I wove into KenyaQuest. This real-life Indiana Jones figure lived a fascinating life and I was honored that his widow and son worked with me to ensure I portrayed that accurately. In BoliviaKnight, the most amazing discovery was the Salar de Uyuni, the world’s largest salt flat. This amazing place forms a giant mirror during the rainy season providing stunning pictures of the sky reflected on the salt. This place tops my bucket list of places I’d love to visit!

DJS: It’s so important to respect other cultures. How can an author make sure to stay authentic when writing about a segment of society they are not a part of?

FB: In today’s world it is absolutely critical to be respectful in our depiction of other cultures. Failure to recognize and eschew stereotypes can literally ruin your career with a single tweet. I’ve spent the past ten years pursuing a greater understanding of my own biases and privilege, and a deeper understanding of the perspectives of marginalized people groups. Since my series necessitates portraying people from different cultures, I’ve tried to be intentional about researching the culture and avoiding stereotypes. We also need to communicate well that authors of fiction are working from our research plus imagination.

DJS: I’d love to take research trips. Who wouldn’t? It sounds like fun! Unfortunately, that’s not always possible. What advice would you give to someone who wants to learn about other countries or cultures, but their resources are limited?

FB: We are so privileged to live and write in a time where we can virtually visit anywhere on the planet. Although nothing can compare to actually walking in the places that you are writing about, I’ve learned so much from building relationships with missionaries, from using technological tools like Google Earth ™ and the internet to search out answers for any question that arises. For the relatively small cost of internet service, we can zoom in to street level in Prague, read a firsthand account of an expedition in the Amazon, or see glorious pictures of the cultural festivals in Papua New Guinea. I would advise them to research all they can online and save all they can to be able to travel to their favorite places.

These are all great points and suggestions! Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge.

Felicia’s series debut, The International Mission Force, features the exploits of teenage missionaries around the globe and begins with CzechMate, which is set in Czechia. BoliviaKnight and KenyaQuest carry readers to Bolivia and Kenya. The next book in the seires, IslandGambit, is set in Papua New Guinea and due to release in 2020.

Donna Jo Stone writes YA contemporary novels about tough issues but always ends the stories with a note of hope. She blogs at donnajostone.com.

Categories
Writing for YA

How to Alienate and Offend Readers: Diversity and Sensitivity

What’s sensitivity reader?

A sensitivity reader may not be what you think it is.

These are not “thin-skinned” readers ready to roast a writer for making a misstep. They are fact checkers who examine your writing for specific things. Sensitivity readers help authors find places in their manuscript where they have unwittingly used inaccurate information in describing a diverse character, and to check for things that could be considered offensive. They are Diversity Editors.

Who needs sensitivity readers?

Everyone writing a character from any marginalized or diverse community.

Even if a person is writing about a group they feel they know everything about, a sensitivity reader isn’t a bad idea. Different points of view enrich understanding.

An author can write beautiful prose, have a great story idea, and even be well known, but if a story doesn’t pass muster, the manuscript may not have a chance with an agent or publisher. And it shouldn’t!

When does it matter?

Always.

A novelist is duty bound to represent all sorts of people in such a way that it does not harm or perpetuate harmful stereotypes and myths. People are influenced by what they read, and there is no magic loophole. Claiming it’s “just fiction” or it’s “just a minor character” won’t fly. Words influence.

Listen to your sensitivity readers.

When engaging a sensitivity reader, a writer doesn’t get to tell them what they’re being nitpicky about. As with most differences of opinion, finding common ground requires listening. If there is a disagreement about feedback, engaging more sensitivity readers and going with the majority is the best course of action.

If a writer chooses to ignore their suggestions on style, grammar, plot lines, they are not hurting anyone, except possibly themselves, but ignoring information acquired from a sensitivity reader poses a real danger of failing the author’s audience.

Once a novelist has done harm, I no longer trust them.

As a reader, I don’t often let novelists off the hook for representing of groups of people in a harmful way.

If I read a novel I know is misrepresenting people, I am not likely read books by the author again or suggest his or her books to anyone. If their name comes up in conversation, I may not have a positive reaction, no matter how famous they are.

Our stories influence.

Sadly, there are novels out there that continue to do damage by perpetuating falsehoods and stereotypes, encouraging attitudes and prejudices. Writers have a certain amount of responsibility. The stories we write influence the world around us. The best ones influence in a positive way.

Sensitivity readers can be found by searching for readers within the community you are writing about, or by finding paid sensitivity readers online. I start my search with writing groups, then the community groups, both local and on Facebook.

Donna Jo Stone writes YA contemporary novels about tough issues but always ends the stories with a note of hope. She blogs at donnajostone.com.

Categories
Writing for YA

Tips for Podcasting with Author Tara K. Ross

I love a good podcast and listen to several. Recently, I found The Hope Prose Podcast by young adult author Tara K. Ross. I enjoyed it, so decided to ask Tara a few questions about podcasting.

Why did you choose to start a podcast?

I am a self-confessed podcast junky. I listen to podcasts during my commute, when I exercise and even when I’m scrubbing toilets. I can enjoy them when my eyes need to be elsewhere and I always have time to sneak one in. For all these reasons, I knew their value.

I also love audiobooks and narration. In our podcast, we have the opportunity to narrate some of our favorite books in short samples. Audiobook narrating is on my shortlist of dream side-gigs, so our podcast format is an ideal way for me to get my feet wet.

Finally, I saw a need. I scoured the podcast space for YA book podcasts and found surprisingly few. When we added in the faith component, there were zero specific to YA. I also wanted to find a way to support Christian YA authors and reach their readers while veering away from screens and social rankings.        

What are some things people should think about before attempting to start their own podcast?

  • How much money do you have for your podcasting venture? At the minimum you will need the following:        

o A website with domain name – including monthly hosting fees

o Headphones and a mic external to your computer

o Recording or editing software – Zencastr and Audacity as good starting points

Audio file hosting – we use Sound Cloud, but there are many out there

  • Is there a need for your podcast? Is someone already covering a similar topic? How can you make your show unique? Can you find a niche that is not being filled?  
  • What format will you use for your podcast? Will you run a solo show or have a co-host or panel? Will you interview guests? How long will you make each episode?
  • How often will your podcast air? Daily, weekly, monthly? Is that schedule sustainable? Do you have ideas for your first five episodes? Record the first three before you go live.

I love the name of your podcast, The Hope Prose Podcast. How did you come up with it?

It actually started from my blog and my desire to write transformational YA fiction. Hope Prose birthed out the idea that well-written prose challenges us to reflect on who we are right now, and how we are striving to change. I wanted to guide readers to those stories that transport us to magical places, leave us breathless with anticipation, reflect our deepest struggles, but in the end, offer hope that is unquestionably woven into every word.

A thousand things can go wrong with any new venture. What have you found to be the most difficult part of producing a podcast? Did any issues come up that surprised you?

Rebekah, my co-host, and I live on opposite sides of the continent. Finding times that not only work for our unique time zones but also for our guests’ schedules has been an interesting challenge.

The other difficulty would come down to technology. There have been a few cases where we’ve lost guests to a WiFi glitch or had the sound quality disintegrate mid-sentence. I’ve become good friends with YouTube when it comes to editing together split sound recordings and unplanned background interruptions.    

Do you have any advice or tips for people who will be making a guest appearance on a podcast?

  • Review previous episodes of the podcast. Get a sense of the format, the style and the length of the episodes.
  • If the podcast host provided you with questions, plan your talking points. Jot down any websites or books you will reference.
  • Ensure access to a reliable internet connection. Whether streaming through Skype, Zoom, or Zencastr you will want a signal that is strong and consistent.
  • Invest in some decent earphones and a mic external to your computer
  • Find a quiet space free from environmental noises (think airplanes, traffic, family members, pets, and squeaky chairs). Avoid clothes or jewelry that may crinkle or clank.
  • Hydrate. Warm-up your voice. Long pauses are easier to edit than ‘umms’ but don’t stress if you repeat yourself or need to retract a response.  
  • Make sure to spread the word about the podcast when your episode goes live and consider leaving a review.  

Tara is a perpetual Toronto suburbanite despite her best efforts to escape. When Tara is not writing or reading all things YA, you can find her rock climbing the Ontario escarpment, mentoring youth leaders or podcasting at The Hope Prose Podcast. Her debut YA novel, FADE TO WHITE will be published through IlluminateYA in May 2020. You can find out more about Tara and her podcast at www.hopeprose.com

Donna Jo Stone writes YA contemporary novels about tough issues but always ends the stories with a note of hope. She blogs at donnajostone.com.

Categories
Writing for YA

New Year, New Goals

The new year is almost upon us. Instead of making New Year’s resolutions, why not try to come up with New Year’s goals?

Make a plan.

Gather information about the task you want to achieve. Have a general idea of the steps you need to take to get a grasp on the big picture. I’ve found it to be a good idea to use more than one source. For a novelist or nonfiction writer, this can include authors you know, websites (like this one!), books, magazines, and organizations. What you are writing determines the steps in your plan. Indie or traditional? Fiction or nonfiction? These have different processes. 

Determine what the primary goal is and list the tasks needed to do to achieve the objective in order of importance. Having a first things first policy helps me stay focused and having incremental guides keeps me motivated as I mark my progress.

Unrealistic expectations are a set up for deep disappointments when things don’t pan out as expected. Wrong turns and dead ends can be avoided by getting the lay of the land beforehand.

Set reasonable goals.

Often, when tackling a new project or activity, the tendency is to overreach. Setting reasonable goals increase the likelihood success will come to pass.

When I first began writing novels, I struggled to be consistent. I decided to try for large word counts and grind away every day until I produced a massive amount of words. Predictably, the only thing I was consistent about was failing to pound out those words! I’d get to the end of the week or month feeling like a failure.

I changed my thinking, and set a small goal of five hundred words a day. In this way, I established a habit of writing. Sometimes I would surpass my desired output, but when I started out, most days I was right around five or six hundred words. Producing small, manageable chunks was within my reach and watching the words add up day by day kept me faithfully working. Persistence pays off, and I got my novels written. As time went on, my daily word counts went up. Establishing the habit kept me going and still does on difficult days.

If your objective is to find a critique partner, try to determine the time required to exchange feedback before you commit. If you want to learn a new skill, don’t expect to become proficient overnight. Divide the task you set for yourself into manageable chunks and be patient with yourself.

Be flexible.

If your goals are too challenging, or not challenging enough, allow yourself to make adjustments. Life is in a constant state of change. To be successful, flexibility is vital. The point is to keep working towards the prize.

Find a cheerleader. Or two or three!

There’s bound to be periods of difficulty in any endeavor. Some days are harder than others. Surround yourself with people who will lift you up.

Be an encouragement to yourself by keeping track of your past successes. Remind yourself of why you write.

Don’t give up!

If you find the set goals are not as easily attainable as you thought they would be, don’t give up. Instead, reevaluate and adjust your plans. The journey never quite unfolds the way we expect it to but if we stay on the path, we will get there. It’s all part of the adventure.

Keep going. 

Organizations for YA Writers

https://www.scbwi.org/

https://www.acfw.com/

Writing Aid Program

https://prowritingaid.com/

Donna Jo Stone writes YA contemporary novels about tough issues but always ends the stories with a note of hope. She blogs at donnajostone.com.

Categories
Writing for YA

How to Succeed with PitMad

Are you familiar with PitMad?

#PitMad is a pitch party on Twitter where writers tweet a 280-character pitch for their completed, polished, unpublished manuscripts. Agents and editors make requests by liking/favoriting the tweeted pitch. Every unagented writer is welcome to pitch. All genres/categories are welcomed. #PitMad occurs quarterly.

Pitchwars.org website

The next PitMad is coming up December 5th. I considered the last PitMad to be a success for me because I got a heart from an agent on my list, and another from a publisher I recognized.

On PitMad days, the camaraderie among writers gives me such a boost. It’s the perfect time for connecting with other writers and supporting each other.

After I’d done a few pitch parties, I had the sense to search for other people who are writing work similar to mine by looking for their hashtags. I’m not good at Twitter. Even so, I am figuring out how to participate in Twitter parties. To participate in a Twitter party you don’t necessarily have to be great on Twitter. 

TIP: Follow other authors in your genre and support them.

One of the best things about participating in PitMad was that it forced me to be concise and specific about my book descriptions. The tweet that got the most attention was short and simple.

My Tweet

Theater kids, small town, Asperger love. WHAT TO SAY NEXT x GEM & DIXIE #PITMAD #YA #CON #MH #DIS #ND #autism Coming of Age + Sweet Romance

This tweet went against a lot of advice I’d received about how to craft the perfect tweet. I am impatient when reading tweets, so I wrote one likely to get my attention, as descriptive as I could, using as few words as possible. (I posted another tweet that did well for a different pitch party on my blog here.)

TIP: Practice writing your tweets ahead of time.

Another key may have been how many times it was re-tweeted. I got a huge boost from my WFWA group. There was a specific list to join if you were participating in PitMad so that we could easily find each other’s tweets and support each other by retweeting. It’s difficult to keep up with everyone’s tweets, and without that list I would have been lost.

TIP: Pin your latest tweet so your friends can find it easily and retweet.

I was pleasantly surprised to get a heart from Flux books. At the end of the day, I had a hard time winding down. Several hours after the party was over, I got another heart. This one was exciting, because not only did I recognize literary agent, they were on my query list. 

TIP: Not all hearts are the same. Do your research.

I couldn’t sleep, so by 3 o’clock in the morning (!) I’d sent my submissions, one of which was a full. I also used the PitMad requests as an opportunity to nudge to an agent who’d had my manuscript for a few months.

TIP: Have your materials ready to go.

PitMad isn’t the only Twitter party. 

You can try out your tweets for #faithpitch, #REVpit, #kisspitch, #sffpit, or #IWSGPit and more.

Have your manuscript finished and polished, write your tweets, and join the party. If you aren’t ready to pitch, use a pitch party to connect and support other writers.

There’s nothing to lose and quite a bit to gain.

Have you participated in a pitch party? Do you plan to? Leave a comment!

Donna Jo Stone writes YA contemporary novels about tough issues but always ends the stories with a note of hope. She blogs at donnajostone.com.