Tag: young adult

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

Interview with Author Judy Christie: Writing Across Genres

Sometimes writers have a hard time sticking to one genre. I’d thought I see what Judy Christie had to say about the topic.

DJS: You’ve written in a variety of genres, the YA series Wreath, the small-town series  Gone to Green, the Trumpet & Vine series, as well as nonfiction. Your new book, Before and After: The Incredible Real-Life Stories of Orphans Who Survived the Tennessee Children’s Home Society, was released last week on Oct 22. You co-authored this book with Lisa Wingate to tell the personal stories related to her bestseller, Before We Were Yours. You also are a journalist! What has been the greatest challenge about writing for different markets?

JC: Different genres mean recalibrating for different readers—and I have to make sure every genre aligns with who I am as a person and fits my writing brand. I try to keep readers in mind at all times, whether I’m writing a magazine profile or a novel. Hint: It’s easier to stick to one genre.

DJS: I know we aren’t supposed to play favorites with our book babies, but which project seemed more enjoyable or easier than others? What do you think made it so?

JC: Without a doubt, the new book, Before and After, is the most meaningful project I’ve undertaken; it was both hard to write and enjoyable. What a unique publishing experience—for a novel to inspire a true sequel. Being entrusted with these stories from such kind and loving people made the writing process extra intense. When I sat down to write, I felt like I was in the state of flow writers hear so much about. Plus, I had the pleasure of co-authoring it with the phenomenal Lisa Wingate, which was like playing with a friend while taking a master course in writing.

DJS: I’ve heard that a novelist should stay in one genre, but many of us are drawn to different stories and can’t help drifting into new territory. What has been the most difficult or challenging thing about writing for multiple genres and how do you think a writer can temper those disadvantages?

JC: I would definitely say: Don’t do as I do, do as I say. *smile* If possible, choose one genre and stick with it. Own it. Become the best at that genre so readers look forward to your next release and know what to expect from your work. An agent once told me that when an author changes genres, the reader feels like she went to her favorite Chinese restaurant and was served an Italian meal. I did not start out to write in different genres, but as I was building a writing career, I took opportunities that arose or wrote projects I was deeply interested in. The hardest thing is building a broad readership when you have a YA audience one time, a self-help audience another, Southern fiction the next. The way to temper that is to be true to who you are in everything you write so that your subjects and themes weave together in some way. 

DJS: What’s the best thing about writing in multiple genres and how can a writer make use of those advantages? 

JC: Exploring topics and themes from different perspectives and learning all along the way. Playing with words in totally different ways…. My first book, Hurry Less Worry Less, was about slowing down and enjoying life more, a topic that was so important to me that I had to write about it. But I wanted to write a novel about a big-city journalist who took over a tiny Southern paper. I had so much fun with the Green series. I’ve written a book column for a newspaper for about six years, and that has kept me plugged into publishing in a different way and also keeps deadline skills in good form. Nonfiction worker lets you meet so many good people doing good things. I choose projects that matter to me.

DJS: I’ve often noted a thread of encouragement in your writing. What encourages you to keep writing? 

JC: That is such a kind thing for you to say because that is my goal in whatever I write. I love telling stories, and that led me into journalism and has stayed with me all these years. Putting words together is a pleasure to me—whether in my journals, which I’ve kept since I was 11, or in a novel that I’m brainstorming. And it is my hope to encourage, entertain and maybe even enlighten.

Thank you, Judy!

Readers, if you’d like to read an interview I had with Judy about Before and After, visit my blog here.

Author Judy Christie has had 18 books published, including three Southern small-town novel series and is an award-winning newspaper reporter and editor. Sign up for her e-newsletter and a free guide to telling family stories at www.judychristie.com. Follow her on Facebook @judychristieauthor.

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

The Path to Publication: Interview with Agent and Author Hope Bolinger

Today I am talking with Hope Bolinger. She’s an author of young adult novels as well as a literary agent with C.Y.L.E. I find her blog posts to be full of useful information and an inspiration as I travel along the writer’s path. Her novel Blaze came out last month.

DJS: As you were going through the publishing process of Blaze, what was the most interesting or surprising thing you learned?

HB: Such a good question! I would say, I learned just how many rounds a book has to go through to get to that contract. When I first started writing as a teen I thought it went: get an agent after you send one email, they send it to a publishers, publisher looks it over and says, “Eh, looks good.” I mean, that’s sort of how it goes, but there are many other intermediate stages involved.

DJS: I am persistent, and believe this tendency has kept me focused on my goals. What personal character trait or traits have been useful to you as a writer? What is one important trait necessary for a writer to make it in the publishing world today?

HB: Oh, persistence. Persistence, persistence, persistence. But also, hope. Yes, my name is Hope, so I do have a pun in there, but it really carries you a long way. When you get rejection letter after rejection letter, you want to quit. But if you have hope, you can keep going, no matter what.

DJS: How did going through the journey to publication yourself affect the way you approach your job as an agent?

HB: It really helps me to empathize with whatever my clients go through. I started as an author before I became an agent, so I know every step of the way to getting an agent, meeting with publishers, and getting them to like your book. It breaks my heart because I know how much they have to endure, but it also gives them a shoulder to cry on.

DJS: I love a character who makes me laugh and cry, like good-hearted Anne Shirley (of the original books, please!) or the quirky Mr. Monk. Who is one of your favorite fictional characters and what made you fall in love with them?

HB: This is so hard, but I have to go with Anne of Green Gables. She’s just so wonderful. She has an imagination and such energy. I feel like I’m often more of a subdued version of her.

A kindred spirit! Thank you for visiting with us, Hope, and congratulations on your new book.

Guys, you can read more about Hope and her book in an interview we did a few weeks ago for my personal blog here.

Hope Bolinger is a literary agent at C.Y.L.E. and a recent graduate of Taylor University’s professional writing program. More than 350 of her works have been featured in various publications ranging from Writer’s Digest to Keys for Kids. She has worked for various publishing companies, magazines, newspapers, and literary agencies and has edited the work of authors such as Jerry B. Jenkins and Michelle Medlock Adams. Her column “Hope’s Hacks,” tips and tricks to avoid writer’s block, reaches 6,000+ readers weekly and is featured monthly on Cyle Young’s blog. Her modern-day Daniel, “Blaze,” (Illuminate YA) just released, and they contracted the sequel for 2020. Find out more about her here.

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

YA Slang in Writing

Every once in a while, on one of my writers’ lists or on facebook, someone will want to know what slang they should use in their young adult novel. My answer? None. Don’t do it. I think the exception is when you are trying to date your story. If you feel compelled to use slang for your story, consider keeping it to a minimum.

If you are writing a contemporary, by the time it gets on the shelves you can be sure new jargon will have replaced what was in vogue when you wrote it, assuming you could keep up with the ever-changing meaning of teen language while writing the book. Current lingo will likely be outdated before the first draft is finished.

You could invent your own vocabulary for your fictional world, though. I’ve seen this done quite well in many books. Kids do this is real life constantly. Within groups, teens make up their own private language, nicknames, and figures of speech unique to their crowd.

As an “old” person, I’m not aware of how widespread certain sayings are. At this moment as I am writing, in the small young adult circle I am familiar with, dishing out juicy gossip is known as “giving the tea.” For all I know, by the time this post goes up it will be out of fashion. I may not even be using this saying correctly, which is another pitfall when appropriating slang for a novel. It’s like the outdated youth worker trying to be “hip” with the kids.

I’ve been told words like awesome, cool, bummer, and totally are completely out, even though I’ve heard, or overhead, teens using them, and read them in books.

Will writing devoid of colloquialisms sound authentic? In any fiction, voice is what makes it authentic.

While it’s true kids have a few words they like to repeat in conversation, having dialogue in your story reflecting actual repetitive speech, or speech with slang can annoy the reader. We don’t write exactly the way we use language in our everyday lives. Writing an authentic character develops relatability with the reader. Peppering prose with the latest sayings may not do that.

Being cool happens the same way it always has. You’re only cool when you’re not trying to be.

Write realistic, well-rounded characters, and save the slang for those opportunities to embarrass the special young people in your life.

That’s my totally cool and awesome advice for writing slang. Do you have a tip to share? 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.

Categories
Child's Craft

Is the Story Middle Grade or YA?

A Quick Look at the Two

Middle Grade:

Age of readers: 8 to 12 or 13

Length of books: 30,000 to 50,000 words

Content restrictions: No profanity, graphic violence or sex

Age of the Main Character: usually 12 or 13

Focus of the Main Character: friends, family, school, the immediate world and relationships.

Voice: usually third person

Young Adult:

Age of readers: usually 14 to 18

Length of books: 50,000 to 75,000 words

Content restrictions: Profanity, graphic violence, romance and sexuality are allowed if pertinent to the story.

Age of the Main Character: usually 14 or 15 for younger YA books, 17 or 18 (but still in High School) for older YA books.

Focus of the themes: YA MCs discover how they fit into the big world outside their family, friends and school.

Voice: usually first person

Ask Yourself The following Questions:

(Do this BEFORE you get into writing the manuscript.)

How old is the Main Character of the story?

9 to 12 years old means the story is for Middle Grade students. 14 to 18 means the story is for a YA audience. Avoid a 13 year-old Main Character.

What kind of strong language does the book contain?

Middle Grade books stay away from cursing. Some publishers allow peripheral characters like parents or coaches to do mild cursing a little. Words like “darn” are permitted.

If the Main Character and or their friends use profanity or sexually explicit words the book is for Young Adults. But publishers insist that the profanity serves a purpose, that it is critical to the character or to the voice. They don’t want profanity just for the sake of making a book edgy.

How graphic and how frequent is violence in the  book?

Often General Market publishers follow the same guidelines for violence as the ratings for movies and TV programming. Some Christian Market publishers allow more violence than others.

CHECK AND FOLLOW THE PUBLISHER’S GUIDELINES EXACTLY.

If you choose to add profanity or violence to the story remember that much less is allowed in Middle Grade books than in Young Adult books. That means much less violent, much less gory, much less frequently. Often the violence is reserved for the end, the last battle or the darkest moment in a Middle Grade book.

How much, and what kind of romance is in the story?

A crush, some hand-holding, a lot of blushing and embarrassment and maybe a peck on the cheek means the book is for Middle Grade.

If the Main Character (and others) are “in love,” have sexual contact or talk about sex, experience making out, real kissing or more, the book is for Young Adults. Even if these topics are not committed but are strongly hinted at, discussed or imagined, the book is for Young Adults.

How does the main character experience and interpret life and the world?

If the story centers around home, family, school, friends the Main Character probably experiences the story and their personal changes internally. That is typical of a Middle Grade book. The characters change but stay within the confines of their smaller world. They are just beginning a journey into seeing life a different way. They experience the events of the story, but aren’t especially aware of what they are feeling and why. They are not really analyzing life.

If the Main Character’s world expands during the story so that they start questioning and thinking about their place in the bigger world beyond home, family, school and friends the story is for Young Adults. The Main Character is experiencing the world externally and beginning a journey to find their place in the bigger world and see life differently. They tend to be introspective and analytical about their experience and how it affects their life.

Jean Hall lives in Louisville, Kentucky. She is represented by Cyle Young of Hartline Literary. Her premier picture book series Four Seasons was recently signed by Little Lamb Books. Jean is a member of the SCBWI, Word Weavers International, and the Kentucky Christian Writers. Visit Jean at www.jeanmatthewhall.com, on Facebook at Jean Matthew Hall, and on Twitter as @Jean_Hall.